News

Transmeta Launches Fanless Digital Entertainment Center Initiative (21/1/2005)

Transmeta Corporation (Nasdaq:TMTA), the leader in efficient computing, and multiple complementary software and hardware technology providers today announced an initiative to deliver high performance fanless Digital Entertainment Centers, powered by Efficeon(TM) technology to the market. These systems feature full x86 compatibility, functionality and versatility in sleek consumer electronics form factors. Multiple new prototype designs based around Efficeon technology are being demonstrated publicly at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to launch Transmeta's initiative centered around the Digital Entertainment Center or "media center" applications.

The high performance and cool operation inherent in the Efficeon processor architecture makes it ideally suited for this new breed of quiet, small form factor Digital Entertainment Centers. Thanks to the high performance of Efficeon, the new Digital Entertainment Centers deliver the latest in digital media content including television, pictures, music, videos, internet access and much more. Furthermore, the low heat operation of the processor allows for fanless cooling and quiet operation, making Digital Entertainment Centers better suited for living room than most current competitive product offerings.

Transmeta is developing a Digital Entertainment Center reference design and evaluation platform to accelerate time to market and enable evaluation by strategic OEM partners adopting Efficeon technology for these devices. This reference design package, scheduled for availability in Q1 2005, will provide partners with full schematics, layout, bill of materials, drivers, and a design guide. The design features a high performance, compact-package Efficeon 8820 processor, the ATI RADEON 9550 visual processing unit, and the full-featured ULI M1563 southbridge, all integrated in a single compact motherboard. The board also features PCI expansion capabilities for TV tuners, ten USB ports, and outputs necessary to enable high-quality consumer audio and video, supporting both worldwide and EU-specific standards. Additionally, many of the integration partners are available for immediate consulting services for OEM adopters of this design.

"With our Digital Entertainment Initiative, Transmeta is showing the ability for Efficeon technology to enable a quiet and fanless form factor for the ultimate entertainment experience in the living room," said Matthew R. Perry, president and CEO of Transmeta. "Synergistic with our increased focus on technology licensing, this initiative can clear the path for consumer electronics manufacturers to more rapidly integrate Efficeon technology into their own entertainment products."

The prototype units being displayed publicly at CES 2005 will show examples of the Digital Entertainment Initiative with a compelling range of applications, performance levels and price points. Transmeta has been working closely with a number of key complementary manufacturers and designers, in both hardware and software, to enable fast time to market.

These prototypes feature the Efficeon processor running at speeds up to 1.6 GHz and demonstrate different choices in operating systems and interfaces, including Microsoft Media Center Edition 2005 and MythTV based on the ESG's Royal Linux operating system. State of the art software CODECs are also being shown, such as Windows Media High Definition video from Microsoft, and high-definition video content being decoded by Moonlight's H.264 CODEC. A prototype of a high end Digital Entertainment Center utilizing Zoran's Generation-9 hardware accelerator demonstrates a hybrid approach for delivering up to four streams of shared high-definition content in a cost-effective household multi-room system.

www.transmeta.com