Silicon Image Introduces PanelLink Cinema, The World's First HDMI Transmitter And Receiver

New PanelLink Cinema ICs Will Enable Consumers To Buy HDMI-Enabled Home Theatre Equipment In Mid-2003

10-Feb-03

Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIMG), a leader in high-bandwidth semiconductor and system solutions for mass markets, announced that it is sampling the world's first transmitter and receiver ICs compliant with the new High-Definition Multimedia Interfaceô (HDMIô) 1.0 specification and incorporating High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). Elevating the home theatre experience to a higher level, HDMI enables an all-digital interconnect from digital consumer electronics source devices to digital displays for crystal-clear audio and video, and an enhanced user experience. The first ICs in Silicon Image's new family of PanelLink Cinemaô products, the SiIô 9190 transmitter and SiI 9993 receiver set the standard for digital consumer electronics interfaces by combining uncompressed digital video and multichannel audio in a single, all-digital interface with HDCP security for access to premium-value content. While consumer electronics devices have gone digital, the audio and video interfaces connecting them have remained analog. HDMI breaks new ground by enabling an uncompressed, all-digital connection between digital source devices such as DVD players, DVD recorders, digital set-top boxes, D-VHS players and A/V receivers, and digital display devices such as DTVs, plasma displays, LCD TVs, and projectors. The result: an unrivaled home theatre experience that provides the following benefits: (1) the highest quality video and audio, (2) a single A/V cable for dramatically simplified home theatre wiring, (3) access to high-value digital content, and (4) intelligent communication between source and display devices. ""What good is an all-digital home entertainment system if you choke it off at the last step with an analog interface to the display or projector?"" asked Dr. Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie Research, the leading market research firm in multimedia and graphics. ""With the recently released HDMI specification and silicon from Silicon Image, consumers will see new levels of stable quality from their home cinema display systems,"" added Peddie. ""And with HDCP, PanelLink Cinema assures consumers of access to premium HD movies."" ""The consumer electronics industry needed a true, all-digital interconnect to elevate the home theatre experience to the next level, both in terms of content and performance. HDMI is the solution,"" stated Silicon Image Vice President of Consumer Electronics John LeMoncheck. ""Silicon Image's TMDS technology serves as the basis for the HDMI specification, and by combining this with HDCP technology, we are setting the gold standard for HDMI with the industry's first HDMI-compliant ICs. PanelLink Cinema means the consumer electronics device is HD content-ready, and consumers can look forward to the first HDMI-enabled devices hitting store shelves as early as Q3 2003--enabling the delivery of exciting new TV services and packaged content not currently available."" HDMI enables consumer electronics manufacturers to cost-effectively incorporate the highest quality video and audio into their systems. Unlike earlier video and audio interface solutions that provided consumers better performance while at the same time increasing cabling complexity, HDMI actually simplifies wiring by eliminating the maze of A/V cables behind today's home entertainment system. Further, by replacing up to 11 audio and video cables with a single HDMI cable, HDMI potentially reduces overall system costs for both consumer electronics manufacturers and consumers without sacrificing video and audio quality. Fully compliant with both the HDMI 1.0 and DVI 1.0 specifications, Silicon Image's PanelLink Cinema products feature the latest generation of Silicon Image's PanelLink TMDS core technology for HDMI compliance, and are backward compatible with the growing installed base of DTVs featuring DVI-HDCP inputs. The SiI 9190 and SiI 9993 support the full range of DTV resolutions including 480i, 576i, 480p, 576p, 720p, and 1080i, as well as all 18 ATSC formats. Going a step further, the PanelLink Cinema ICs integrate HDCP, which has been heralded by major motion picture producers for its ability to protect premium high-definition content from unauthorized reproduction and distribution. Each SiI 9190 and SiI 9993 IC features unique, preprogrammed HDCP keys, which greatly simplify the manufacturing process, lower costs, and provide the highest level of key security available. Designed for DVD players, DVD recorders, digital set-top boxes, D-VHS players, and A/V receivers, the SiI 9190 transmitter combines digital video and audio in a single, HDMI-compliant stream. Incorporating an extremely flexible video and audio input bus, the SiI 9190 offers a seamless interface with all major DVD and high-definition MPEG decoders. An industry-standard S/PDIF input accepts PCM-encoded data as well as DolbyÆ Digital, DTSÆ, and all other S/PDIF-compatible audio formats. The SiI 9190 easily transmits HD video and multichannel audio over cables in excess of 15 meters for greater system flexibility. Targeted for DTVs, plasma displays, LCD TVs, and projectors, the SiI 9993 receiver is capable of decoding an incoming HDMI stream and delivering YPbPr or analog RGB video, along with digital audio. A S/PDIF output supports either two-channel PCM audio or encoded data such as Dolby Digital and DTS, while a programmable, two-channel I2S port outputs PCM data to low-cost audio DACs. The SiI 9190 is packaged as a 64-pin TQFP, while the SiI 9993 is packaged as a 100-pin TQFP. Both chips are currently sampling to select licensed HDMI promoters and adopters and are expected to be available in production quantities in the second quarter of 2003.For more information on Silicon Image, visit www.siliconimage.com.

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