SONY'S VIRTUOSO™ IC FAMILY PROVIDES INDUSTRY LEADING
COMPONENT INTEGRATION FOR DVB SET-TOP BOX AND DVD
APPLICATIONS
MPEG2 Decoder NanoOS™ API Provides Breakthrough In Customized Portable Solutions
SAN JOSE, July 14, 1997 -- Sony Semiconductor Company of America (SSA), a division of Sony Electronics Inc.,
today announced a semiconductor design solution for DVB (digital video broadcasting) set-top box and DVD (digital
versatile disk) applications.
The chips in the Virtuoso family include all major analog and digital functions needed for set-top box design,
providing industry leading component integration and setting new price/performance benchmarks. In addition, the
portable architecture is compatible with leading software APIs (application programming interfaces) enabling Sony to
quickly and easily accommodate emerging OEM requirements.
"With the Virtuoso family, we achieve the industry's highest level of integration in the lowest number of chips
with superb picture resolution,"" said Jodie Hughes, vice president and general manager of the consumer A/V/D
group, SSA. "With expertise in both analog and digital semiconductor technology, Sony is one of the few companies
with the resources to successfully offer the total silicon solution for DVB set-top box and DVD design."
The first chip to be introduced in the Virtuoso family is the CXD1930, a highly
integrated MPEG2 video audio decoder. This cost-effective device combine more features in a single chip than
competitive alternatives. It also offers a unique programmable architecture for flexibility and efficiency when
incorporating customer-specific requirements. In addition to digital set-top boxes, the CXD1930 is ideal for DVD
consumer applications either embedded in a DVD players or added to PC features.
The CXD1930 features programmable demultiplexing for transport streams associated with MPEG1/MPEG2 MP&ML video decoding
in 16Mbit SDRAM, and MPEG1/MPEG2/full Dolby Digital (AC-3) 5.1 channel data stream audio decoding. Additional features
include digital NTSC/PAL video encoding, 8bpp graphics, sub-picture decoder for DVD and letter-box, and pan-scan video
aspect ratio conversion. An internal proprietary embedded RISC processor controls real time task switching processes
through the CXD1930's NanoOS.
"Sony's NanoOS raises the API standards bar in meeting the challenges associated with performance, flexibility and
hardware independence goals," said Hughes. "These features are required by digital set-top box OEMs in the
rapidly changing market for cable, terrestrial and satellite delivery applications."
The NanoOS, a compact real-time operating system, handles fixed proprietary tasks and virtual memory, providing
programming ease and flexibility in real-time control. It is optimized to balance instruction memory and supportive
functionality. In addition, the NanoOS handles high level system functions such as audio/video/sub-title synchronization,
proprietary error concealment and advanced trick play commands.
"Any digital set-top box design can be implemented quickly by using consistent API's and Sony's NanoOS
customization capabilities to meet unique Cable/DBS customer requirements," said Vish Nayak, director of marketing,
for multimedia products, SSA. "This capability, in addition to the wide range of integrated features, sets our new
MPEG2 decoder apart from competitive alternatives."
Sony will also provide a demonstration board for comprehensive evaluation of the CXD1930 for both DVD and DVB
applications. The board comes with a software development kit, a micro-kernel and a hierarchical API set which supports
a wide range of functionality from low-level debugging to system level application layers.
The software API set includes state-of-the-art features such as reverse on all frames for DVD applications, TV system
conversion (NTSC/PAL/Film), jacket picture support, image tiling, multiple horizontal graphics windows, a patented
proprietary video error concealment, multi-modal audio, video and sub-picture synchronization and support for VideoCD
with powerful error handling.
The API set enables software portability and quick hardware upgrades. It also reduces design support costs and
increases platform independence.
"The board software API is supported by a downloadable microcode that is managed by the NanoOS kernel," said
Dr. Taner Ozcelik, software design manager, for video and graphics products, SSA. "Efficient task scheduling
and execution algorithms provided by NanoOS extract the optimum hardware-software performance point for the features
integrated into the CXD1930."
The CXD1930 is packaged as a 208-pin PQFP (plastic quad flat package) and is available now in sample quantities for
$55. Volume production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 1998. (All pricing is in US dollars and is
applicable to sales in North America only.)
As part of the Virtuoso family, Sony will shortly announce IC solutions for satellite tuners, a forward error
correction (FEC) decoder device and MPEG-2 encoding products in addition to the CXD1930 MPEG2 video audio decoder. Like
the CXD1930, these products are highly integrated to provide a feature-packed comprehensive solution for system level
design.
SSA, based in San Jose, Calif., is a leading manufacturer of integrated circuits. Since 1983, Sony has designed,
engineered and manufactured products for the US semiconductor market. The company is a leading supplier and technology
leader in the development of semiconductor solutions for newly-emerging and cutting-edge high performance markets in
multimedia, communications and workstation cache memory. Currently it offers a diverse array of innovative products
ranging from memory to multimedia, communications, networking and wireless ICs.
Vertically integrated for fast product development and production, Sony is positioned to respond quickly to customer
needs. The company includes a state-of-the-art design center in San Jose and wafer fabrication facilities in San
Antonio, Texas.
Customer contact:
Please contact your local
area sales representative
for customer support.
