News

19/8/2003

Philips Licenses Memory Stick Technology From Sony

New Nexperia System Solutions Will Provide Consumers With Advanced Processing and Presentation of Multimedia Content

Royal Philips Electronics today announced that it is licensing Memory Stick(TM) technology from Sony for use in its Nexperia(TM) portfolio of programmable silicon on chip (SOCs) and system solutions for multimedia applications. The combination of Memory Stick technology with the advanced image processing capabilities of Nexperia system solutions will provide consumers with superior performance and additional techniques for handling content stored on a Memory Stick, such as improved image capabilities including real-time image rotation, zooming and panning. For Philips' customers, the software programmability of Nexperia system solutions allows device manufacturers to cost-effectively differentiate their end products from competitors by adding new or enhanced features.

The number of Memory Stick compatible products is increasing at a rapid pace and is expected to reach 200 million by 2005 (source: Sony). By bringing this storage technology to other consumer devices such as digital TVs and liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs via Nexperia system solutions, consumers will be able to easily enjoy their multimedia content through various appliances in the home. For example, with a Nexperia system solution-based TV, consumers will now be able to access different file formats stored on the Memory Stick directly on their TV. They will be able to view both still images (JPEGs) and motion video clips (MPEGs) while listening to audio files such as MP3s. Furthermore, the powerful processing capabilities of Nexperia will enable consumers to capture still images from the motion video displayed on their TV screen and compress and store these as JPEG images onto the Memory Stick for use in other devices such as digital still cameras and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

"Memory Stick is the removable memory of choice for anyone wanting to enjoy digital content anywhere, anytime, which is why we are delighted to license Philips to integrate our technology into its Nexperia system solutions," said Masaharu Yanaga, Senior General Manager, Memory Stick Division, Recording Media Company, Micro Systems Network Company, Sony Corporation. "Philips' adoption of Memory Stick in its Nexperia system solutions will expand the range of applications for which Memory Stick can be used, making it the consumer's preferred format for removable recording media."

"Support for the leading formats of removable storage media, such as Memory Stick, reinforces Philips' commitment to the connected consumer," said Leon Husson, executive vice president, Consumer Businesses, Philips Semiconductors. "By combining Memory Stick technology with Philips' powerful Nexperia system solutions, manufacturers get a cost effective way to integrate Memory Stick connectivity and uniquely differentiate their products. End-users will then be able to share, exchange and record content on a multitude of consumer devices."

By integrating Memory Stick controller logic onto its next-generation Nexperia devices, Philips improves the overall system performance by creating a direct link between Nexperia devices and Memory Stick devices. With the unique and flexible software programmability offered by Nexperia system solutions, customers will be able to differentiate their end products from the competition by adding new features and improving the look and feel of the graphic user interface.

Designed to be easy to use, with high reliability, Memory Stick was developed with the goal of recording different types of digital content and sharing and exchanging this among a wide variety of products. Several versions of Memory Stick are available including Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate Memory Stick, and Memory Stick PRO. MagicGate Memory Stick has a capacity of up to 128MB and employs authentication between a device and media and provides encryption of content, so it can be used for both copyright-protected content and personal data. Memory Stick PRO is the new generation Memory Stick format to meet the needs in the coming broadband era and has a theoretical capacity of up to 32GB (Memory Stick PRO in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities are currently available worldwide), achieving new levels of high performance including real-time recording of high-resolution moving images.

Nexperia system solutions with the integrated Memory Stick technology will be available Q2, 2004.

www.semiconductors.philips.com