New York, NY. At the Interactive Multimedia Association’s IMA Expo’96 this week, Zoran Corp. and Dolby Labs have been demonstrating a DVD-enabled multimedia PC with Dolby Digital AC-3 surround sound.
The demonstration PC uses Zoran’s new DVD4PC reference design board, with Zoran’s ZR38521 single-chip, two-channel AC-3 audio decoder on board. The availability of the ZR38000 family of decoders in volume, as well as Zoran’s DVD4PC reference design, will enable many OEM and PC manufacturers to significantly shorten time-to-market for their DVD products.
Zoran is the leading supplier of Dolby AC-3 decoder chips and parts. “Virtually all existing Dolby Digital consumer products use Zoran devices,” comments Roger Dressler, Technical Director of Dolby Labs. “These decoders can be used in a wide range of applications, including professional studio audio equipment, PC-based and standalone DVD players, and the new consumer audio products of the future.”
Zoran’s DVD4PC reference design board includes a PCI multimedia controller, Windows 95/Windows 3.1 software drivers, and MPEG-2 video decoder, in addition to the AC-3 decoder, on a single PCI card. The AC-3 decoder can be either the ZR38521 for two-channel sound, or the ZR38500 for full six-channel Dolby Digital surround and Dolby Pro Logic. The reference board is available immediately, priced at $1995 (US), and the AC-3 decoders are all in volume production now.
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