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November
20, 2000
Copyright 2000 Responsive Database Services, Inc.
Business and Industry
Copyright 2000 CMP Publications, Inc.
Electronic Buyers News
SECTION:
Pg. 46; ISSN: 0164-6362
RDS-ACC-NO:
02673747
LENGTH:
529 words
HEADLINE:
Vweb's chip sets sights on video encoding
BYLINE:
Bruce Gain
HIGHLIGHT:
Vweb offers VW2000 chip for video encoding applications, such as
video streaming for digital camcorders
BODY:
Vweb Corp., a two-year-old company that designs MPEG-2 video encoding
technology, is betting its first chip will help solve current glitches
in video streaming over the Internet.
Known
as VW2000, the chip's main selling point is an algorithm that allows
the device to require less than half the memory and gates of competing
technologies, according to the company.
"The
chip's proprietary search algorithm requires half the amount of
processing power based on the algorithm itself," said Bill Reckwerdt,
director of product marketing at Vweb, San Jose. "[Therefore] it
requires only half the data path to get the same amount of throughput
as the same-size decoder would normally get.
"The
second feature is the rate-control algorithm that can track 60 visual
parameters to more quickly monitor how images change," he added.
These
features enable the chip to use only 4 Mbytes of SDRAM with a 32-bit
SDRAM interface and less than 500,000 gates, Reckwerdt said. Vweb
claims competing chips use a minimum of 8 Mbytes of SDRAM and have
more than 1 million gates.
The
VW2000 also has a motion-vector search scheme, which the company
says reduces the chip's die size while boosting its search efficiency.
The
chip is aimed at video encoding applications, including video streaming
for digital camcorders, servers, personal video recorders, DVDs,
set-top boxes, and Internet appliances.
The
device also solves many of the problems associated with the "last
mile" of video networking, Reckwerdt said.
"Once
you get the video off the core network, there are problems with
congestion because there is no guaranteed bandwidth," he said. "Our
device sits at the edges and does traffic monitoring and adjusts
the bandwidth to the pipe. It also fits in at every edge, such as
between a metropolitan fiber ring and a metropolitan POP [post office
protocol]."
The
bandwidth varies with the application, Reckwerdt said. "At 384 Kbits/s
via DSL, we offer the highest-quality image at a bit rate that we
can achieve right now." The chip can also accommodate data rates
for higher-speed connections up to 15 Mbits/s, and offers better
quality at all those points compared with competing systems, he
said.
Vweb
is working toward designing its technology into devices manufactured
by Panasonic Semiconductor Development Co. and Geyser Networks Inc.
At last week's Comdex show in Las Vegas, Panasonic demonstrated
a Vweb chip used in video recorders interfaced with PCs and DVDs
Made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the VW2000 is $30
in 10,000s.
While
there is little doubt China will play an important role in producing
and consuming electronic systems and semiconductors, it will be
an evolutionary rather than revolutionary path, according to a recent
report from IC Insights Inc. The Chinese IC market is forecast to
grow an average of 29% a year through 2003, while IC unit volumes
are expected to increase 23% annually over the same period. Increasingly
complex and expensive ICs will drive the future of China's semiconductor
market, according to the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based market research
firm.
http://www.ebnonline.com/
November 20, 200
TYPE: Journal; Fulltext
JOURNAL-CODE:
ELECBUYN
LOAD-DATE:
November 30, 2000
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