A whole slew of multimedia chips, and multimedia-enabled microprocessor are to be described at the Microprocessor Forum this week, and one company generating a deal of excitement is Mountain View, California-based Chromatic Research Inc, with a seven-function chip that is designed to replace several add-on circuit boards. The company is backed by LG Semicon Co, Seoul, South Korea and Toshiba Corp, Tokyo, which will be fabricating the device. Called the Mpact media engine, it is designed to include audio, three-dimensional graphics, modem, facsimile transmission, telephony and video compression. Chromatic looks to make most of its money on the software that runs on the chip, and says that it has orders from five of the largest US personal computer makers, and the first ones are expected in the second quarter of next year.
