Philips Semiconductor Inc is heavily promoting its TriMedia multimedia processor for a new generation of video phones, and has set up a Video Communications product sector within its TriMedia product group to support OEMs developing video telephony applications. The group is currently working with more than 15 OEMs and will provide both silicon and software for the new video phones. It says it expects to announce specific products early in the new year. The company is targeting the TriMedia, along with sophisticated video compression software, at high quality consumer video phones that will work on existing analog phone lines, as well as for ISDN and Internet video phones. The TriMedia processor (CI No 3,020) actually handles a number of functions within the phone, including encoding and decoding of video images and telephone communications, and will offer future capability to integrate screen phone and web browser technology. It offers a single chip option which replaces the multiple chips usually required in video phones. Philips will also announce a hardware reference design and video phone software modules for TriMedia-based video phones.
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