MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1997--Attendees at Infocomm '97 in Los Angeles came away from the show buzzing about the remarkable cost, picture and audio quality, and flexibility shown by the DVP Server Pro Series of MPEG-2 playback servers introduced by Visual Circuits.
The DVP Server Pro is based upon the 4-ReelTime Pro multi- channel MPEG-2 playback card for PCI bus, designed and manufactured exclusively by Visual Circuits.
MPEG-2 is the digital video and audio compression standard adopted for use by both Digital Satellite System (DSS) providers and by DVD manufacturers. Its predecessor, MPEG-1, has become a de facto standard for PC and Internet-based video compression and transmission. At 720 x 480 resolution, MPEG-2 is simply a higher resolution version of MPEG-1, which adheres to a 640 x 480 standard.
Utilizing its DVP Cockpit software, Visual Circuits demonstrated MPEG-2 playback in both video wall and distributed video configurations at Infocomm. For video wall presentations, the DVP Server plays individual MPEG-2 files in synch -- one file for each channel of the wall. Video wall effects, such as magnify or multiple image splits, are developed in "video post-production" or as part of content creation.
As a result, the DVP Server replaces the video wall processor, source devices such as laserdisc players, and source control devices. In addition, because the DVP Server content is digital, i.e., the MPEG-2 files reside on the system's hard drives, content can be updated remotely, simply by downloading new files via modem or satellite.
The DVP Server Pro is equally adept at managing up to 16 independent streams of video. These independent channels can be attached to interactive video kiosks and support continual looping information displays. Any combination of synchronized and independent playback channels can be easily programmed through DVP Cockpit, Visual Circuits' companion video presentation software package.
Each channel is also capable of displaying full On-Screen Display graphical information, with 16 levels of transparency, as an MPEG-2 video overlay.
"The flexibility and display quality we can offer with MPEG-2 is really what sets this technology apart within the video presentation industry," said David Parish, vice president of Application Development for Visual Circuits. "MPEG-2 and the DVP Server Pro Series really gives the integrators another set of tools to work with as they and their clients get more and more creative," he concluded.
The DVP Server Pro Series is based upon a Windows NT(TM) platform and ships in 4, 8, 12 or 16 channel configurations. The base 4-channel system, which carries a MSRP of $14,900, includes 4.5 gig of MPEG-2 hard disk space, suitable for about one hour of video on each of the 4 channels, a copy of DVP Cockpit software and 4-channel AV "breakout" cables. The total number of channels and amount of disk space on each server is fully scalable.
Visual Circuits Corp. (VCC) is a digital video hardware and software company that designs and manufactures multimedia products for end-users, OEMs and private-label resellers. VCC was founded in 1989 and has produced a variety of video-related products since that time including scan converters, real-time animation playback solutions, video capture boards and MPEG solutions. Visual Circuits is privately held with headquarters in Minneapolis. -0-
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CONTACT: Visual Circuits Corp. David H. Parish, 612/781-2186 [email protected]
URL: http://www.vcircuits.com