Hantro MPEG-4 codec will be added to MIPS cores

Hantro MPEG-4 codec will be added to MIPS cores
By Peter Clarke, EE Times
October 13, 2000 (11:03 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20001013S0011

LONDON — Hantro Products Ltd., a Finnish developer of intellectual property, is working with MIPS Technologies Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) to integrate its MPEG-4 codec with MIPS' 4K family of 32-bit processor cores. Together, the codec and processor cores are expected to form a hardware platform for next-generation screen phones, set-top boxes, Internet appliances, and videoconferencing equipment.

Hantro (Oulu, Finland) said its technology will provide high-quality video decoding and encoding at a rate of 15 frames per second. The licensable core can be applied to systems ranging from handheld displays to full-sized televisions, the company said. The codec is configurable and can be scaled from primarily a software implementation to a predominately hardware implementation. When used in combination with MIPS Technologies' licensable cores, the companies said they will be ab le to develop a wide range of hardware solutions.

"Hantro is pleased to enter the MIPS Alliance Program and partner to deliver next-generation codec technology," said Eero Kaikkonen, president and chief executive officer of Hantro. "We chose MIPS due to its strong presence in relevant product categories such as handheld PCs, set-top boxes, and Internet infrastructure."