Toshiba SLI RISCASIC Speeds Early Market Entry for TeleCruz' Internet TV Solution

IP News

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2000--Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) announced it has developed a mixed-signal, system-level integration (SLI) RISCASIC(TM) for TeleCruz Technology, Inc.

This new RISCASIC serves as the foundation for the TC702 Interactive Platform from TeleCruz Technology, Inc., a turnkey solution designed to allow television manufacturers to add Internet access capabilities to televisions and set-top boxes.

TeleCruz chose TAEC to assist in the development of the TC702 because the company had proven expertise in embedding processor cores and merging customers' intellectual property (IP), as well as providing the design flow that TeleCruz required to meet an extremely tight system development schedule.

``Toshiba played an enormous role in enabling us to get our system to market months ahead of schedule,'' said Jordan DuVal, director of marketing at TeleCruz. ``The company's robust library of processor cores, customizable mixed-signal capabilities, and strong design support enabled us to develop a very sophisticated ASIC that worked exactly as it was intended in first silicon.''

TeleCruz IP Merged with Toshiba IP

TAEC's SLI engineering team worked closely with the team at TeleCruz throughout the design process, and utilized a hierarchical design methodology for modeling, place-and-route, and verification to integrate the analog and digital components required by the design.

``This sophisticated mixed-signal design posed both layout and verification challenges. Our design methodology readily enabled us to integrate multiple blocks of analog IP from TeleCruz with digital IP from TAEC's library, and together we were able to complete the design quickly and efficiently,'' said Jeff Berkman, vice president of SLI engineering at TAEC.

``The RISCASIC TAEC designed and manufactured for TeleCruz demonstrates our established expertise in developing SLI ASICs for interactive TV and Internet communication applications,'' said Peter Richmond, director of SIC business development at TAEC.

``Toshiba's SLI approach means TeleCruz and other customers can expect to meet their specifications and get the most complex ASICs out the door on time at the lowest cost.''

About the TeleCruz RISCASIC

The new RISCASIC uses Toshiba's 32-bit TX39(TM) MIPS®-based processor core, and combines both analog and digital circuitry on a single chip. It also incorporates a significant amount of integrated IP, including TeleCruz' CruzerWare(TM) embedded software technology. CruzerWare offers support for major Internet standards, communications protocols, and popular operating systems required for interactive applications.

The TC702 Interactive Platform from TeleCruz provides leading television manufacturers with single-chip functionality to transform traditional television receivers into interactive-ready devices at minimal cost.

Toshiba's Timing-Driven Design Flow Minimizes ECOs

TAEC not only collaborated on the design of the TC702, but also handled the design verification and supplied the fault model for simulation. Using Toshiba's Timing-Driven Flow (TDF(TM)) design methodology, the TAEC design team was able to finalize the TeleCruz RISCASIC with few engineering change orders (ECOs), saving at least six months of design time and helping TeleCruz get their product to market months ahead of schedule.

The TeleCruz RISCASIC also offers performance that exceeds the original specifications due to Toshiba's TDF design efficiencies.

Toshiba's TDF is the industry's first advanced design planning methodology based on open EDA tools that enables concurrent logical and physical design to reduce the number of design iterations to achieve timing closure.

The latest version of this methodology, TDF 2.0, increases design capacity threefold over prior generations in order to handle today's largest designs while also streamlining the flow for complete timing coverage. Toshiba's customers with mega-gate designs can now benefit from this proven methodology to achieve their design timing goals.

Toshiba's RISCASIC Strategy

In addition to its leadership in embedded memory, including DRAM, Toshiba utilizes its expertise in developing RISC ASSPs (Application-Specific Standard Products) as the foundation for integrating microprocessor IP into SLI ASIC designs.

Toshiba offers a broad spectrum of cores from its TX SystemRISC(TM) processor family featuring x16- to x64-bit word widths, upward-compatible code, and performance up to 240MIPS.

About TeleCruz

Headquartered in San Jose, TeleCruz Technology Inc. provides innovative technology solutions that allow television manufacturers to offer a range of Internet-ready television sets based on the Cruzer platform. Embedded into the television set during manufacturing, the Cruzer platform integrates highly scalable chip circuitry with programmable firmware.

This flexible, cost-effective approach benefits manufacturers, service providers and consumers alike, making interactive television a viable mass-market technology.

About TAEC

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) is the North American engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sales arm of Toshiba Semiconductor Company and Display Devices and Components Company. TAEC is recognized as one of the world's largest suppliers of semiconductor, electronic component and storage solutions.

Toshiba's Semiconductor Company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products including LSIs, microprocessors and controllers, and advanced memory products, in addition to discrete and bipolar components.

The company is also responsible for global sales and marketing of other major electronic components including liquid crystal displays, color display and picture tubes, lithium-ion and other secondary batteries.

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RISCASIC, TDF, TX39, and TX System RISC are trademarks of Toshiba Corporation. Cruzer and CruzerWare are trademarks of TeleCruz Technology, Inc. All other registered trademarks and/or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.