eASIC and CAST Announce the Availability of H.264 Multi-Channel Baseline Video Encoder Core for NextremeTM Structured ASICs

The H264-MCE core delivers 150MHz performance in a 90nm Nextreme device

Santa Clara, California, March 27, 2007 - eASIC Corporation, a provider of Structured ASIC devices today announced the availability of the H264-MCE multi-channel baseline video encoder core from CAST, Inc. for implementation in Nextreme Structured ASIC devices. This Intellectual Property core, which was proven in a 90nm Nextreme fabric, demonstrated 150MHz performance and is now offered as a low-cost and fast turnaround solution for a wide range of video processing applications.

Using the Nextreme family for emerging applications such as video-broadcasting or surveillance equipment provides the customer with the benefits of no mask charges, no minimum order quantity and a short turnaround time of 3-4 weeks. The customer gains lower unit cost and 10x lower power consumption when using Nextreme versus comparable FPGA solutions.

“eASIC’s Nextreme technology is a great match for our H.264 encoder core, " said Hal Barbour, president of CAST. “Together they make advanced video coding practical for more designers, and achievable with less risk and lower cost.”

“As we realized an increasing need for video encoder/decoder cores, we have collaborated with CAST, one of our eZ-IP Alliance partners, to provide our customers with a low-cost platform to implement their video-based applications,” said Jasbinder Bhoot, Senior Director of Marketing at eASIC. “Our solution introduces a higher performance and lower power-consumption alternative compared to baseline profile encoders implemented using FPGAs.

A synthesizable H264/MCE core is available now in VHDL, Verilog or netlist formats. The core is licensable by CAST and the Nextreme devices are offered by eASIC. For pricing information, please contact eASIC sales representative.

With its ability to process multiple inputs and unusual support for frame sizes up through HDTV at fast transmission rates, the H.264 core is especially effective for multi-camera surveillance systems, video conferencing packages, networked camera situations, and any application with multiple video sources feeding into a single network node where bandwidth is limited.

The core conforms to the Level 4.1 Baseline H.264 specification, and can be configured to support a wide range of popular video resolutions. It can, for example, easily process 720p HDTV in an Nexteme device (1280 x 720 pixel frames, 30 frames per second, running at just 110 MHz). The flexible core can produce output that is either constant bit rate (CBR) for applications with limited bandwidth, or variable bit rate (VBR) for applications processing detailed images in fast-changing scenes. Additional processing details and error checking features ensure video quality ; see the datasheet online for complete information.

eASIC is a fabless semiconductor company offering breakthrough Structured ASIC devices aimed at dramatically reducing the overall fabrication cost and time of customized semiconductor chips. Low-cost, high-performance and fast-turn ASIC and System-on-Chip designs are enabled through patented technology of FPGA-like programmable logic coupled with ASIC-like Via-layer customizable routing. This innovative fabric efficiently employs mask-less customization with Direct-write e-Beam, and thus allows eASIC to offer NRE-free Structured ASICs.

Founded in 1999, eASIC Corporation is privately held, headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Investors include Vinod Khosla, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB), Crescendo Ventures, and Evergreen Partners. www.eASIC.com

CAST provides over 100 popular and standards-based IP cores for ASICs and FPGAs. The company is headquartered near New York City, partners with IP developers around the world, and works with select sales consultants and distributors throughout Europe and Asia. Learn more at www.cast-inc.com.