NEC ships CompCore's MPEG-1 software with its new PC-9800 series desktop computer

Business Wire, Dec 4, 1995

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 1995--CompCore Multimedia Inc. today announced that NEC Corporation, the leading manufacturer of desktop personal computers in Japan, is now shipping CompCore's "SoftPEG" MPEG-1 video and audio player software with its popular PC-9800 Series of personal computers.

NEC recently launched its latest version of Japan's number one selling PC, the PC-9800 Series desktop computer. Nine new machines available in 28 models will bundle CompCore's SoftPEG MPEG-1 player. SoftPEG is a software MPEG-1 video and audio decoder developed by CompCore which allows PC users to play high quality video and stereo audio CDs without requiring additional specialized chips or boards.

MPEG is an international standard for the encoding (compressing) and decoding (decompressing) of digital video and audio information. CompCore licenses SoftPEG to PC manufacturers, graphics chips and card manufacturers, video CD publishers, game makers and software developers to provide an inexpensive MPEG-1 video/audio player.

"We are very pleased to have SoftPEG bundled with Japan's number one selling PC," said George Haber, president and CEO of CompCore Multimedia Inc. "NEC's desktop PC customers will now be able to play the latest MPEG-1 Video CD 2.0 or Karaoke CDs using Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 without purchasing specialized hardware."

Video CD is an established standard CD format which can play full motion video by using the Compact Disc (CD) format. The latest version of this CD format, Video CD 2.0, supports the ability to navigate through numerous MPEG video files allowing the user to make playback control decisions through pre-programmed menus. CompCore's new Video CD 2.0 version of SoftPEG now features end user interactivity for video CDs which is important for entertainment, training and educational applications.

SoftPEG is a fully contained software application which includes video and stereo audio decoding and a new easy to use graphical user interface. This new version of software also supports the most popular CD formats (Video CD 1.1/2.0, CD-I, Karaoke, Sigma Designs) and display graphics accelerator chips/boards which utilize Display Control Interface (DCI) and Direct Draw commands. SoftPEG can be packaged with OEM hardware products for added value, or bundled with MPEG video titles which can then be played on a PC or other general purpose computers. Evaluation software for OEM customers is available on a 30 day trial basis from CompCore.

CompCore Multimedia Inc. is the leading video and audio decoder technology provider for MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) products. Founded in 1993, CompCore is a privately held California corporation headquartered in Santa Clara. As one of its primary businesses, CompCore offers MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 audio and video hardware designs to enable its OEM customers to manufacture and ship the highest quality, lowest cost MPEG products in the industry.

In addition, CompCore also provides its OEM customers with a software version of its MPEG-1 technology called "SoftPEG." SoftPEG runs on most standard workstations and PCs and enables end users to play MPEG-1 CD's on their personal computers without requiring specialized hardware. CompCore's technologies have been adopted by many of the largest PC, graphics boards and chip manufacturers in the world including Hitachi, NEC, Packard Bell, Cirrus Logic, ATI and others. -0-

Note to Editors: SoftPEG is a trademark of CompCore Multimedia Inc. Windows 95 is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

CONTACT: CompCore Multimedia Inc.

Ron Richter, 408/567-0552

or

AMAC Corporation

Satoru Nakamura, 415/424-1992 (Japan representative)

Email: kyk05516@niftyserve.or.jp