Winchester, Hampshire-based Microware Systems (UK) Ltd has announced its Motion Picture File Manager that supports the playback of MPEG-encoded audio and video files running under its real-time VMEbus-based operating system OS-9 and portable OS-9000 version for 80386 and 80486-based personal computers. The Motion Pictures Experts Group standard is the method used to convert analogue signals to digital through compression; Microware’s technology provides the means for then decoding MPEG files, be it from optical, magnetic and RAM disks or from local and wide area networks. Microware, which traditionally serves the industrial sector, envisages its technology could be used for a variety of applications based on the OS/9 multi-tasking real time operating system. These include professional MPEG broadcast and editing; digital interactive television for use in point of sale systems and or for security and fault diagnosis systems; interactive training and education systems; satellite systems and video-on-demand systems. Philips Electronics NV meantime is due to introduce similar MPEG decoding to the consumer market in April courtesy of its new CD-I player. Microware’s Motion Picture File Manager is available with video drivers for Motorola Inc’s MCD250 and C-Cube Microsystems Inc’s CL450 MPEG decoders, and audio drivers for Motorola’s MCD260 and Analog Devices Inc’s ADSP2105 signal processors. It supports 16 encoded MPEG video and 32 MPEG encoded audio streams and handles decoded data rates of 1.2Mbps to 5.6Mbps and NTSC and PAL frame rates of 24, 25 and 30 frames per second. Channel switching during playback is supported at application level for ease of use. Sequenced video and audio can be played independently or together and multiple playback requests sequentially queued. The system is written in C and has input-output extensions to the OS-9 and OS-9000 operating systems. It can be installed on any 68000 family system running OS/9 or 80386 or 80486 system running OS/9000. The installation pack including the system object code, video driver source code for C-Cube and Motorola video decoders and digital signal processors is UKP33,440. A supplementary pack for C-Cube’s CL450 PC/AT development board, prividing and OS-900 device driver and object code for MPEG decoding is offered at UKP1,500.
