Micronas brings High Definition to PC-TV with MicViper, the world's first dual-channel ATSC design for PCI Express (0533)

First demonstration to the public at CES 2006

Freiburg, Germany, December 21, 2005 - Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN), a leading supplier of innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, today announced the launch of MicViperTM, the world's first dual-channel reference design for advanced PCI Express® PC-TV solutions which is compliant to the ATSC digital TV standard. Micronas will showcase MicViper for the first time at the International Consumer Electronics Show to be held in Las Vegas from January 5 to 8, 2006.

MicViper forms the heart of a PC home theater system. With dual tuners, it enables users to watch and record simultaneously, or record two programs at once without facing scheduling conflicts. MicViper enhances the PC viewing experience by enabling time-shifting features such as instant replay and pause TV. In addition to high-definition ATSC signals, MicViper can receive conventional analog TV, allowing viewers to tune in to both analog and digital broadcasts in North America and South Korea.

The two signal paths in MicViper are fully independent. This feature allows any combination of analog or high-definition broadcasts, such as two analog, one analog and one high-definition or recording two high-definition broadcasts while watching a pre-recorded analog or high-definition program. As the number of home networks grows, the need to stream multiple live and recorded television programs over the network will increase. MicViper makes these usage scenarios possible by providing the high quality and dual channels required.

The MicViper reference design is a complete production-ready solution. In addition to schematics and Bill of Materials (BOM), MicViper comes with Microsoft AVStream class drivers and is compatible with Windows XP Media Center or third-party applications from Cyberlink and Intervideo. OEMs and system integrators can easily create PC-TV solutions of all types based on MicViper and its supporting software.

The PCI Express capability of the MicViper is provided by Micronas' nGene® dual-channel multimedia controller. Only PCI Express can offer the bandwidth necessary for streaming multiple video channels without degrading video quality. "nGene is certified by the PCI-SIG, the industry standard body for PCI Express technology, to be PCI Express 1.0a compliant", says Kai Scheffer, director media home at Micronas. "This certification is essential to PC OEMs and system integrators as it ensures that MicViper is compatible with a wide variety of PC motherboards offering PCI Express x1 slots."

Features alone are not enough to sell PC-TV in the living room. Viewers expect clear pictures and solid receiver performance, and they want the flexibility to place the Media PC anywhere without worrying about antenna placement. With this in mind, Micronas enhanced the digital reception capability of MicViper with two of Xceive's XC3028 silicon tuners. "The XC3028 exceeds the specifications commonly found in double-conversion 'can' tuners, while offering a very small footprint and high dynamic range," said Alvin Wong, vice president of marketing at Xceive. "The combination of Xceive's silicon TV tuner with Micronas backend chipset significantly raises the performance bar for high-definition TV systems."

The XC3028 delivers robust signals which are further processed by the Micronas DRX-H ATSC channel demodulator, an advanced demodulator for digital TV broadcasts. The DRX-H is based on Micronas' proprietary primeD® technology, which provides a superior solution to satisfy the increasing market demand for higher quality high-definition reception performance.

As opposed to merely filtering echoes out, Micronas' primeD technology combines multiple echoes to create a single, stronger signal, resulting in enhanced overall reception quality. PCI Express designs employing DRX-H are able to cope with notoriously difficult terrestrial reception situations and provide measurable improvements to the overall viewing experience of consumers.

MicViper and its associated software give OEMs and system integrators the tools they need to build living-room quality ATSC-capable PC-TVs and PVRs for the North American and Korean markets. The MicViper reference design kit is available now.

The first demonstration of the MicViper reference design will take place at CES 2006 at the Micronas booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center in hall SO4, booth 35346.