Pixelworks, Inc., a leading provider of system-on-chip ICs for the advanced display market, announced the first demonstration of the AMD co-designed Sailfish II platform, which will be shown at the upcoming IFA 2005 consumer electronics show in Berlin beginning September 5, 2005. The reference design based on the Pixelworks PWBSP-16 Broadband Signal Processor IC and the AMD Alchemy Au1550 processor enables 'triple-play' set-top boxes (STBs) integrating broadband video, voice and data access into a single device.

The Sailfish II platform, designed in cooperation by AMD and Pixelworks, will accelerate product development of set-top boxes, digital media adapters and personal video recorders capable of simultaneously handling Internet Protocol television (IPTV), Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and network router and gateway functions. The reference design kit, including hardware and software, will help OEMs and ODMs to rapidly implement affordable broadband media gateways that will offer consumers better access to broadband entertainment and information.

"By collaborating with AMD, the Sailfish II platform can jumpstart the expanding market for powerful set-top boxes that handle video, telephony and data over broadband networks," said Brad Zenger, Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Media Processors, at Pixelworks. "Our strategy of developing ready-to-implement designs is the quickest and most efficient way for OEMs to get from zero to market."

"Consumers expect more from their digital entertainment devices," said Erik Salo, director of marketing, AMD Microprocessor Solutions Sector embedded group. "The Sailfish II offers a programmable solution that helps our customers adapt to rapidly changing and maturing technology in digital entertainment devices."

Accelerated Time to Market with Pre-integrated Software Solutions

The Sailfish II platform shortens development time cycles by providing bill of materials (BOM), schematics, and design files and supports rapid customization with standard hardware tools. The combination of the powerful Pixelworks and AMD processors yields a high-performance, programmable design for set-top box and consumer electronics manufacturers.

The Pixelworks PWBSP-16 IC supports multiple digital video codecs, allowing customers to take advantage of varying content formats while limiting custom development time and resources. The AMD Alchemy Au1550 processor provides low-power, high-performance support for network communication, router/gateway functions, VoIP and user-interface functions.

The Sailfish II platform supports codecs for multiple video standards, including VC-1, AVC, and MPEG-2, as well as H.263++/H.264 video phone capabilities. Additionally, the reference design includes software support for AVC/H.264 Main Profile/MPEG-4 Part 10, MPEG-4 Part 2, VC-1 and MPEG-2 at high definition, with extensibility to support additional codec formats and video input processing, network routers, gateways, higher performance VPN and VoIP capabilities.

Additional companies contributing to the Sailfish II reference design include:

• Alcatel: Alcatel's Open Media Client Software Development Kit (OMC SDK), including support for Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) engines for Video-on-demand (VOD) and Broadcast over Internet BTV, with integrated support for the Ant Browser, and operational reporting modules to support usage and other operational statistics and configuration.
• ASTRI: Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute H.264 encoder and decoder for integrated video-IPTV STB, video phone and conferencing and home security/surveillance applications.
• DICAS: Dicas is an MPEG-focused video coding specialist and leading developer of MPEG-4, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and 3GPP compliant video coding solutions. The Dicas' mpegable AVC decoder software is a high performance MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 software component, extremely error resilient, easy to integrate and compliant with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Main Profile, Level 3.
• Legerity: Legerity, a provider of analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits for wireline voice and data networks, provided an integrated Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (SLIC) and AC-97 interface single chip device.
• Opera: Opera for Home Media is a suite of Internet technologies for electronic devices, including set-top boxes, media players, video phones, and high definition televisions. Opera for Home Media is a powerful execution environment for Web applications and dynamic user interfaces, as well as a full Internet browser. Opera for Home Media enables cost effective solutions based on advanced Web technologies.
• Vocal Technologies: The Analog Telephone Adaptor (ATA) from Vocal Technologies adds VoIP capabilities.
• WiPro: WiPro software reference designs contribute to router/gateway functionality.

Additional technical information on the Sailfish II reference platform is available on http://www.equator.com/productsservices/hardwareplatforms.html.