SGS-Thomson has MPEG-1 kit

Electronic News, Sept 19, 1994

LINCOLN, MASS. - SGS-Thomson Electronics, to spur sales of its MPEG-1 video decoders and upcoming audio decoders, is offering OEMs that design multimedia PCs an MPEG-1 developers, kit which can play back CDs from several popular platforms. "We're providing to our customers a very fast and risk free route to developing multi-media systems," said Dominic Laval, product marketing manager for SGS-Thomson. "The ultimate goal is to sell more STi3400s."

SGS-Thomson is wagering it can ship more of its STi3400 video decoders by giving OEMs the tools they need to develop systems that can play back CDs with different bit streams, including a PC system's hard drive, Compact Disk-Interactive (CD-I), Video CD, standard CD ROM and Karaoke. Mr. Laval said OEMs will be able to offer a complete MPEG solution to the consumer for $200 or less within a few months after purchasing the kit.

Besides the video decoder and audio decoder, the kit comes with an ISA board, a bill of materials and Windows-compatible software drivers. A wide range of video processors can be used interchangeably on the ISA board. Available now, the developers' kit lists for $3,000.

The STi3400 is a real-time decompression processor supporting MPEG-1 and H.261 standards at the SIF or CIF picture formats. Digital video output can be formatted for PAL or NTSC interlaced displays. For complete decompression, the STi3400 works with an 8- or 16-bit microcontroller and a single DRAM typically configured at 256Kx16. The decoder is also suited for video conferencing systems.

The STi3400 is also being marketed along with Sanyo Electric's LC8230 MPEG audio decoder for consumer CD video applications (EN, June 21, 1993). SGS-Thomson also offers an MPEG-2 decoder, the STi3500, used for Direct TV in set-top boxes.

The STi3400 works in tandem with an audio decoder for synchronized audio and video. Currently, the kit comes with an audio decoder made by Texas Instruments, but SGS-Thomson said it will provide its own STi4510 by October. The audio decoder will be priced under $10 in high-quantity volumes and will be sold as a stand-alone product and as part of the MPEG developers' kit. The device is designed to decode Audio Layer I and II at three sample rates - 42, 44.1 and 48Khz. All told, the company expects to sell 1 million decoder ICs in 1994.

The STi3400 and STi3500 decoders are manufactured using a proprietary HCMOS4 0.7-micron CMOS process in Crolles, France and Carrollton, Tex.