Altera Premieres High Definition Quality Initiative

San Jose, Calif. -- September 7, 2007—Aimed at accelerating the adoption of high definition (HD) broadcast systems design in the market place, Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced its High Definition Quality Initiative (HDQI). Backed by an ecosystem of partners with expertise in the HD space, the initiative’s objective is to enable designers to quickly and cost-effectively address the rapidly growing need for high-quality HD systems. 4i2i, ATEME, Let It Wave and PLDA are among the initiative’s founding members.

The HDQI addresses HD quality, affordability and system design productivity by delivering a unique set of solutions targeted at the many quality “hot spots” throughout the entire broadcast infrastructure. By offering high-quality, industry-standard, off-the shelf designs, Altera^® HDQI solutions eliminate the need to create best-in-quality functions from the ground up, enabling faster broadcast system design at a lower cost. System designers can now leverage Altera and its partners’ intellectual property (IP) cores, reference designs, and development kits to differentiate their products from the competition.

“4i2i applauds Altera’s HDQI objectives. We are thrilled to join the Altera partner ecosystem as it delivers clear value to the broadcast industry together with mutual business benefits,” said Martyn Riley, CEO of 4i2i. “In integrating Altera programmable solutions into our professional multi-standard MPEG2 and H.264 4:2:2 video decoders, we ensure the highest quality when transferring HD content between studios and broadcast facilities and enable the contribution market to transition to the H.264 standard.”

As part of the HDQI, Altera is offering audio/video and IT reference designs, solutions for   H.264 broadcast quality encoder and decoder, an audio sample rate converter, JPEG2000, multi-rate and multi-channel video networking solutions, and application-specific development platforms and system-design tools. To enable fast development and deployment of highly flexible next-generation switchers, cameras, servers, and other studio equipment supporting 1080p, Altera also provides a fully characterized serial digital interface (SDI) IP core that can implement triple-rate SDI (SD SDI, HD SDI and 3G SDI) on the same transceiver pin. It is extremely critical for SDI interfaces to function across process, voltage and temperature variations.

“Today’s broadcast systems call for creativity in the face of multiple audio/video formats, compression standards and distribution methods; competitive cost pressures; and equipment interoperability requirements,” said Tim Colleran, vice president of Altera’s consumer, automotive and broadcast business units. “Together with our partners, HDQI offers solutions and development kits optimized for our latest programmable solutions to fill key functions throughout the entire broadcast infrastructure.”

To learn more about Altera’s HDQI and its partners, go to www.altera.com/end-markets/broadcast/hd-quality/bro-hd-quality.html. For more information on the wide range of Altera’s broadcast industry solutions, go to www.altera.com/end-markets/broadcast/bro-index.html.

Latest Broadcast Solutions at IBC2007

Altera and its partners’ HDQI solutions will be on display at IBC2007 at the RAI Congress Centre, Amsterdam, September 7 to 11, in hall 10 booth 100. System designers and engineers visiting the Altera booth will see how this powerful combination of broadcast solutions and leading-edge FPGA platforms can maximize productivity and significantly reduce system cost. For further information on IBC2007, visit www.ibc.org.

About Altera

Altera programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more at www.altera.com.