NetSilicon and Micronas Combine to Offer High Performance Web Radio, NetworkAudio (0122)
Production-Ready Internet Radio offers OEMs Increased Performance and Fast Time-to-Market
Munich and Freiburg, Oct. 2nd 2001 - NetSilicon GmbH, the leading provider of integrated hardware and software for intelligent, networked devices, Micronas GmbH, a leading developer of microchips for the consumer electronics, multimedia and automotive industries, and Germany's FS Forth-Systeme GmbH, a designer and manufacturer of electronic devices, today announced their cooperation in developing a high performance MP3 Internet radio application, called NetworkAudioTM.
"The innovative NetworkAudio Web radio is a result of the seamless cooperation between three leading edge companies with vast expertise in embedded networking and digital audio technology," said Michael Evensen, EMEA vice president, NetSilicon. "OEMs of electronic products can now leverage a complete, off-the-shelf reference design and development kit for very low bill of materials costs, allowing an OEM to begin product development immediately. The NetworkAudio reference design can therefore drastically reduce an OEM's designs risks, cost and time-to-market."
NetworkAudio allows access to over 33,000 Internet radio stations available worldwide without using a web-browser. NetworkAudio can be accessed via any broad-band Internet access, such as DSL, Powerline, Home PNA or an Ethernet Local Area Network. The necessary processing hardware, application-specific and networking software, protocols and drivers are in one complete system. NetSilicon provided its open source device networking platform, NET+LXTM, which integrates the NET+ARM® networked microprocessor with the uClinux operating system; Forth-Systeme supplied the development board; and Micronas provided the intelligent audio decoder for the NetworkAudio application, called MAS 35xxF.
The NetworkAudio application incorporates two processors in the design. NetSilicon's integrated "solution-on-chip" allows access to radio stations on the Internet, while the Micronas audio decoder converts the compressed digital audio signal from MP3 format into an analog sound signal.
"With NetworkAudio, manufacturers of electronic products can leverage a complete, production-ready application with very low development costs," said Hubertus von Janecek, director personal digital entertainment at Micronas. "We believe that the NetworkAudio product offers OEMs the quickest design-to-revenue cycle possible."
The family concept of Micronas' audio processor MAS35xxF allows OEMs to manufacture applications with bi-directional audio or voice services, such as internet broadcast stations or Voice-over-IP devices using the same platform. The NetworkAudio evaluation kit is production-ready and is comprised of the NetworkAudio board, which includes software and application notes. This allows OEMs to shorten their development time while reducing design risks and cost. The kits are available from FS Forth-Systeme GmbH immediately.
About FS FORTH-SYSTEME GmbH
FS FORTH-SYSTEME GmbH conceptualizes, designs and manufactures customized development systems and boards for networking and communications. FS FORTH-SYSTEME GmbH is an authorized developer for NetSilicon products and has designed a small and compact development platform using the NET+ARM® microprocessor.
More information on FS FORTH-SYSTEME GmbH is available at: www.fsforth.de.
About NetSilicon
NetSilicon (Nasdaq:NSIL) designs and manufactures integrated solutions for manufacturers who want to build intelligence and Internet/Ethernet connectivity into their products. These solutions integrate system-on-silicon and software to provide a complete platform for Internet/Ethernet-connected products.
The NET+LX platform allows manufacturers to shorten their time to market, reduce development risk, lower costs, and free their engineers from the difficult task of integrating multi-vendor networking components. NetSilicon is enabling device intelligence and connectivity in a broad range of industries including office imaging, industrial automation, telecommunications, building controls, security, and point of sale. NetSilicon's solutions are paving the way for the device-centric networks of tomorrow.
For additional company, product or financial information, please visit the NetSilicon website, www.NetSilicon.com, send email to emea-sales@NetSilicon.com, or call +49 (0)89-90 11 97-3.