Western Digital Announces StreamWeaver Technology To Efficiently Handle Multiple Streams Of Data For Consumer Electronics/Home Entertainment Applications
StreamWeaver Optimizes Handling Of Audio/Video Data And Provides A Solid Foundation for A/V Command Standardization Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) today announced the development of StreamWeaver(TM) technology, an interface command set targeted specifically for use in audio/video (A/V) consumer applications. StreamWeaver delivers A/V performance optimization and support of multiple streams of data for simultaneous viewing and recording required for A/V programming on digital video recorders (DVR), set-top boxes, home servers, A/V juke boxes, televisions and other consumer products. The technology embedded in StreamWeaver has been presented to the ATA Standards Committee (T13 NCITS), and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are now incorporating the interface command set into future products. ""IDC believes that the capabilities enabled by DVRs will drive robust demand for this new and exciting category, with consumers snapping up over a million units in the first 18 months of retail availability,"" said Kevin Hause, Manager of Consumer Device Research at International Data Corp. ""The ability to simultaneously record and playback high quality video in a consistent and reliable manner is key to enabling this new consumer experience."" ""With the new home entertainment applications, the smooth delivery of audio and video is critical. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a continuous 'streaming' operation to achieve the best picture and sound quality,"" said Russ Krapf, Vice President and General Manager of Western Digital's A/V Solutions line of business. ""With computing types of applications, the focus is on the integrity of data and the recovery of errors, even if this requires additional time to process. StreamWeaver technology allows Western Digital hard drives to distinguish between A/V and computer data and handle the information appropriately."" Devices enabled with the StreamWeaver technology will help to usher in a new era of television viewing, for example, allowing consumers to completely tailor their viewing habits to create virtual channels consisting of programs geared to their own personal choices and interests. Viewers will be able to record and/or playback several channels simultaneously. They will have the ability to ""pause"" a live TV program and then come back to it without missing any programming. StreamWeaver is designed to enable the balancing of performance, acoustics and power for A/V applications. ""StreamWeaver-enabled products coupled with Metabyte's software for personalized television will help broaden the availability of personal video recorder products,"" said Manu Mehta, CEO of Metabyte, Inc. ""Western Digital is well-known for its expertise in the development of open architecture standards. The StreamWeaver technology's support of both data and A/V streaming is important for digital VCR solutions that are required to handle multiple types of broadcast material."" Western Digital recently announced the WD Performer line of hard drives for the home entertainment market. The WD Performer hard drives feature WhisperDriveô technology to dramatically reduce the noise level for use in a quiet home environment. The WD Performer features 9.1 GB per platter and is available in 27.2, 18.1, 13.6, and 9.1 GB capacities. The new WD Performer 27.2 GB hard drive provides the user with over 25 hours of standard MPEG video storage or over 500 hours of MP3 audio. Western Digital's WhisperDrive feature dramatically reduces noise, making WD Performer more compatible with use in a quiet home environment. For example, testing in Western Digital's exclusive Fit Labô found the new WhisperDrive feature to reduce sound power acoustics by approximately 50 percent in commonly-used seek operations. Western Digital has long been known for its involvement in hard drive interface architecture, as a creator of the Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface that became the personal computer hard drive interface standard in 1986. Western Digital then went on to develop the Enhanced IDE (EIDE) interface standard in 1993, which included the ATAPI specification - today's standard for IDE CD-ROM drives. About Western Digital Western Digital Corporation is a leading manufacturer of hard drives used for information storage in desktop computers, servers, workstations and home entertainment electronic products. Through its Connex subsidiary, the company serves users of network-attached storage systems and enterprise-wide storage area networks. Western Digital was founded in 1970 and has long been noted for its storage and end-market systems-level design knowledge. The company's products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers and selected resellers under the Western Digital brand name. Its home page can be found at http://www.westerndigital.com. Source: Western Digital Corporation Web site: http://westerndigital.com