EPSON Launches IEEE 1394-IDE Bridge Interface ICs and Boards; Unique Architecture Offers Increased Speed and Performance, High Integration, Reduces Time-to-Market for OEMs

Business Wire, Jan 8, 2001

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

CES 2001

Booth No. 3747

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2001

EPSON Electronics America (EEA) Monday announced 1394 solutions comprising IEEE 1394 Link/Transaction controller IC (SPC7281F) and IEEE 1394-IDE bridge interface boards (DMT7281).

These second-generation products are being introduced to the Americas as part of EPSON's global strategic direction to support a complete spectrum of interface solutions for IEEE 1394. In doing so, EPSON offers engineers the ability to design products for speed, while drastically reducing their time-to-market.

"These 1394 compliant ICs and board solutions bring together EPSON's system expertise along with our very own 32-bit microcontroller, analog design and flash memory processing capabilities that, combined, enable us to outperform our competitors' products.

"In addition, our ownership of all the key intellectual property enables us to provide both standard and customizable solutions," said Kazushi Ito, senior IC product marketing manager, EPSON Electronics America Inc.

"This is a particularly attractive feature for our customers in disk storage, HDD, CD-RW and DVD-ROM. In the near future, PC peripherals, scanners, printers and digital home electronics, DVD players, set-top boxes can benefit from EPSON's 1394 technology," added Ito.

The SPC7281 integrates a Link/Transaction controller and provides hardware-based SBP-2 support, Phy/Link interface, IDE interface, EPSON's own 32-bit RISC processor with 8Kbytes of built-in RAM, and 64Kbytes Flash ROM. The product is available in two QFP package options: 1.7mm high with 0.4mm pin pitch and 2.7mm high with 0.5mm pin pitch.

The DMT7281 is an IEEE 1394-IDE bridge interface board suitable for connecting IEEE 1394 to an Ultra-DMA 33 disk drive. The development board is populated with EPSON's SPC7281 Link/Transaction controller, a Phy chip, external emulation memories and ICD33 debugger interface to enable speedy system development, thereby saving valuable time and investment.

Additional optional board level support is available, including schematics, bill of materials/parts list and PCB.

"The market for devices supporting IEEE 1394 continues to experience dramatic growth, exceeding 100 percent in 2000 compared to 1999," said Mark Kirstein, vice president of research, Cahners In-Stat Group (www.instat.com).

"The growth is driven by adoption of the interface across more SKUs in the computing and digital camcorder markets and adoption by more device categories in both the computer and consumer electronics industries."

Kirstein added that In-Stat's report issued earlier this year indicated continued adoption of the interface, with total shipments of IEEE 1394 ports approaching 30 million units in 2000, up from 12 million units the previous year.

EPSON's SPC728X product family is currently available in volume production and is shipping to major CD-R OEMs in Japan and has received recommendations from a major U.S. computer manufacturer. Pricing is dependent on volume and is in the range of $15/piece for orders of 100K a year. The DMT7281 demonstration board products are also available in Q1 2001.

In addition, EPSON's aggressive IEEE 1394 product introduction schedule indicates availability of products to support DMA-66 and highly integrated solutions that combine both Link and PHY functions into a single chip. For more information on EPSON's products, visit the Web site at www.eea.epson.com.

About EPSON Electronics America Inc.

EPSON Electronics America (EEA), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seiko EPSON Corp., Japan. EEA is chartered to market, sell and support EPSON's electronic devices in the Americas. These products and services include semiconductors, silicon foundry, packaging and assembly services, quartz devices, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and device applied products.

For sales information, visit EPSON Electronics America on the Web at www.eea.epson.com.

Note to Editors: All other products, services, or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarked, registered, or copyrighted by their respective owners.