• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Ubicom(R) Announces Networked Audio Reference Design Platform for the Digital Home

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 March 2009, 10:00 CDT

Platform enables rapid development of standalone and integrated devices for home audio

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- EMBEDDED SYSTEMS CONFERENCE -- Ubicom(R), Inc., a leading provider of networking and multimedia processors, today announced the release of a networked audio player reference design. The reference design is built on the Ubicom Linux BSP with the 2.6.28 SMP kernel using open source packages that run on the company's latest IP7500 family of multimedia processors. Additionally, Ubicom provides reference hardware, design files and fabrication data for the audio design in the form of a CPU development board and a media personality board.

The Ubicom networked audio reference design is capable of multi-channel audio including 7.1 and 5.1 outputs, eight or more I2S or S/PDIF interfaces, bidirectional audio to enable any device to play content from any other device on the audio network including media center PCs and storage devices, sample rate conversion to allow quality playback of any audio content, and audio synchronization for multi-room playback. The reference design can also control LCD displays up to 15" and 1280 x 720 resolution while concurrently playing audio and managing the networking stack. The audio player manages DRM using an on-chip hardware acceleration block. UI development and customization tools, including open source tools like DirectFB, SDL and GTK+, allow full-featured UI development. The reference design platform can be used to build complete networked audio solutions, digital media receivers, wireless speakers, and other products.

Ubicom's 12-way multithreaded CPU architecture with guaranteed hard real time CPU allocation allows developers to achieve determinism for latency sensitive applications enabling lossless audio transmission and playback in the home. With its extensive experience with wired and wireless 802.11 routers and access points for the home and SMB markets, Ubicom has also solved the connectivity issues seen in some networked audio devices today that sometimes face connectivity problems leading to frustrated users.

"The market for networked audio is gaining momentum due to the evolution of the local digital and online streaming content ecosystem as well as emerging storage and playback devices such that consumers' lifestyles have adapted to expect this consumption model for audio," said RK Parthasarathy, vice president of marketing at Ubicom. "The Ubicom networked audio reference design platform brings all these elements together seamlessly and enables a compelling user experience."

Availability

The Ubicom networked audio reference design is available now. For more information, visit the Ubicom support portal at developer.ubicom.com.

About Ubicom, Inc.

Ubicom develops networking and media processor solutions that address the unique demands of real-time interactive applications and multimedia content delivery in the digital home. The company provides optimized system-level solutions for a wide range of products including wireless routers, access points, bridges, VoIP gateways, networked digital photo frames, and streaming media players. For more information, visit www.ubicom.com.

Ubicom and IP7500 are trademarks of Ubicom, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

SOURCE Ubicom, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category