Video Infrastructure Development Eased with ATEME's NVDK

Network Video Development Kits, based on TI’s 1 GHz DSP, enables higher resolution of MPEG-4, H.264 and WMV9 video encoding.

Paris and Dallas, November 10th, 2004 -- Easing the creation of higher performing networked video end equipments, ATEME and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) (TI) today announced availability of the new Network Video Development Kit (NVDK) based on TI's TMS320C64x™ 1 GHz digital signal processors (DSP). The NVDK, designed by ATEME, is an optimized development platform for the creation of broadcast head-end equipment and advanced digital media and video applications, such as video infrastructure, which requires superior processing performance and streaming features. For more information see www.ti.com/1ghznvdk.

The NVDK is made of a rich-featured hardware board and all foundation software required for developing imaging and video applications, particularly those requiring network connectivity. The NVDK includes several expansion connectors along with the board to provide access to a wide range of the DSP's I/O resources and to enable custom digital interfaces as well as networking and audio/video I/Os. The analog TMS320AIC23 on the board converts audio from analog to digital. A full software package comes with the kit, including drivers and BSL, DSP Terminal, TCP/IP stack, API and technology demos as JPEG, H.263, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. The NVDK may be used in standalone mode with its own power supply or operate in a PC using its PCI interface.

In its 1 GHz version, the NVDK kit from ATEME now includes an essential software tools for evaluating H.264 decoding. The board decodes H.264 files and run them on a monitor that also displays information on the decoded streams. The H.264 decoder evaluation tool allows evaluating video quality and checking performance statistics of H.264 Baseline and Main Profiles decoder on DSP up to HD format.

"C64x-based DSPs are ideal processors for implementing advanced video encoders," said Marc Guillaumet, marketing director, ATEME. “The additional performance of the 1 GHz enables customers to achieve higher performance and even better video quality thus making it possible to have pre- and post-processing and more demanding algorithms, such as advanced codecs for this DSP, as substantiated by the performance benchmarks from the H.264 decoder evaluation tool.”

Customers developing with the C64x DSPs running at 1 GHz can take advantage of all of ATEME's catalog products, including audio and video compression algorithms and Kompressor, ATEME’s C64x-based encoding solution for broadcast.

The 1 GHz clock rate boosts the efficiency of existing optimized audio/video compression systems from ATEME. This combination of technologies not only brings higher performance, which achieves higher resolution and faster frame rates, but it also leaves more headroom to integrate several functions in a single chip. For example, audio and MPEG-4 video compression, RTP/RTSP streaming and other features related to a specific application can be integrated on a single 1 GHz C64x DSP.

"By working with ATEME, we are able to offer our customers highly optimized development tools that allow them to speed their development process for digital media applications," said Yvonne Cager, video solutions marketing manager, TI.

ATEME has continually provided leading-edge products based on the latest technologies from TI. TI's 1 GHz DSP allows ATEME to run advanced audio and video codecs at high resolution, like H.264 which is of prime importance for the streaming server and IPTV industries and video surveillance. This offering complements ATEME's current algorithm portfolio that includes WMV9, H.264, MPEG-4, SP, ASP, MPEG-2, JPEG and their associated audio (MPEG audio, MP3, AAC). Those libraries are optimized for TI's 1 GHz DSPs.

TI offers a full suite of production qualified products for video and audio applications including the DSP-based TMS320DM64x generation of digital media processors, which are appropriate for a range of client video products, and the 1 GHz C64x DSPs which are suited for video broadcast and infrastructure applications.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ateme.com/products

Availability
The new 1 GHz version of the NVDK can be purchased through the Texas Instruments distribution channel and ATEME. The NVDK development kit is also available in 600 MHz and 720 MHz versions from ATEME. Demonstrations of MPEG-4 ASP encode, full D1 resolution and AAC audio together with streaming capabilities, Nero Digital encoder and decoder and H.264 decoder are available now.

About Ateme

ATEME, headquartered in France (www.ateme.com), is a world leading provider of hardware and software systems for audio and video compression on DSP. ATEME delivers custom services on top of its development boards and algorithms. Since 2002, ATEME focuses on reference designs and complete solutions which target the specific markets of video-security, broadband/broadcast and consumer electronics. The result for OEM is a faster product design, a shorter time-to-market and overall costs reduction. ATEME operates worldwide thanks to its distribution network: Europe, Asia and USA.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers’ real-world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductors, the company’s businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at www.ti.com.

Trademarks
TMS320C64x™ is a trademark of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.