NEC Electronics and NuCORE Technology Introduce MPEG2 Codec Evaluation Kit to Ease Camcorder and Video DSC Development

Business Wire, Oct 8, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CEATEC

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2003

NEC Electronics (HQ in Kawasaki, Japan) and NuCORE Technology (HQ in California, USA) have jointly developed an MPEG2 Codec Evaluation Kit for portable devices, featuring energy-saving MPEG2 Codec LSI "uPD61151" and NuCORE's CleanCapture(TM) image processors. The Kit provides an easy-to-use and flexible evaluation and development environment for the developers of portable A/V devices such as camcorders and digital still cameras.

In recent years, we have seen a wide proliferation of DVD recorders, hard disk recorders and other digital A/V signal recording devices being developed using MPEG2 technology. In addition to applications in desktop models, the technology is now enabling digital recording with high audio and visual qualities in portable devices such as digital video cameras (DVC) and digital still cameras (DSC), amidst the emergence of compact and large capacity storage media and advanced circuit integration.

In March this year, NEC Electronics became the world's first manufacturer to launch mass production and shipment of the uPD61151/52 family of energy-saving MPEG2 Codec devices, with a view to broadening their application to portable devices.

NEC then worked with NuCORE's CleanCapture(TM) series of image processors for portable devices, well reputed for their analog front-end performance and digital image processing performance. The result is a three-chip system capable of performing all processes involved in recording and replaying video images. NEC Electronics will be conducting a technology demo on high-resolution video recording and replaying using the kit at the NEC Electronics booth in the "CEATEC JAPAN 2003" trade show at Makuhari Messe, running from October 7 to 11, 2003.

At the same time, an evaluation kit has been developed for clients involved in evaluation and development, covering all components required for DVC and DSC, including optical parts (lens, CCD, etc.) and memory card interfaces (SD/CF, etc.). The kit can be used to evaluate basic performance, such as picture quality or as a reference system to shorten evaluation and design time for camera developers.

NuCORE Technology's software development tools offer a complete development environment for firmware, RTOS, and file system work. The development environment provides essential camera functions such as advanced APIs and shortens the design cycle for camera developers, allowing them to save time and effort on developing feature functions.

The evaluation kit has the following components and characteristics:

(1) MPEG2 Codec part "uPD61151 (by NEC Electronics)"

-- MPEG2-PS (Video: MP@ML compatible / Audio: MPEG1 Layer2)

-- Inheriting NEC Electronics' MPEG2 encoding technology,

widely applied in various A/V devices

-- Energy-saving operation of 330mW (VGA, 30 frame per

second) during encoding

(2) Analog image processor "CleanCapture(TM) NDX-1260 (by NuCORE

Technology)"

-- 16-bit precision, 50 Mega pixels/s fast ADC, function for

adjusting pixel-level programmable gain.

(3) Digital image processor "CleanCapture(TM) SiP-1270 (by NuCORE

Technology)"

-- High-resolution image processing based on the pipeline

processing technology at up to 75 Mega pixels/s,

high-quality digital zoom engine, fast JPEG engine,

built-in ARM9 processor.

(4) The combination of the above three chips covers all functions

(signal processing, mechanical control, etc.) required for

camcorders.

(5) Provides API, RTOS, etc. supports camera functions to simplify

software development.

(6) Provides the image tuning tool, Configuration and Camera

Tuning Tool, (CCTI) for easy reflection of OEM know-how and

picture quality tuning.

The evaluation kit will be available in the first quarter of 2004.

NEC Electronics and NuCORE Technology will continue their partnership to deliver best-in-class solutions to the digital portable AV device market (DVC, DSC, etc.), a market segment with great potential.

Information on the MPEG2 Codec LSI "uPD61151" and CleanCapture(TM) chipset is also available on the websites of NEC Electronics and NuCORE Technology.

NEC Electronics website: http://www.necel.com

NuCORE Technology website: http://www.nucore.co.jp/nu2/index.html

About NEC Electronics

NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handsets, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 24 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.necelam.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.ee.nec.de). In addition to marketing, selling and supporting NEC Electronics products to customers in their respective regions, NEC Electronics America and NEC Electronics Europe also operate local manufacturing facilities in Roseville, California, and Ballivor, Ireland, respectively. Additionally, NEC Electronics America for North America and NEC Electronics Europe for Europe are the sales and marketing channels of NEC AM-LCD and PDP modules. For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.