Chips and Technologies' Graphics Controller Brings Live Video to New Toshiba Notebooks; CHIPS' 65548 product line supports Toshiba's high-performance notebook computers

Business Wire, Oct 23, 1995

Technologies, Inc. announced today that the new Toshiba 700 Series of 120-MHz, Pentium(TM) based notebook computers incorporates CHIPS' flat panel/CRT VGA 65548 graphics controller. This device enables vibrant, full-motion video in a Windows(R) 95 environment.

The 65548 is the first flat panel graphics controller to support burst mode transfers of up to 80 Mbytes over the PCI bus. PCI burst mode provides up to 30 percent faster performance than a comparable VL-based video system, a crucial factor in live video playback.

Just introduced, the top-of-the-line premium Toshiba 700 Series features 11.3-inch active matrix color (700CT) or 11.3-inch dual-scan color (700CS) screens. The active-matrix color screen offers up to 64K colors while the dual-scan display supports 256 colors at 800 x 600 dpi resolutions. When combined with the PCI burst mode, Sound Blaster Pro(TM) compatible audio and the 120-MHz Pentium processor, these features provide a new level of multimedia capabilities in a notebook computer.

The 700 Series also integrates an optional 5.25-inch quad-speed CD-ROM drive for professionals who need sophisticated multimedia presentations and live video playback in a Windows 95 environment, as well as high-speed data transfer -- all while on the road.

"Toshiba is committed to providing the best quality components in its portable computers. We chose to integrate the CHIPS 65548 graphics controller on the Tecra 700, because it provides superior performance, 3.3-volt operation in addition to meeting the performance demands of the 120-MHz Pentium processor," said Jeffrey Friederichs, director of product marketing for the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba America. "We found no other graphics controller that provided the high level of support for multimedia presentations and video playback in a portable environment."

About the 65548

The 65548 brings to users the ability to display live video on-screen as part of presentations, reports and training exercises. It is both software and pin compatible with its predecessor, the 65545, and maintains a video port for backward compatibility with existing members of CHIPS' family of flat panel controllers. These controllers are found in the industry's leading notebooks from manufacturers that include Toshiba, Apple, Digital, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and NEC.

"When we defined our product line, we wanted to offer full-motion video playback capability, and enable the OEM to quickly and cost-effectively develop complete product families," said Steve Preston, product marketing manager at Chips and Technologies. "The 65548's compatibility with its predecessors provides OEMs with an easy upgrade path to higher performance and future multimedia requirements."

The 65548 integrates Chips and Technologies' proprietary video cache technology, which boosts graphics performance by up to 50 percent and reduces power consumption in the frame buffers. It also supports high-speed EDO DRAMs, and minimizes CPU overhead with Windows linear acceleration drivers and an integrated BitBLT engine optimized for Windows(R) applications.

To maximize design flexibility, the 65548 supports the 32-bit VL local bus and the PCI bus, and features a direct 32-bit memory bus and an 8-level FIFO for fast memory write and zero-wait-state CPU operation. Built-in video overlay capability allows OEMs to access virtually any video source and display live video images in a Windows environment.

The 65548 offers simultaneous CRT and flat panel operation, as well as up to 64k colors at a resolution of 800 x 600 on an active matrix display. It supports 5 volts, 3.3 volts, and mixed-voltage operation. Both video cache and power down modes help reduce power consumption and stretch battery life. CHIPS supplies VGA-compatible BIOS. Additional VGA BIOS are available from third-party manufacturers. Also available are high-performance drivers for Windows, Windows NT, Windows 95 and OS2(R).

About CHIPS

Chips and Technologies, Inc., (NASDAQ:CHPS) is a fabless supplier of highly integrated semiconductor and software solutions which provide graphics, video and other capabilities to portable and desktop computers. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft in the U.S. and other countries. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation. OS/2 is a trademark of IBM. Sound Blaster Pro is a trademark of Creative Laboratories. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Chips and Technologies, Inc.

Steve Preston, 408/434-0600

or

MQPR

Matthew Quint, 510/651-9744