TAIPEI, Taiwan--During the Computex 2000 trade show here, STMicroelectronics claimed a breakthrough in three-dimensional graphics and video acceleration with the launch of its new Kyro accelerator.
The new 3-D graphics and video accelerator is the result of a year-old partnership between STMicroelectronics and U.K.-based Imagination Technologies Group, formerly called VideoLogic Group (see April 8, 1999, story). Kyro uses Imagination Technologies' PowerVR Series 3 technology to support 3-D and 2-D graphics, studio quality video playback, and DVD decode support. The accelerator combines Imagination's Tile Based Rendering technique with STMicroelectronics' digital video technology and chip processing capabilities.
PowerVR is already being used in consumer video game consoles and arcade systems, and its integration in the Kyro chip will further extend the availability of the 3-D technology to a broad range of PC users, predicted Hossein Yassaie, chief executive officer of Imagination Technologies in Hertfordshire, U.K.
Managers at STMicro said Kyro's Tile Based Rendering technique makes efficient use of the available memory bandwidth. They said the PowerVR Tile Based Rendering technology requires less than one third of the memory bandwidth required by conventional 3-D accelerators.
Kyro features Full Scene Anti-Aliasing, 32-bit Internal True Color, support for 8-layer multi-texturing, and Direct3D compliant Environment Bump Mapping, said STMicroelectronics. "Developers can finally create rich environments at high frames, as Kyro's Tile Based Rendering approach takes care of increased scene complexity," declared Tim Chambers, vice president and general manager of the Graphics Business Unit of the European chip maker.
The new accelerator received praise from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and industry analysts, based on material released by STMicro during the Taipei computer conference on Monday. "With Kyro, STMicroelectronics and Imagination Technologies have sliced the pie in a different way," said analyst Kathleen Maher, who is also the editor of the Peddie Report. "Our research of the graphics and multimedia markets reveals a pressing need for a graphics solution that can sidestep the challenge of bandwidth and memory limitations and can provide graphics performance at attractive price points for mainstream computing," Maher was quoted as saying by STMicro.
STMicro said production qualities Kyro are being shipped to customers. Board-level products, based on the new accelerator are expected to become available by the end of June. A Kyro 32-megabyte board is expected to have a retail price below $200, according to STMicroelectronics.
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