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Analog Devices' Blackfin Processor Chosen by Microsoft for Windows Media Center Extender Technology

Posted on: Monday, 9 February 2004, 06:00 CST

Analog Devices, Inc. Maria Vetrano, 781-461-3711 dsps_pr@analog.com

ADI announcement follows Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' demonstration of Microsoft Windows Media Center Extender during Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2004 keynote address.

Following Bill Gates' first public demonstration of Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Media Center Extender Technology -- a powerful media adapter that will enable consumers to access their favorite digital entertainment that resides on their Windows XP Media Center Edition PC, from any room in the home regardless of where the PC is located - - Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) today announced that its Blackfin(R) Processor manages the Windows Media audio/video decode processing in the new Media Center Extender set-top products. Having been selected by Microsoft, ADI's Blackfin Processor is part of the standard design that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) will use to bring Windows Media Center Extender Technology to market in hardware designs that include set-top boxes and Media Center-ready televisions.

As part of Windows Media Center Extender Technology, ADI's Blackfin Processor processes high-quality streams of Windows Media(R) Video and Audio 9 Series content. The software- programmable Blackfin microarchitecture delivers the media- processing performance, multi-format flexibility, fast time-to- market, and consumer price point necessary to support Microsoft's vision of extending high-quality digital entertainment to any screen in the house.

"Blackfin provides the most effective and inexpensive way to add high-quality Windows Media Audio and Video to our Media Center Edition Extender set-top products," said Tom Laemmel, Windows eHome Product Manager, Microsoft Corp. "This lets us continue to delight our Media Center Edition customers by providing the best entertainment experience possible on their PC or throughout the home."

"We are honored that Microsoft has chosen Blackfin to meet the intensive demands of delivering high-performance streaming audio and video for the Windows Media Center Extender Technology products that will be introduced by top consumer OEMs and ODMs later this year," said John Croteau, general manager, Media Platforms and Services Group, Analog Devices, Inc. "This announcement brings into focus specifically how software, rather than hardware, is enabling the rapid introduction of media-rich, networked entertainment devices. And because it is one-third the price and less than one-third the power of competing software-based media processors, Blackfin is uniquely positioned to meet the requirements of mass-market consumer electronics applications."

Blackfin: Performance, Flexibility, Time-to-Market and Cost Advantages

More specifically, Microsoft has opted for ADI's Blackfin eMedia Platform, ADSP-BF532eM10, which combines the programmable Blackfin Processor with the software algorithms and interfaces to encode/ decode today's leading audio/video standards.

By handling native decoding of Windows Media 9 Series video and audio for the Media Center Extender design, the Blackfin eMedia Platform supports the best consumer experience by avoiding the degradation in quality and the latencies that occur with transcoding. The Windows Media Center Extender design relies on the Blackfin eMedia Platform to decode Windows Media Video 9 Series content, delivering D1-resolution video streams at 30 frames per second; the Blackfin platform likewise performs stereo audio decoding of Windows Media Audio 9 Series and MP3 streams. The Blackfin eMedia Platform also supports decoding of other popular media formats commonly used by PC-based systems.

Because media decoding/encoding is fully software-based, the Blackfin Processor empowers developers to add or upgrade media support by making software -- not hardware -- modifications. This software programmability speeds time-to-market and reduces costs without increasing chip size -- a significant advantage over less- flexible ASIC processors which require hardware modifications to alter device functionality.

About Microsoft Windows Media Center Extender

Media Center Extender Technology will enable the distribution of rich digital content and experiences that reside on a Windows Media Center PC to television displays in any room in the home. Alienware Corp., Dell Inc., Gateway Inc., HP, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tatung Co. and Wistron Corp. are among the industry-leading OEMs and ODMs working with Microsoft to bring these products to market in a variety of hardware form factors, including set-top boxes and televisions, by the 2004 holiday season. Consumers can enjoy the benefits of Media Center Extender Technology through a set-top box connected to their television or can purchase a new television with this technology fully integrated.

About ADI's Blackfin Processor

The Blackfin Processor is the first in a new class of embedded processors designed specifically to meet the computational demands and power constraints of today's embedded audio, video and communications applications. Based on the Micro Signal Architecture (MSA) jointly developed with Intel Corporation, ADI's Blackfin Processor family combines a 32-bit RISC-like instruction set with 16- bit dual multiply accumulate (MAC) signal processing functionality and ease-of-use attributes found in general-purpose microcontrollers. Dynamic Power Management enables breakthrough power consumption by allowing the simultaneous adjustment of operating frequency and voltage under application control.

Because they are code-compatible, all Blackfin Processors provide portability of design. In addition, Blackfin Processors are fully supported by ADI's integrated software development tool chain, the VisualDSP++(R) Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and by Green Hills' MULTI(R) IDE tool suite. Consumer price points are supported by the attractive pricing of the Blackfin eMedia Platform, ADSP-BF532eM10, which provides outstanding functionality and value at $11.95 per unit in 100,000 unit quantities. For more information on Blackfin, please visit: www.analog.com/blackfin.

About Analog Devices, Inc.

Analog Devices is a leading manufacturer of precision high- performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications. The company is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts and employs approximately 8,400 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Analog Devices' stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the company is included in the S&P 500 Index.

Blackfin and VisualDSP++ are registered trademarks of Analog Devices, Inc. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners.

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