Chrontel Premieres New HDMI Transmitter That Supports Intel's High-Speed SDVO PC Interface Specification

Video Interface Chip Links PCs to High-Def TVs Using Popular Interface Standard

March 7, 2006

Chrontel, a leading provider of video interface technologies, today announced a new HDMI(TM) transmitter IC, the CH7315A, which links PCs to high-definition TVs using the popular HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface. The CH7315A also complies with Intel's SDVO (Serial Digital Video Output) PC interface specification, which is implemented in the latest PC designs. Chrontel is demonstrating the new CH7315A this week at the Intel Developer's Forum (IDF) in San Francisco. The CH7315A HDMI transmitter is a mixed-signal IC that transmits uncompressed, copy-protected video and audio data over a secure link from PCs to external televisions, HDTVs, DVD recorders and A/V receivers. HDMI, which has been adopted as an audio/video interface by more than 300 makers of consumer electronics (CE) and PC systems worldwide, has become a de-facto standard for connecting home entertainment products. Most major HDTV manufacturers have incorporated HDMI inputs into their latest offerings: more than 17 million devices featuring HDMI were shipped during 2005 and 59 million more are expected to ship in 2006, according to market researchers. Intel's SDVO interface specification is a high-speed serial data interface designed into Intel's latest PCI Express-enabled chipsets: the Intel(R) 915G, 915GV, 910GL and 945G Express Chipsets. Manufacturers that design PCs using these PCI Express Chipsets require SDVO-compliant HDMI transmitters to link the internal Integrated Graphic Device of a PCI Express chipset with external consumer electronics products that use the popular HDMI standard to receive and display high-definition video and audio content. The CH7315A receives video data via SDVO bus, and it receives audio data from via an Intel(R) High Definition Audio (HD Audio) bus. The CH7315A combines audio and video data, converting it into a single HDMI-compliant bit stream for transmission to external CE devices. The CH7315A accepts SDVO serial input speeds of 1G to 2Gbps, and transmits video output at 25M to 165M pixels per second -- pixel rates that support all HDTV display modes from 480i to 1080i/1080p. The device also supports 8-channel audio output at 192kHz. The CH7315A incorporates High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) cryptographic functions and HDCP keys. The CH7315A features dual output ports so that two external CE devices can be connected simultaneously. This eliminates the need to manually switch connectors as consumers swap the active receiving device from one connection to another. This feature allows easy implementation of a second HDMI output via the docking station of a notebook PC. The mixed-signal CH7315A is the latest in a family of SDVO-compliant devices that Chrontel began releasing in 2004. Chrontel offers the most complete line of SDVO-compliant video interface devices, including LVDS and DVI transmitters, plus standard and high-definition TV transmitters. "The HDMI interface is experiencing growing popularity amongst consumers, and growing implementation in PC and CE products," said Dr. David Soo, Chrontel president and CEO. "Chrontel will continue to support our global customer base with a wide selection of cost-effective and proven video interface options." Pricing and Availability The Chrontel CH7315A will be sampling in 2Q06, and production volumes will be available early 3Q06. The device is offered in a low-cost 64-pin LQFP package, and comes complete with Windows XP and Windows Vista driver support. The CH7315A is priced at $6.00 in 10,000 piece quantities. Additional information about all Chrontel products can be found on the web at http://www.chrontel.com/products. About Chrontel, Inc. Founded in 1986, privately-held Chrontel is a leading supplier of video interface ICs and technologies to computer manufacturers worldwide. The company's innovations include the world's first VGA-to-TV encoder. Chrontel video display chips are incorporated into reference designs offered by many microprocessor and graphics processor vendors. The company currently offers the industry's most complete product line of video interface ICs for notebook and desktop computers, and its components can be found in PCs sold by dozens of leading manufacturers. Additional information about Chrontel can be found on its website: http://www.chrontel.com.

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