Nethra Imaging Expands into PC Market with Joint Reference Design for High-Speed, USB-Based Digital Imaging; Reference Design with PLX Technology Enhances Image Quality and Speeds Video Transmission

June 5, 2006; 02:53 AM
Nethra Imaging, a privately held developer of imaging solutions for consumer applications, is enhancing the quality and connectivity of digital imaging with the announcement of a joint reference platform aimed at transporting high quality image and video to the PC camera. Jointly designed with PLX Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of USB and other standard input/output (I/O) interconnect silicon, the reference design board enables manufacturers to streamline the development of digital still and motion cameras for desktop, laptop and embedded computers.

"Our collaboration with PLX on this reference design expands Nethra's imaging solutions portfolio beyond mobile handset applications into the PC video-capture market," said Ramesh Singh, Nethra's president and chief executive officer. "Our complementary strengths have yielded a reference platform we envision will deliver print-quality imaging and high-definition quality video capture for sharing and transmission. For consumers, this means real-time, high-resolution images and video directly from their PC platforms, even in low-light situations during video conferencing."

Nethra's NI-2060 image processing system-on-chip (SoC) and the PLX(R) NET2272 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller complement one another on a reference design board and provide a proof-of-concept platform for the high-speed processing and delivery of digital-imaging content with off-the-shelf silicon. Manufacturers can use the reference board to develop next-generation digital cameras and Webcams that are either external or built into computers.

"Manufacturers of cameras and PCs with built-in Webcams are no longer satisfied with inferior image quality and transfer speeds," said Larry Chisvin, chief operating officer at PLX. "PLX and Nethra, with this reference platform, are demonstrating our commitment to boosting that quality and speed, and making it easy as possible for those manufacturers to bring their products to market."

USB, image processing technologies optimized for portability, versatility

Nethra's NI-2060 image processing SoC delivers 54 megapixels per second which enables high-definition video capture and processing on a PC. Highly optimized architecture delivers a fully integrated solution and operates with no external memory requirement in an ultra-small form factor. Nethra's image processor supports CMOS sensors, from multiple vendors, up to 3-megapixel resolution. The processor, offered as a bare die option for space-constrained implementations, allows OEMs to implement a single design with multiple options when developing solutions for various price points.

The NET2272 is a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed peripheral controller with a 16-bit high-performance, asynchronous local-bus interface capable of up to 30 independent data streams. It features the highest sustained data transfer speeds among USB controllers -- up to 40Mbytes/sec. The NET2272's low power requirements (186mW active, 8.1uW standby) make it ideal for battery-powered applications, such as laptop computers.

Reference design compatible with multiple platforms and CMOS sensors

The joint reference design will deliver video-class USB 2.0 drivers for real-time video capture and display capabilities on both MacOS(R) and Windows(R) OS platforms. The two-chip solution is compatible with CMOS sensors at different resolutions including 1.3-, 2- and 3-megapixel cameras. Design kits and associated software are available by contacting PLX and Nethra.

About Nethra

Nethra Imaging is a privately held semiconductor company focused on delivering imaging solutions for a wide range of digital consumer applications. The company uses proprietary algorithms to build flexible, fully programmable image processor chips for mobile imaging and PC video capture applications. Incorporated in 2003, Nethra is located in Cupertino, Calif., and began full operations in January 2004. The company's leaders are a team of established entrepreneurs with a wealth of experience in imaging and silicon development. Nethra is venture-backed and entered the market in 2005 with a family of image processors for the rapidly growing mobile handset camera market. For more information, visit www.nethra.us.com.