MRI Progress Licenses Virage Logic ARC® Video 401V Subsystem for Digital TV Applications

MRI Progress Leverages Virage Logic’s ARC Video 401V Subsystem To Address Fast Moving Digital TV Switchover Starting in Russia

FREMONT, Calif. — Virage Logic Corporation (NASDAQ:VIRL), the semiconductor industry’s trusted IP partner, today announced that MRI (Microelectronics Research Institute) Progress has licensed Virage Logic’s ARC Video 401V subsystem. MRI Progress will integrate the subsystem into a SoC targeting digital TV applications, a growing market as the Russian Federation begins converting from analog to digital television. Virage Logic’s IP subsystem, which combines a programmable video engine with a suite of optimized video and audio codecs, includes the Linux-capable and configurable ARC® 750D RISC processor. These integrated components will significantly reduce the time MRI Progress needs to build a competitive System-on-Chip (SoC) offering.

According to the ITAR-TASS news agency, during 2010, Russia’s Digital Television project will be implemented in the following Russian regions: Moscow itself, the region surrounding Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kaliningrad. Chip supplier MRI Progress, the 23-year old SoC silicon company based in Moscow, is leveraging the complete ARC Video 401V subsystem to provide solutions quickly to its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers.

“We chose the Virage Logic solution because of its small silicon area combined with all the audio and video codecs required to produce a final solution, all supported by Virage Logic’s experienced development team based in St. Petersburg,” said Igor Korneyev, First Deputy Director at MRI Progress. “The company has already developed chips for digital television receiver tuners, QFDM (quadrature frequency division multiplexing), and MPEG-2 decoding. We are in the lead for a number of government programs. In particular, we are creating silicon chips to receive and decode digital television broadcasts, for which Virage Logic’s ARC Video 401V subsystem is a key component.”

“Virage Logic sees great opportunity in the emerging Russian SoC market,” said Dr. Alex Shubat, president and CEO of Virage Logic. “MRI Progress is a great customer to begin serving this untapped market. The company is headed by Dr. Vladimir Nemudrov, the Russian Federation Honored Man of Science and Technology, professor, and academician. Under his leadership and with nearly 400 successful chip designs to their credit, MRI Progress has the technical expertise to fully utilize the power inherent in the Virage Logic ARC Video subsystem.”

“MRI Progress is an ideal customer to enter the Russian market with,” said Dr. Yankin Tanurhan, vice president and general manager Processor, SoC Infrastructure, Application Specific IP (ASIP), and NVM solutions business units at Virage Logic. “The company has a track record for developing SoCs, ASICs, and mixed signal RF integrated circuits for communication, digital TV, navigation, radar system and automotive electronics. Their engineers are experienced in all the major EDA design flows and have taped out designs with major foundries inside Russia and elsewhere. Having MRI Progress adopt the ARC Video 401V subsystem gives Virage Logic a major win in this rapidly emerging market.”