Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Group Drives Open Multimedia Development By Partnering With Leading Software Companies; Leading Digital Audio Developer, InVision Interactive, Supports TriMedia's TM-1 Programmable Multimedia Chip

Business Wire, June 6, 1996

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 1996--As part of its strategy of providing an open platform which will drive the development of new, innovative multimedia applications, Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Product Group today announced a development partnership with InVision Interactive, Inc., a leader in digital audio technology.

Under the agreement, Philips will integrate CyberSound's sophisticated music synthesis technology in the forthcoming TriMedia TM-1 programmable multimedia digital signal processor, central processing unit (DSP/CPU) chip.

Additionally, the CyberSound code libraries will be available to TriMedia customers so that they can develop state-of-the-art audio capabilities for their multimedia applications.

These new capabilities are in addition to TriMedia's support of Microsoft's DirectX application programming interface (API), including the direct sound interface. This gives the TM-1 chip powerful sound effects and positional audio capabilities. The combination of industry standard API support and CyberSound's innovative technology will enable TM-1 customers to more easily develop sophisticated multimedia applications utilizing advanced sound capabilities.

Unlike other multimedia coprocessors, the TriMedia TM-1 DSP/CPU offers an open development environment which will allow developers to create exciting, new multimedia applications for their target markets.

Developers and computer system designers will be able to design leading-edge applications that can be easily customized for specific applications by using ANSI C and C code libraries provided by Philips. The flexibility and openness of this approach will help drive a fresh wave of sophisticated multimedia applications in the PC, set-top box, and consumer markets.

Today's announcement is the first in a series from TriMedia and independent software vendors (ISVs) in the coming months. Industry leading system software, developer tools, and application developers are hailing TriMedia's programmable, open approach as the logical step forward in driving the multimedia applications market to the next level.

TriMedia Robust Development Environment

According to Robert Seltzer, marketing manager for TriMedia: "We are very pleased to partner with InVision and offer CyberSound as part of TriMedia's robust development environment. This new partnership demonstrates broad industry support for the TriMedia family of products and we anticipate announcing more of these strategic software partnerships in the near future.

"The combination of the powerful TriMedia coprocessor and CyberSound software audio architecture will provide state-of-the-art audio capabilities for the next generation of consumer and business multimedia solutions and applications."

"InVision's CyberSound technology brings virtually all the capabilities of a fully compliant General MIDI synthesizer to the TriMedia chip," said Scott France, InVision's president and CEO.

"Philips had many choices for audio synthesis and we consider it a huge win that such a major player in this industry has endorsed CyberSound. The TM-1 chip with CyberSound can now transform a desktop computer into a powerful musical instrument without even needing a sound card."

The TriMedia chip is capable of concurrently processing audio, video, graphics, and communications data at up to four billion operations per second. Combining these functions on one DSP/CPU makes it possible to create entertainment, education, set-top TV, and video conferencing products with an affordable price and high performance aimed at both the PC and consumer markets.

The TriMedia core is based on the VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) architecture and is fully programmable in high-level C and C languages on UNIX and PC platforms. The relatively inexpensive TriMedia chip can reduce time to market for its OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers through the ease of C programmability and the advanced algorithms available from both Philips and ISVs.

That quicker time to market, along with open systems and easy upgrading as standards change, minimizes development costs and thus can help keep end-user products competitively priced. The TM-1 DSP/CPU is currently under development.

Philips' Consumer Expertise Drives Multimedia to Next Level

"The TriMedia DSP/CPU is a high performance product that is driving Philips Semiconductors' expertise in digital technologies and strong presence in consumer markets into the computing sphere. Philips fully expects TriMedia to become the industry standard for multimedia applications," according to Seltzer.

The TriMedia Product Group of Philips Semiconductors was established in 1994 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. The mission of the product group is to bring to market high-performance, programmable DSP/CPU technology that will power the next generation of multimedia products at an affordable price. TriMedia is part of Philips' Communications and Multimedia Business Group. Philips created this Business Group to demonstrate its commitment to serving the needs of the growing multimedia market.