PACE Selects ViXS XCode™ 3000 Video Processor to Power its Wireless Home Networking System

XCode™ 3000 Series used by Pace to transcode to low bitrate HD MPEG4 AVC for wireless distribution

TORONTO, Canada — ViXS Systems Inc., the leading developer of video processing solutions, announced today that XCode™ 3000 series, the world’s most advanced MPEG4 AVC (MPEG4 Part 10/H.264) Transcoder / Encoder / Decoder System-on-a-Chip (SoC) has been selected by Pace plc (LSE: PIC) as part of its wireless video technology solution.

The XCode 3000 will perform real-time transcoding of MPEG2 to AVC and real time transrating of MPEG4 AVC to MPEG4 AVC in both HD and SD resolutions, thereby reducing the data rate over the wireless network. To guarantee Quality of Service (QoS), the XCode 3000, with its powerful rate control algorithm, will dynamically transrate the video to have a bit rate that is optimized to the network bandwidth so the video never stops. The chip also performs a mirror transcode, allowing a Pace set-top box server to generate two different output streams of different resolutions and bit-rates to serve two different client devices from a single source.

ViXS Systems enables leading set-top box developers, such as Pace, to develop advanced HD set-top media gateways that truly differentiate with XCode™ 3000’s advanced real-time High-Definition (HD) transcoding, HD decoding and HD encoding capabilities. The XCode™ 3000’s real-time HD MPEG2 -> HD MPEG4 AVC transcoding has dramatic bit rate reduction, while retaining original content resolution and video quality. The XCode™ 3000 HD transcoding/encoding/decoding, dense peripheral integration and powerful multi-processor architecture make it ideal for the next generation of set-top products.

The ViXS XCode™ Series of ICs have led the way as the first — and currently only — single-chip hardware MPEG/AVC encoder, decoder, transcoder and transcryptor SoC with highly integrated connectivity. The availability of XCode™ 3000 allows developers the unique opportunity to build products that provide consumers the ability to quickly convert video content, while keeping it secure, for CE devices like PVR, NAS, STB and PMP locally or over a broad spectrum of IP networks. Consumers will also have the ability to manage user-generated video content, to watch TV remotely, to time-shift their favourite TV shows, to distribute video over the internet for place-shifting, and to record multiple TV programs simultaneously.

Sally Daub, President and CEO of ViXS Systems said: “The XCode™ 3000 series provides our customers with the industry’s most advanced video processing solution for the connected home of the future. With Pace’s drive to develop leading edge products, ViXS was able to provide the hardware and software solution to meet their requirements.”