Reference Design Enables Cost-Effective Addition of Video to Small, Low-Power Platforms
NETANYA, ISRAEL — December 6, 2001 — Emblaze Research, a fully-owned subsidiary of Emblaze Systems Ltd. (LSE: BLZ), and OMNIVISION Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVTI), a leader in CMOS image sensor technologies, announce the availability of EmblazeCam, a reference design for a unique video camera accessory with built-in MPEG-4 compression. This reference design allows people to capture and send pictures and video clips on today’s phones with existing networks, rather than waiting for 2.5G or 3G devices. The EmblazeCam connects to cell phones via the standard UART interface present on most of 700 million cell phones running on existing 2G networks. It enables video capture, recording, messaging and conferencing applications.
Using the EmblazeCam reference design, Cellphone and PDA manufacturers can expand the multimedia capabilities of their devices via an add-on video camera. Such a solution enables image and video recording, video messaging, and two-way video conferencing applications. Since the audio and video compression is performed within the camera itself, no additional resources are used in the cellphone or PDA, leaving the CPU available for other tasks. The cellphones and PDAs require no internal hardware change.
Naftaly Sharir, CEO of Emblaze Research said: “We have worked closely with OMNIVISION in the past few months to develop advanced mobile multimedia designs based on our mutual technologies. What we are offering manufacturers of PDAs, cellphones, and other mobile devices is a complete reference design for an MPEG-4 video camera accessory.”
“This is a significant development in providing video capabilities to small mobile devices,” stated John Lynch, VP sales and marketing for OMNIVISION. “With the availability of this reference design, manufacturers can more easily develop video capable products, and our work with Emblaze Research underscores our commitment to providing solutions to this important market.”
EmblazeCam will be available to cellphone, PDA and accessory manufacturers in December 2001. It will be offered as a full manufacturing kit, including schematics, part lists and all required software. For more information, please contact Emblaze Research or OMNIVISION Technologies.
About OMNIVISION Technologies
OMNIVISION Technologies, Inc. is an independent CameraChip™ solutions provider. Utilizing proprietary design technology for its highly integrated still-photo and video camera solutions for high-volume imaging applications, OMNIVISION integrates multiple image processing and capture functions into a single CameraChip™ design. With the addition of only a lens, the result is a low-cost CameraChip™ that consumes less power, has a greater environmental functioning range and has a smaller footprint than typical CMOS multi-chip image sensor solutions. OMNIVISION’s CameraChip™ solutions are in cell phones, personal digital assistants, automobiles and industrial machine vision applications, as well as surveillance and biometric security applications. OMNIVISION is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information about OMNIVISION, contact Steve Rowley 408.733.3030 ext. 104, or visit our Website at www.ovt.com.
About Emblaze Systems
Founded in 1994, Emblaze is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BLZ) with corporate headquarters in Israel, US headquarters in New York, and representative offices in London, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.
Emblaze develops commercial mobile multimedia solutions for wireless carriers, content providers and handset manufacturers. With a product line ranging from mobile multimedia platforms to MPEG-4 video ASIC semiconductors, the Emblaze solution facilitates the deployment of commercial media services over any wireless network.
The Emblaze platform encompasses live and on-demand encoders, powerful streaming servers, content and asset management, system integration, billing interfaces and a wide range of media applications.
For more information, please visit: www.emblaze.com
About Emblaze Research
Emblaze Research (formerly Zapex Research), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emblaze Systems, is a semiconductor company specializing in highly integrated digital multimedia chips for the consumer, mobile and cellular markets. Emblaze Research mobile multimedia chips support a wide variety of applications, including video streaming, recording, messaging, conferencing and video surveillance, using international standards such as MPEG-4, MP3, and 3G-324M. Emblaze Research is headquartered in Netanya, Israel. For more information about Emblaze Research products and technologies, visit www.EmblazeResearch.com.
Enquiries:
Petra Flam
Emblaze Research
+972 9 892 3264