ESS Technology Introduces Multimedia Interface Chip

Business Wire, March 22, 1995

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1995--ESS Technology, Inc. today introduced the ES968, a Multimedia Interface Chip which enables multiple devices to connect and communicate within a Multimedia PC. "The ES968 provides connectivity for serveral devices important to a multimedia PC system," stated Bill Windsor, ESS Strategic Marketing Manager. "Multimedia PCs commonly need interfaces to CD-ROM, MIDI music synthesizer, computer games controls such as joysticks, and to configure add-in cards within Microsoft's Plug and Play standard. The ES968 provides all this."

The ES968 contains dual game ports to connect two joysticks to a multimedia PC, enabling two people to play interactive games simultaneously. The chip's MPU-401 serial port interface connects directly to a MIDI music synthesizer. The CD-ROM interface connects to IDE CD-ROMs and also to several CD-ROMs with proprietary interfaces. The ES968 supports the full add-in card Plug and Play standard.

The ES968 connects directly to several of ESS Technology's Audio Drive family of audio chips, including the ES688, ES1688, and ES1888. ESS' AudioDrive supports PC stereo audio under Microsft Windows, Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Windows Sound System 2.0, in addition to IBM OS/2 Warp operating systems.

The ES968 comes in a 100-pin PQFP and is sampling now. List pricing for the ES968 at OEM quantities is $4.50.

ESS Technology, Inc., designs, develops and markets mixed-signal integrated circuits for speech, sound, and multimedia solutions for applications that range from PCs and instrumentation to consumer products. The company was founded in 1984, and holds 14 worldwide patents in time-domain audio compression and reconstruction technology. Since 1989, ESS has shipped over 70 million audio ICs.

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Note to Editors: AudioDrive is a registered trademark of ESS Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

For more information, please contact ESS Technology Sales Department, phone (510) 226-1088, fax (510) 226-8868.

CONTACT: ESS Technology, Inc., 510/226-1088