Ambarella's A5 SoC platform is designed for hybrid cameras capable of capturing, concurrently, high resolution still pictures, HD video and mobile video.

Ambarella plans to demonstrate prototype hybrid cameras based on A5 SoCs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Over the last decade, both video camcorders and digital still cameras have gone through dramatic shifts -- in price points, form factors and applications.

Most significantly, high-speed Internet connections and new applications like YouTube have created a growing demand for a new generation of video camcorders such as Flip Video that were unforeseen by users of traditional video camcorders.

Dataquest's analyst Hiroyuki Shimizu last fall wrote in a report: "Consumers' requirements for camcorders are changing with the rise of high-speed Internet connections and new ways to view and share video. Two main segments will develop: entry-level, inexpensive camcorders for casual and Internet use, and more advanced and costly models for important purposes."

As cellphones steadily capture casual digital still camera functions, prices for feature-rich standalone digital still cameras (DSC) have been "sinking hopelessly," observed Fermi Wang, Ambarella CEO.

Today, DSCs are capable of shooting video, but many users have found the results unsatisfactory.

Alternatively, digital video camcorders offer the ability to shoot still images, but not very well.

Ambarella's goal is to solve the persistent neither-here-nor-there conundrum faced by DSCs and video camcorders, each struggling to do the other's job without much success.