Low-cost, compact and modular design provides ideal platform for IP camera, digital video recorder and IP-base set-top box applications -
BIRMINGHAM, England - May 13, 2002 - Equator Technologies Inc., a leading provider of video streaming and processing engines and platforms, today announced the immediate availability of Tetra™ - a new hardware platform powered by its BSP™ family of high-performance Broadband Signal Processor chips, which includes the MAP-CA™ and BSP-15 processors. The new Tetra hardware platform provides Equator's customers a low cost, compact and modular hardware reference design that allows rapid development and deployment for a range of applications such as IP smart cameras, digital video recorders or IP-based Internet streaming video appliances. The announcement was made at IFSEC 2002, the premier UK and European security conference, held in Birmingham.
The Tetra hardware platform is a modular design, which includes the Tetra CPU board, an open peripheral interface for add-on modules, and a growing list of add-on 'personality' modules. All common CPU board core features, including the BSP family of chips, memory sub-system, Ethernet interface, and power circuitry, are consolidated on the Tetra CPU board. The resulting design can be used from product to product without modification. Extremely compact in size, the Tetra CPU board measures in at 2.75" x 4.00", making it an ideal hardware reference design for applications that require a small footprint, such as IP cameras.
Application-specific I/O functionalities can be rapidly prototyped as add-on personality modules to the Tetra CPU board in a fraction of the time required to design a system from the ground up. The Tetra AV module provides additional I/O functionality such as audio/video input/output, compact flash and serial interfaces, and it is the first add-on card to the Tetra CPU board.
"We strive to provide our customers with reference hardware designs that deliver both design flexibility and reduced development time," said Frans Sijstermans, vice president of engineering at Equator Technologies. "We applied everything we know about high-performance board design for the BSP family of chips to the Tetra CPU board so that our customers can leverage our expertise, leaving them with more time to focus on their own products. The modular design also gives our customers the compact footprints that they need."
Highlights of the Tetra CPU board include:
Support for both the BSP-15 and MAP-CA chips
64MB SDRAM; 4.0MB Flash
Support for Digital RGB and analog RGB display
Analog audio out and SPDIF audio in/out
10/100BaseT Ethernet
Consumer IR, GPIO
Unregulated 8-21V or Regulated 5V, 1.4A power
Support for either Linux or VxWorks
The Tetra AV Module features:
Video input/output, audio input/output
4 digital alarm input, 1 relay output
2 Serial ports
Southbridge SuperI/O chip that provides IDE, compact flash and RS232 interfaces
Real-time clocks
Availability
The Tetra hardware platform is available now from Equator.
About Equator Technologies, Inc.
Equator Technologies, Inc. is the industry's choice for high-performance video streaming and processing engines and platforms - from pixels to packets. Equator offers the BSP family of Broadband Signal Processor chips, the iMMediaToolsTM software development toolkit, media libraries, and reference platforms for development and deployment of video streaming and video processing systems. With more than 120 customers worldwide, Equator provides solutions to the digital media, digital video communications, video security and surveillance, digital imaging, and automotive video markets. Based on a high-performance VLIW core and optimized for video processing, the BSP-15 family of chips delivers up to 40 GOPS of video processing power. Utilizing Equator's optimizing compiler technology BSP-15 chips are 100% programmable in C/C++, enabling rapid deployment and field upgradeability of new applications and devices. A software programmable BSP-15 chip can replace multiple fixed-function ASICs, thereby reducing both complexity and cost of system designs. Winner of the "2001 Fabless Semiconductor Association Best Financial Performer - Private Company" award and picked by Cahners Research as one of the 30 best small electronics companies, Equator is a recognized leader in video processing solutions. Founded in 1996, Equator is a privately held company headquartered in Campbell, Calif., with additional offices worldwide. More information about Equator is available at www.equator.com.
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The following are trademarks of Equator Technologies, Inc., and may be used to identify Equator products only: Equator, the Equator logo, Equator Around, the Equator Around logo, MAP, MAP1000, MAP1000A, MAP-CA, MAP Series, BSP, FIRtree, DataStreamer, DS, iMMediaC, iMMediaTools, iMMediaToolsLite, Media Intrinsics, VersaPort, SofTV, Shark, StingRay, Dolphin, EagleRay, Orca and Tetra. Other product and company names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
