1998-01-08 , S/IC-739/460

Philips Semiconductors TriMedia™ Product Group and Samsung Information Systems America (SISA) today announced that the companies are working together to develop DTV software for the award-winning TriMedia processor. The companies are collaborating to define and develop software for the conversion of ATSC high-definition video signals to standard definition signals for viewing on existing NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) televisions.

This software algorithm, ported to the TriMedia processor, will be used in Samsung's digital television products expected on the market in Q4 1998. The picture quality from the converted signal will provide higher picture quality than a broadcast NTSC signal. Additionally, the products will also support AC-3 5.1 multi-channel audio.

Samsung is among the first wave of manufacturers to announce plans for a DTV product based on the TriMedia processor. Philips TriMedia also announced today a TriMedia DTV Reference Platform, which allows manufacturers to design DTV products quickly and easily.

Philips Semiconductors TriMedia Product Group also announced today a TriMedia DTV Reference Platform, which allows manufacturers to design DTV products quickly and easily.

"Samsung, working with Philips TriMedia, will provide its customers a TV set that will convert high-definition digital video into a format which can be displayed on a lower cost standard definition screen," said Dirk Logie, general manager DTV Product Sector for Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia Product Group. "Samsung recognized the need for a product that would make the transition to ATSC DTV affordable. We look forward to seeing leading TV and set-top manufacturers like Samsung leveraging the programmability and flexibility of the TriMedia processor to make the benefits of DTV available to everyone."

"The TriMedia processor has the power and flexibility for this project. Unlike traditional DSPs, it is easy to program in C and C⁺⁺," said Jack Chaney, manager, Samsung Digital Media Lab. "Samsung believes that if it makes the viewing experience better and affordable for its customers today, those same customers will look to Samsung when they buy their first high definition digital TV sets in the not-too-distant-future."

The TriMedia processor is designed specifically for handling high-performance multimedia and communications operations. Based on a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architecture, which packs up to five operations in a single VLIW instruction, the TriMedia processor is capable of executing up to four billion integer operations per second.

Philips Semiconductors
Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia product group was established in 1994 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. The mission of the product group is to bring to market high-performance, programmable multimedia processor technology that will power the next generation of multimedia products at an affordable price. TriMedia's website is  trimedia.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Philips Electronics NV, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world and the fourth largest supplier of discretes in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs.

 TriMedia is a Trademark of Philips Electronics North America. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.