LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2007 — Today at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show, technology partners ANAGRAM Technologies, StreamUnlimited, and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) will demonstrate BlueTigerTM – a connected CD and DVD optical drive platform built on ADI’s Blackfin processor. The new drive platform offers manufacturers a way to differentiate commodity optical drive-based devices via enhanced audio/video processing, simplified connectivity, and the convergence of next-generation premium digital media content. BlueTiger is comprised of a ready-for-manufacturing (RFM) hardware platform, a high quality CD/DVD loader, and a customizable software framework that will enable manufacturers to significantly improve time-to-market when responding to new market opportunities in media convergence.
The first reference design in the BlueTiger family is the CD-100, a connected CD/MP3/WMA/AAC player with lossless audio, digital radio and ATAPI hard disk storage support. The CD-100 combines multiple audio formats, media and connectivity interfaces, and storage options with a dedicated CD servo decoding software solution. This allows manufacturers to adopt a product-line strategy to create innovative product derivatives from a single platform, including premium CD and compressed audio players, integrated CD/DAB receivers with recording and digital audio hub capabilities, and roadmap options that extend to media server connectivity.
To further allow manufacturers to differentiate their products, the CD-100 features StreamUnlimited’s SilverStrikeTM loader – a quality disc loading mechanism specifically designed for high-end audio/video products that demand smooth, quiet operation. Superior mechanical parts, such as steel pins and the patent-pending AntiVibeTM vibration-damping system, lower noise and improve shock absorption and stability of hard-to-play, unbalanced discs. In addition, the JewelFitTM universal mounting system is mechanically and electrically compatible with mainstream loaders, such as the WXD8229 and Philips DVD modules, which allows manufacturers to reuse existing mechanical designs.
To address manufacturers’ concerns about copy-protected disc playability on low-cost optical drive systems, ANAGRAM and StreamUnlimited co-developed the EnduroTM CD Servo Error Recovery System exclusively for the CD-100 design. This dedicated servo decoding algorithm enhances the playback of non-standard audio CDs by providing advanced data concealment and error correction.
System cost savings are delivered to the CD-100 via the platform’s single, low-cost high-performance Blackfin processor. Blackfin processes the audio decoding and enhancement algorithms (Enduro, Q5 Sample Rate Converter and decoders, including MP3, WMA, AAC, and LPCM), and in addition it controls all of the system components, supporting multiple multimedia interfaces, including USB, Digital Radio, and ATAPI- based storage devices. Removing the need for an additional microcontroller reduces the bill of materials and total system cost.
“Blackfin is the ideal choice for highly integrated audio/video applications like BlueTiger — with the option to include streaming media features in the future,” said Mike Haidar, General Manager, Software & Systems Technology (SST) division, Analog Devices. “Our powerful, customizable, low-cost processor will enable the team to deliver a future-proofed optical drive platform at aggressive consumer price points.”
“This new platform is truly a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Frits Wittgrefe, CEO of StreamUnlimited. “By offering a dedicated optical drive platform and turnkey solutions with industry leading partners, we can enable our customers to rapidly add premium sound and video, next-generation multimedia formats, simplified device connectivity, and advanced protocols to new and existing product lines at significantly reduced cost.”
“Given the vast quantity of consumer audio devices on the market today, and high consumer expectations, manufacturers must continually look for ways to achieve product differentiation,” said Timothy Llewellynn, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ANAGRAM Technologies. “Our flagship Q5 Sample Rate Converter allows the platform to act as a digital audio hub, preserving audio quality and unifying the multitude of sources in today’s multimedia systems, not a commonly found feature in this market space.”
Pricing and Availability
The BlueTiger platform is currently being sampled to key OEM partners and will be available for production in the spring of 2007. To shorten design cycles and accelerate time-to-market, ANAGRAM and StreamUnlimited are providing development kits with complete, RFM hardware reference designs, development boards, and a complete suite of software targeting devices with a market price of less than $500.
A demonstration of the BlueTiger CD-100 reference design, including loader modules, is available at CES 2007. Please contact our media representative (listed below) to schedule an appointment.
About ANAGRAM Technologies
ANAGRAM Technologies allows silicon providers and branded consumer electronic OEMs to create and integrate spacious, richly detailed sound into innovative product designs by leveraging advanced audio DSP algorithms. ANAGRAM develops and licenses innovative digital audio intellectual property (IP) including sample rate converters, software-based digital to analog converters, clock synchronizers and digital power amplifiers. ANAGRAM’s family of products allows its customers to differentiate their products by integrating complete digital audio subsystems with superior high definition audio quality while using industry standard platforms and processes. Key to its success are technologies that simplify system architectures, reduce system cost, and that are compatible with all the latest audio formats where its flagship Q5 technology has already achieved significant breakthroughs in terms of cost and performance. www.anagramtech.com
About StreamUnlimited
StreamUnlimited was established in 2005 as a spin-off from the former Philips Audio Video Innovation Centre and is a powerhouse in the consumer electronics domain. It provides engineering services, electronic modules and software. The company’s core engineering competences are in embedded connectivity and storage. It also has a strong background in audio and video technologies, including a family of optical storage modules for the high-end consumer electronics market. StreamUnlimited’s software offerings include a flexible UI presentation engine, UPnP client and controlpoint software, interactivity widgets for IP set top boxes and an automated test tool for connected products. StreamUnlimited has enjoyed rapid and profitable growth and currently has 38 employees. For more information, please visit the website at: http://www.streamunlimited.com.
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BlueTiger, Enduro and Q5 are registered trademark of ANAGRAM Technologies SA. SilverStrike, AntiVibe and JewelFit are trademarks of StreamUnlimited. Blackfin is a registered trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. All other products are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of their respective holder.
Media Contact
Jessie Glockner
Rainier Corporation, on behalf of ANAGRAM
978-464-5302 x140
Jessie@rainierco.com
