Videonics and Sharp Electronics Demonstrate New High-Speed Video DSP Technology at Embedded Systems Conference

Business Wire, Nov 6, 1998

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 1998--Sharp Digital Information Products and Videonics, Inc., (Nasdaq:VDNX) today announced that they are demonstrating their new high-speed video DSP technology at the Embedded Systems Conference.

This is the first demonstration of the technology resulting from the partnership between Sharp Information Products and Videonics. The partnership will result in the development of core Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology for future Videonics branded products.

Videonics is the first company to use Sharp Digital Information Products' new DDMP (Data-Driven Multimedia Processor) technology. "The power, speed, and design advantages of Sharp's DDMP solution are an excellent match for the kind of cost-effective, powerful, and flexible designs Videonics products demand," said Videonics' Vice-President of R&D, Steve Peters.

"Because DDMP design is straightforward, it's relatively easy to develop and debug. This is an important consideration in the fast-paced world of video production."

Videonics is known for using advanced technology to achieve the highest price/performance in video editing and processing equipment. Its mixers and video titlers are industry standards in video production.

"DDMP is an extremely capable high-speed data processor, especially suitable for such tasks as video signal processing. Therefore, we are very encouraged that DDMP has been adopted by Videonics, an eminent video editing equipment manufacturer", said Dr. Souichi Miyata, General Manager of the Media Processor Business Development Project at Sharp Corporation in Tenri, Japan.

"We hope to build a strong partnership into the future with Videonics in the area of new product development."

Videonics' Chief Technologist, Mark Hahn, cited the power of the DDMP and its design approach as key factors in its selection. "Sophisticated manipulation of high-bandwidth video streams requires significant processing power. The DDMP is the most cost-effective way we have found to achieve this kind of power. It replaces the hard tooling expense and long lead time associated with ASICs. Sharp's 'flowgraph' design methodology is a natural for hardware engineers."

"DDMP functions can be altered by reloading its program, making it much more flexible than traditional hardware or ASIC designs," Hahn continued.

"It is highly scalable, so adding processors increases overall system throughput. Its clockless (asynchronous) design simplifies board layout and reduces RF interference design headaches. And we have had excellent support from Sharp in incorporating this new technology."

About Videonics

Videonics is a leading designer of high-quality, affordable, and easy to use digital video post-production equipment for the broadcast, cable, business and industry video post-production markets and the home video producer. Videonics products include edit controllers, mixers, signal processors, character generators and video editing software solutions.

Its stock is traded in the U.S. on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol VDNX. More information on Videonics may be obtained from the company's SEC filings, or by contacting the company directly. Videonics press releases can be found on the company web site at http://www.videonics.com/press-releases/

About Sharp Digital Information

Sharp Digital Information Products is an innovator in standard and custom high speed, low power parallel processors with various performance ranges. Sharp Digital Information Products is a proven leader in machine vision image processing products and remote access camera systems. For detailed information, please visit SDI's website at http://www.sharpsdi.com

With headquarters located in Huntington Beach, Calif., products from Sharp Digital Information Products are marketed through a worldwide network of authorized distributors, who provide sales, technical support and consultative services.

Note to Editors: All brand and product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.