The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.---
Issue #0348------------------01/30/04

 

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0348.1 Hot Topics

0348.2 Story of the Issue

0348.3 Broadband

0348.4 Wireless

0348.5 VoIP

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0348.1 Hot Topics

*** Pericom Semiconductor Launches New Broadband Differential Switch Technology
(January 26)

Pericom Semiconductor introduced PI3USBxx (USB), PI3DBVxx (Video), and next generation PI3Lxx (LAN) switches that address applications requiring up to 700 MHz of bandwidth.

Features:
Differential Switch (PI3USB)
-Channel-to-channel matching < 0.5-Ohm
-Supports differential signaling protocols like USB2.0,
LVDS and IEEE 1394
-Configurations for 1 to 4 differential pairs
-Bandwidth >500 MHz

Video Switch (PI3DBV)
-Bandwidth>400 MHz
-Supports video standards including LVDS + TMDS signaling
-Allows multiplexing between multiple video sources
-Bi-directional switching

LAN Switch (PI3L)
-Supports 10/100/1000 Ethernet specs
-Replaces second PHY to support additional ports
-5V and 3V supply voltage operation
-Package layout optimized (reduces cross-talk between signal
lines)

Availability and Pricing:

Free product samples, datasheets, IBIS models, technical support, and application notes are available on the company website. Pricing is configuration dependant. A four channel device starts at $1.50 in 500 unit quantities.

Datasheets: http://www.pericom.com/assp
Press Graphic: http://www.pericom.com/prgraphics

http://www.pericom.com


*** Airbee Wireless Launches Medium Access Control Software
(January 27)

Airbee Wireless Inc. announced the release of its first UltraLiteseries Medium Access Control Software.

The Airbee UltraLite MAC is intelligent wireless protocol stack software that resides on a microchip. This product release supports peer-to-peer topology using a proprietary communication protocol. It is the first in a planned series of products that will support wireless networking in Star and Mesh topologies and in combinations of these.

The UltraLite MAC has a low memory footprint and can be employed in applications such as industrial automation/SCADA, home automation, office automation, appliances, medical device monitoring, toys, and other applications primarily in the WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) space. The UltraLite MAC provides authenticated data communication between peer devices.

http://www.airbeewireless.com


*** National Semiconductor Introduces Filter-less Class D Boomer Audio Amplifier
(January 26)

National Semiconductor Corporation introduced LM4667, a filter-less Boomer audio amplifier for cellular phones and portable consumer devices.

It is housed in a micro SMD package. The LM4667 processes analog inputs with a delta-sigma modulation technique. Operating on a single 3V supply, it is capable of driving 8Ohm transducer loads at a continuous average output of 450mW with less than 1% THD+N. Its power supply requirements allow operation from 2.7V to 5.5V.

Pricing and Availability

The LM4667 is available now in 9-bump micro SMD packaging and is priced at $0.48 in 1,000-unit quantities. More information on the LM4667 is available at http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM4667.html


http://www.national.com
http://www.national.com/appinfo/audio

0348.2 Story of the Issue

*** CES 2004
By John Latta

January 7-9
Las Vegas, Nevada

The 2004 International CES spanned 1.38 million net square feet and brought together 129,000 industry professionals, 2,400 exhibiting companies and 18,000 international travelers from 110 countries. COMDEX has been left in the dust.

Keynotes

The PC industry needs another source of income in order to grow when the PC sales are flat. The hot target is CE. Thus, there were forceful presentations at this event by Microsoft, HP and Intel. Overall we felt the presentation by Intel was the most coherent.

Bill Gates, Microsoft

Bill Gates said the industry could now deliver on its promises to consumers.

Microsoft has shown a path to this business with the Media PC and the PC industry is embracing this. But we got tired of the phrase – seamless integration. Consumers do not buy seamless products, they buy products that appeal to them.

One of the highlights of the presentation was an illustration of media content management. This was not promised as a product but showed a very slick interface on how photos could be managed using content and other attributes.

Fumio Ohtsubo, President, Panasonic AVC Networks Company

Panasonic showed innovative products and this is because it is a CE company. It is easy to play lip service to ease of use but an altogether different issue to implement in practice. Here the Japanese CE companies have also stumbled. It was interesting that Panasonic showed clips from focus groups and ‘ease of use’ was an important issue. The most interesting demo was that of 100Mb/s over power. This was done with two extension cords on stage. The data being transferred was HD.

Paul Otellini, President and COO, Intel

Intel announced an Entertainment PC. Intel is entering the display business with LCOS technology. Paul Otellini did a play on words with WiFi and stated that the digital house needed WiFi, Veri-Fi, High-Fi, Ampli-Fi and Simpli-Fi. All content would be stored on media servers with a user interface that would be simple, intuitive and easy to use. Paul Otellini embraced the need for IP protection and got stage support from Revelations Entertainment.

The PC industry, as it takes on this new market, recognizes the “old way” will not work. The song has the words of seamless, simplify, reliable and no manual in it. Paul Otellini used the 2’ vs. 10’ interface to describe how Intel recognizes the attributes of the market and cited statistics that 1.5B CE products will be sold from 2004 to 2006.

The expectations of the PC industry players are high and reflected in the videos shown by Intel with the message – we are here to get rid of the AV mess in your home.

Carly Fiorina, Chairman and CEO, HP

HP announced Digital Entertainment System and that it would be selling Digital Displays.

Carly Fiorina went all out with the stage presence of Jimmy Iovine of Interscoope Geffen A&M records. Jimmy rolled out an impressive list of artists to demonstrate how committed he is to HPs efforts on IP protection. All felt good about the entertainers but no details given on how these omnipresent issues would be solved.

Carly said that media could be delivered to any device anywhere. HP announced it will be making and selling a version of iPOD, interesting but hardly innovative.

Michael Powell, Chairman FCC

He is open, passionate and very knowledgeable. Here is a sample of his comments.

The most fundamental change in the last 18 months was WiFi. Wires are an impediment to the deployment of technology.

Think in terms of the 3S’s:
Silicon
Speed
Storage
These all change at rapid rates and redefine the role of technology.

During a recent trip to California I saw “RF dust.” These are small RF chips that can be scattered in a vineyard that report on the status of the vines. The chips can barely be seen on ones small finger. This is an example of the type of innovation we are seeing.

Due to the impact of WiFi the FCC will make available more unlicensed spectrum available. We need to fundamentally rethink the concept of a spectrum license. It should be like a driver’s license. That is, a driver’s license does not mandate what type of car one drives but there are rules of use such as speed limits. Today spectrum licenses are so narrow that they force unnecessary reviews for trivial issues that have no meaningful impact. A spectrum licensee should be free to use the spectrum for voice, data or even relicense it.

In VoIP all talk about phone service. Wake up – it is not about phone service. One can do most things anywhere. We must keep in mind that if we regulate VoIP it does not need to be in the US. Noting prevents a provider from dropping servers in Italy. We have had 100 years of regulation of the phone service. We cannot just extend such regulation to VoIP. One of the problems is that there is no way to tell if the bits are for phone or data or video. Recall that we have extensive regulations based on the type of service; 1,000’s of pages for phone, 1,000’s of pages for video, i.e., cable. If we regulate VoIP service it implies that we regulate these other types of services on the Internet.

In the next year VoIP will be a hot issue. We need to avoid the duck mentality that says: if it sounds like a duck and walks like a duck we must regulate the duck. We should not ask Vonage to have a 30 person regulatory staff. VoIP brings lower costs to consumers and brings competition.

One of the roles of government is to help set visions. We need to get past the trivial debates of regulation and deregulation.

Products

Shell HomeGenie

Shell HomeGenie is slickly packaged. The appeal is as a home management system. Backed by technology from Motorola and using OSGi as a foundation this could have legs.

We discussed the product with Shell.

Why is Shell doing this?
This is an extension of Shell’s worldwide presence in energy.

Is this a platform?
Yes, we can offer more home sensors from Motorola.

Ah. What if a hospital came to offer a remotely managed
individual health monitoring system in a home that could
support a community? Would Shell be interested in this?
Maybe in the future.

Retail purchase - $899 includes installation.
Monthly cost - $24.95
Customer must have broadband connection.


iBIZ – Virtual Keyboard is ready to Launch

The Virtual Keyboard has this surreal quality about it. How can a red projected keyboard outline be real enough to allow typing?

The target market is PDAs where a full keyboard experience is desired. A flat unobstructed surface is necessary. In front of the hands is a “tower” which holds the light source and detector of the hand movement. The unit runs off a LiOn battery that lasts for 4 hours. The unit plugs into the serial port but the next version will use the USB port and also charge the battery.

The price is $99 and most sales are expected from retail as opposed to OEM.

The Mousecaster

The Mousecaster uses the mouse casing as an antenna for FM radio. The value of this approach is that the Mousecaster can be the source of radio content for the PC. Any radio can be tuned and then recorded on the PC. There are USB and PS/2 versions.

A wheel mouse costs $29, while an optical mouse is $39. A cordless rechargeable mouse will be released shortly for $79.

Keybowl makes orbitTouch– A Weird Keyboard

The orbitTouch replaces a keyboard and mouse with two sculpted domes. This is great for the physically handicapped, but the product also demonstrates an innovative keyboard. What was shown at CES is the wireless version.

Currently the wired versions sell for $699 and the pricing for the wireless version, due in Q2, 2004, remains TBD.

Tablet PC like Computer without Tablet PC Windows XP Software

Transmeta announced the UPC – Ultra-Personal Computer, as a means to sell its Efficeon and Crusoe processors. Transmeta expects to sell 350,000 units in 2004. The UPC is not expected to ship until Fall 2004, however, and the OEM list is underwhelming: Antelope Technologies, OQO and Vulcan. More important is that Pen&Internet, the company with extensive experience in hand writing recognition, has announced a version of ritePen for the UPC. This is to enable full screen writing and handwriting recognition on the UPC. The value proposition is that Transmeta can now offer something similar to the Windows XP Tablet Edition on the UPC using just Windows XP and ritePen. Interesting but not overwhelming.

Eyetop Shows Centra Wearable LCD Video Screen

There were crowds to wear this eyeglass like LCD display. The design was well done. It uses an AM LCD for 320 X 480 resolution. Input is via a RCA video jack.

Pricing is $449 in the company web site.

Deja Views Camwear – It was only a matter of time

Tucked away in the corner of the tents was a wearable video and audio camera. One version clamps onto one’s glasses and the other to a baseball cap. This was the most interesting because the camera, about ¼” square, is just under the bill of the visor and hardly visible. The specs include:

Supports up to a 512MB SD card
60 deg FOV
CIF Video
24 bits/pixel
16 bit audio
NTSC analog output
Cost $399
Shipping – March 2004

A mark of the future came from a story told in the booth. One of the employees was stopped in a store on the beach in New Jersey when he was wearing the Camwear. A customer in the store customer accused him of taping his daughter – which he regarded as ridiculous. None-the-less the store operator made him take off the Camwear.

ViXS Systems – Integrating Video with WiFi

This booth was always packed. ViXS is a fables semiconductor company which makes video processors. There are two products: XCode II video processor that dynamically adjusts the video stream to fit the changing network bandwidth. As a result they claim a guaranteed 30f/s over any type of IP network. The Matrix is a dual channel 802.11a chip set which will support multiple HD streams to multiple devices in the home. Deals have been announced with Chi-Mei and Toshiba. The booth demonstrations were impressive.

Logitech Orbit is Impressive

Orbit is a face tracking video camera and has the following characteristics:

180 deg horizontal and 60 deg tilt;
1.3m pixels
3X zoom
Automatic face tracking
Built in microphone
$130 retail

There is little new in the technology. But what was striking was the integration of function with design. It is cool.

The booth was populated by themes. Mobil was one and Bluetooth was another. Logitech has made Bluetooth leadership a key element in their presence.

Gyration

On the side of the Gyration booth was a funny looking control next to a large screen. What struck us was its simplicity. The gyro probably replaced 15 buttons. The control was natural. Gyration hinted that many of the major Media PC companies are OEMs.

This is the first time we have spoken with Gyration. The booth discussion included the following.

The core of our products is a solid state gyro that took 10 years to develop. The focus of our marketing is in HID but we have inquiries to use the gyro module in other areas – such as the military. Resource constraints limit what we can do in these other areas, however.

This is a hard business for a small company. We have 55 people and are growing. Yes, being the only company in a category – gyro mouse products – is difficult. Getting excellent product reviews allowed us to be stocked in the major distribution channels.

The small keyboard, i.e., compact, has been very well received. The gyro mouse sells for $79, with the standard keyboard for $99 and with the compact keyboard $119. The bundled market has taken off - keyboards with our gyro mouse are doing very well.

The media center controller is shipping now for $149. The suite with the keyboard is selling for $179.

Wave Comments

The digital revolution, as seen here at CES, is focused on leisure and media markets. This seems myopic. The home and home market is much deeper in that this is where the family lives. Media may be interesting but how time is spent in the home includes many activities such as schooling, raising children and family interaction. The PC companies are probably in a better position to see the larger context of the benefits it might be able to provide but this is not evident.

Companies are seeking a digital makeover in the home – discard the old and bring in the new. For consumers to have a home digital makeover will only happen over time and possibly a long time. This is not the same as changing the entertainment infrastructure in the home. Yes, what is happening may be the foundation for the digital revolution in the home but it will be a much more difficult than that represented here at CES as PC companies seek to expand their core competencies to be viable and sustainable CE companies.

0348.3 Broadband

*** Hughes Network Systems Optimizes IBM Lotus Notes 6.5 Version for Operation on DIRECWAY Broadband Satellite Network
(January 26)

Hughes Network Systems announced the completion of a program that optimizes IBM's Lotus Notes 6.5 software performance, operating over the DIRECWAY broadband satellite network.

The HNS program for Lotus Notes 6.5 includes server to server as well as client to server replication. When combined with Lotus Notes 6.5 enhanced replication, HNS testing demonstrated up to 35% faster database replication speeds and up to 70% faster mail server access times, depending on message sizes.

http://www.hns.com
http://www.ibm.com/lotus/messaging

0348.4 Wireless

*** UTStarcom Integrates Hifn Security Processor into Its Total Control 2000 Wireless Access Platform
(January 28)

Hifn announced that UTStarcom, Inc. has integrated Hifn's HIPP 7854 security processor into its Total Control 2000 wireless access platform.

The UTStarcom Total Control 2000 wireless access platform provides third-generation cdma2000 PDSN wireless data services and applications to subscribers.

The HIPP 7854 used in UTStarcom's Total Control 2000 wireless access platform performs header and trailer processing, compression, encryption, authentication, public key and random number generation. 500Mbps is achieved on full IPsec protocol processing using 3DES or AES and SHA. Effective data rates are higher when LZS(R) or MPPC compression is used, with those engines running at up to 500 and 700Mbps. The HIPP 7854 processor can set up 300 IPsec Quick Mode connections per second, with support for up to 2,048-bit public keys natively.

The HIPP 7854 processor uses either a 32/64-bit, 66 MHz PCI bus or an interface that is often used in subsystems using multiple 7854s or for connection to a network processor. The local memory interface is over a 32 or 64-bit SDRAM bus. A total of 512K simultaneous IPsec security associations are supported. HIPP supported algorithms include 3DES, DES, AES and ARC4 encryption, SHA-1 and MD5 authentication, LZS and MPPC compression. Protocols supported include IPsec, SSL, TLS, PPP and PPTP.

http://www.utstar.com
http://www.hifn.com

0348.5 VoIP

*** ARRIS Introduces DOCSIS 2.0-Based Touchstone Telephony Modem TM 402P
(January 29)

ARRIS announced the introduction of the Touchstone Telephony Modem TM 402P. This DOCSIS 2.0-based and PacketCable 1.1-based Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter provides 2 lines of Voice over IP telephony.

The Touchstone TM 402P is integrates Lithium-Ion battery back-up capability into the base unit which enables up to 20 hours of standby time in the event of a power outage. ARRIS designed the new patent-pending battery cartridge in cooperation with North American cable operators.

Touchstone Telephony Modems allow operators to adjust operating parameters and software characteristics on a per line basis.

The Touchstone Telephony Modem TM 402P will be available in April of 2004.

http://www.arrisi.com

 

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