Ittiam Systems Introduces Multi Format High Definition Video Decoder Engine

Highly optimized Silicon IP for high definition video ASIC solutions

Bangalore -- October 31, 2006 -- Ittiam Systems, a leader in providing digital media processing and communication Intellectual Property (IP) solutions, today announced and showcased their High Definition Video Decoder Engine - MFVDEC (Multi-Format High Definition Video Decoder) IP - that forms the core of High Definition DVD and Set-Top Box ASIC solutions.

According to In-Stat, 162 million households worldwide are expected to have High Definition Television by 2009. This growth has opened up huge opportunities for Digital TV, High Definition DVD (Blue-Ray™, HD DVD™ and FVD™), High Definition IPTV and High Definition Set-Top-Box chip solutions.

Digital video processing, specifically high definition video, presents significant signal processing challenges with complex functions that demand a very high usage of CPU resources. MFVDEC is a highly optimized IP (Intellectual Property) designed to address exactly these requirements. It employs micro engines which handle complex functions like CABAC, Motion Compensation, Motion Vector Prediction and De-Blocking for H.264 and VC1 which are the latest video compression standards. VC1, the SMPTE Video Standard, based on Microsoft's Windows Media™ Codec, and H.264 (MPEG-4 Part-10 also called as Advanced Video Coding) are scalable video technologies that can compress high quality video at lower bit-rates. Since high definition video processing requires very high bandwidth for large data transfers, Ittiam's MFVDEC employs fully dedicated and highly efficient data movement engines. MFVDEC is designed with module level clock-gating to reduce power consumption. The core engine is also capable of decoding MPEG-4 video compression standard and the legacy MPEG-2 video content to make it a complete High Definition Decoder IP.

MFVDEC core Engine is available as a soft IP in Verilog with complete documentation, associated synthesis scripts and test bench framework. Ittiam also provides a FPGA based validation platform for customers to validate the IP. The Verilog code is also validated for the ASIC'ization Process using Synopsys tool kit.

"The High Definition Video market is set to explode over the next three years," said Will Strauss president of market watcher Forward Concepts. He went on to say, "I believe that Ittiam's multi-format video decode engine will enable system-on-chip companies to introduce integrated devices for high definition DVD players, set-top-boxes and televisions."

"MFVDEC IP Engine leverages Ittiam's deep experience in video coding technology and represents significant R&D investment to address the emerging markets based on high definition video technology," commented Srini Rajam, chairman and chief executive officer, Ittiam Systems. "We believe that the new wave of Digital TV and the high definition consumer appliances will enable volume opportunities for MFVDEC IP Engine" he added.

Ittiam is already in active discussions with potential customers in Asia and the US.

About Ittiam

Ittiam Systems Private Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, is a technology product company singularly focused on digital signal processing systems in media and communication. The company operates through its network of offices and representatives around the world. Ittiam's customers include Fortune 100 companies and are distributed across U.S., Europe, Japan and Asia. In 2004 and 2005 the company was rated as the 'World's Most Preferred DSP IP Supplier' in a survey conducted by Forward Concepts Incorporated. In 2005 Ittiam had been selected by Red Herring into the top 100 private companies in Asia. For more details, visit www.ittiam.com.