WD's 1394 A/V HD, Incorporating Technology Developed by Sony U.S. Research Labs, Designed to Further Enable Digital Consumer Electronics and In-Home Networks
IRVINE, Calif. - Jan. 05, 2001 - Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today announced that its IEEE-1394 audio/video hard drive (A/V HD) technology will be demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 6-9, 2001 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Western Digital's 1394 A/V HD is the first technology to deliver both asynchronous and isochronous capabilities by using IEEE-1394 digital interface technology developed by Sony's Interconnect Architecture Laboratory (IAL), one of the U.S. Research Laboratories of Sony Electronics Inc. The unique combination of these capabilities enables a rich set of functionality for the future development of both a computer peripheral and a consumer entertainment product.
"The 1394 interface has seen increasing visibility in both PC and consumer applications. Western Digital's A/V hard drive is a clear example of a device that uses 1394 to cross the narrowing line between these two industries." said Scott Smyers, vice president of Sony's San Jose, Calif.-based Interconnect Architecture Laboratory.
The 1394 A/V HD technology enables simultaneous recording and playback of MPEG2 video (high definition and standard definition), DV (Digital Video) and audio streams, making it an ideal solution for delivering optimum performance and ease-of-use for in-home networks, digital video recorders and other digital consumer electronics. Implementing an embedded file system to manage and control the streaming content also adds to the capabilities and performance of the HD. This technology also includes the "5C" DTCP copy protection technology in order to prevent the unauthorized use of copy-protected content that the A/V HD might store.
"Industry insiders are carefully watching 1394-capable storage technology, as they ready their digital product plans for 1394 interconnection," said Robert A. Perry, director of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. "It seems clear that 1394-capable digital A/V devices will achieve critical mass very quickly, with 2001 being the formative year."
Several companies have realized the benefit that Western Digital's 1394 A/V HD technology brings to the consumer electronics market and will be showcasing the product as part of their CES demonstrations. Among the companies that will be utilizing the technology in their demos are Keen Personal Media (booth #24823), Texas Instruments (booth #2015), TeraLogic (suite at the Mirage), VividLogic (#24937 - HAVi suite at the Four Seasons Hotel) and Digital Harmony (booth #3747).
VividLogic, a leading supplier of IEEE-1394 and HAVi (Home Audio Video interoperability) software, will display a sample home A/V network demonstrating multi-device, multi-vendor interoperability using HAVi software that includes Western Digital's 1394 A/V HD technology. The demo will showcase VividLogic's FireBus IEEE-1394 and HAVi software which allows the 1394 A/V HD technology to have a graphical interface that runs on other devices such as digital TVs, set-top boxes and residential gateways in the home network.
"The coupling of Western Digital's A/V HD technology with VividLogic's HAVi based FireBus technology will enable seamless interoperability for CE devices within home networking infrastructures," said Shiva Patibanda, chief executive officer, VividLogic Inc. "This technology delivers an unmatched ease-of-use for CE devices. The consumer simply connects the cables."
By implementing both HAVi technology and 1394 A/V HD technology digital entertainment system OEMs will be able to easily develop applications and systems that can stream content to and from other HAVi-enabled devices.
"There is a huge opportunity for this 1394 technology to benefit the digital CE devices and in-home networking infrastructures," said Samuel A. Muscariello, senior director of marketing with Western Digital. "We see components such as set-top boxes, television sets, game consoles, juke boxes, and ultimately the end-user benefiting from this technology as it will provide the capability for additional features not commonly available today. As 1394 continues to become the dominating consumer electronics external attach interface, we fully expect an increased demand from CE manufacturers for 1394 A/V HD technology."
About Western Digital
One of the data storage industry's longtime leaders, Western Digital Corporation has leveraged its core strengths in becoming a leading Internet solutions company. Western Digital provides services and products to manage, store and communicate both digital content and network intelligence. The Company remains an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of hard drives for desktop computers and home entertainment applications. Through its Connex subsidiary, Western Digital delivers enterprise-class storage functionality for the department and mid-sized business markets, including storage management software, network attached storage and storage area networks. The Company's SageTree subsidiary markets packaged analytical software applications and professional services to help manufacturers manage quality and quality-related business decisions throughout the entire supply chain and product lifecycle. Western Digital's Keen Personal Media subsidiary provides broadband software, services and hardware for interactive television and Internet content management.
Western Digital was founded in 1970. The Company's storage 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.
About Sony Interconnect Architecture Laboratory
The Interconnect Architecture Laboratory (IAL) is one of Sony's San Jose, Calif.-based research laboratories. Sony's IAL is involved in the standardization and development of key digital home network related technologies.
About VividLogic
VividLogic is based in Fremont, California and is the leading developer of HAVi and IEEE-1394 software to provide interoperability among digital entertainment devices. The Company's software is a comprehensive, off-the-shelf solution designed specifically to build digital products such as digital TVs, set-top boxes, printers, DVDs, digital video recorders, residential gateways, etc. The software comes complete with a highly portable HAVi (full, intermediate and base audio video) software stack (including Java based org.havi.ui), on-screen display using EIA 775, copy protection based on 5C, AVC Commands, IEC 61883 protocol, portable IEEE 1394 device drivers that support different IEEE-1394 chip sets and operating systems. Visit http://www.vividlogic.com for more details.
Western Digital is a registered trademark of Western Digital Corporation. All other brand and product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.