From: jww@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Jack W. Wine)
Subject: Motorola press release of Atari Falcon030
>ntp-Posting-Host: uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
>summary: Motorola chips power Falcon afterburners 
>sender: root@news.Hawaii.Edu (News Service)
>organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Reply-To: oyakea@rpi.edu
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
>message-Id: <1992Sep24.014619.16869@news.Hawaii.Edu>
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 19:02:13 GMT



     MOTOROLA'S 56001 PROVIDES AUDIO/VIDEO FEATURES FOR
    ATARI'S FALCON030 PERSONAL INTEGRATED MEDIA COMPUTER

BOSTON, Mass., September 23, 1992 - Motorola Inc.'s Microprocessor
and Memory Technologies Group today announced that its 56001
digital signal processor (DSP) performs key audio/video functions
on the motherboard of the new Atari Falcon030(tm) personal-
integrated, media computer.  The Falcon030 is a full-scale
computer that uses the 32 MHz 56001 to process and manipulate
compact-disc-quality digital audio and voice signals which,
combined with Atari's integrated software, makes the Falcon030 a
complete, personal integrated media computer.

"Motorola's 24-bit DSPs continue to be the choice for
manufacturers that want to embed compact-disc, digital audio
functions," said Bryant Wilder, Motorola's DSP operations manager.
"The 56001 gives Atari's Falcon030 an impressive feature set that
is showing the rest of the industry where personal computers are
heading."

DSPs are capable of performing functions such as compact disc
quality sound, voicemail, voice annotation and recognition, video
compression, facsimile transmission, high-speed modem, array
processing and high-speed numeric processing.  Other major
computer manufacturers that use the DSP56000 family on their
motherboard include the NeXT Computer System and Silicon Graphics
IRIS Indigo(tm) RISC PC.

Atari's Falcon030 Personal Integrated Media Computer
----------------------------------------------------
Atari's Falcon030 is designed for personal-integrated media
functions including video, audio, animation, telecommunications
and graphics.  The Atari Falcon030 uses the 56001 DSP to process
compact-disc quality audio and voice synthesis capabilities.  The
56001 operates independent of the central processor, Motorola's
68030, and completes a variety of tasks without slowing the
system.  Within the Atari Falcon030, Motorola's 56001 drives
digital audio functions including graphic equalization, channel
manipulation, reverberation  and surround sound, all which provide
the user professional audio effects for tasks such as video sound
augmenting and recording capabilities.

"Atari's Falcon030, with the help of Motorola's 56001 DSP, is
bringing professional-level recording and audio manipulation
capabilities to the consumer," said Sam Tramiel, Atari's president
and CEO.  "Motorola's 56001 provides a single chip solution for
digital audio and voice capabilities optimizing the Falcon030 as a
personal-integrated media computer."

Motorola's DSP56001
-------------------
Motorola's 24-bit, 32 MHz 56001 processes 16 million
instructions per second (MIPS) and performs 96 million operations
per second (MOPS).  The 56001 recreates CD-quality sound because
its architecture is highly parallel and its 24-bit word width
generates sound up to 144 decibels of dynamic range.  The 56001
differs from other DSPs in that it processes signals in 24-bit
data chunks providing throughput of more than 100 million
operations per second.

Motorola's 24-bit 56000 architecture is important since most
analog-to-digital converter chips, which convert analog signals
into digital bit streams, translate analog signals in the ranges
of 14 to 20 bits at a time.  The extra bits in the 56000
architecture allow additional calculations to be performed on
these digital samples while maintaining the input signal accuracy.

Atari Corporation (AMEX:ATC)  is a worldwide manufacturer and
marketer of palmtop through desktop computer systems.  The company
sells its systems, peripherals and software through authorized
distributors, resellers and integrators.

                        #   #   #



   MOTOROLA'S 68030 MICROPROCESSORS POWER ATARI'S FALCON030
               PERSONAL INTEGRATED MEDIA COMPUTER

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 23, 1992 - Motorola's High Performance
Microprocessor Division today announced that its 68030 provides
the processing power for Atari Corporation's new Atari Falcon030,
the industry's first personal integrated media system.  The Atari
Falcon030 is a full-scale computer based on the powerful 68030 and
is specifically designed for personal integrated media functions
including video, audio, animation, telecommunications and
graphics.  Users of the Atari Falcon030 can create home videos
complete with text and music; can record lead vocals on a favorite
musical recording; can narrate and score a family photo album and
can execute many more exciting applications.

The Atari Falcon030 also incorporates Motorola's 56001 digital
signal processor (DSP) to process and manipulate compact-disc-
quality digital audio and voice signals which, combined with the
68030's processing power and Atari's integrated software, makes
the Atari Falcon030 a complete personal integrated media system.
This announcement is an example of how microprocessors are
entering the home through the burgeoning availability of
consumerized computing devices.

"With the introduction of the Atari Falcon030, Atari is raising
the standards of consumerized computing to a new level, providing
integration of text, music and images with unparalleled levels of
quality, performance and price," said Jim Reinhart, Motorola's
manager of M68000 marketing and applications.  "The robust
processing capabilities of the 68030 make it an ideal
microprocessor for such a graphically-based product as the Atari
Falcon030."

"The Atari Falcon030, with the help of Motorola's 68030 and 56001
DSP, is bringing production-quality graphics, professional-level
recording and audio manipulation capabilities to the consumer,"
said Sam Tramiel, president and CEO of Atari.  "The processing
power of Motorola's 68030 allows the Atari Falcon030 to be a
powerful full-scale computer, giving users access to a new world
of applications while remaining affordable."

The Motorola 68030 integrates advanced features into a full 32-bit
microprocessor design, optimized for low-cost, memory-based
applications.  Its burst fill functionality provides an efficient
bus and memory interface, enabling the 68030 to substantially
increase overall system throughput.  This capability is especially
well-suited for multimedia personal integrated media products,
such as the Atari Falcon030, that require large amounts of
information to be continuously transmitted from external memory to
the processor's dual internal caches.  The efficient memory
interface results in cost and time savings, allowing the Atari
Falcon030 to achieve excellent price/performance ratios.

Available immediately, the Atari Falcon030 is priced under $1,000,
making it ideal for users who want a powerful, efficient and cost-
effective device to harness today's myriad technologies.

Atari Computer Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer and
marketer of palmtop through desktop computer systems.  The
company, a division of Atari Corporation (AMEX:ATC), sells its
systems, peripherals and software through authorized distributors,
resellers and integrators.

                           #   #   #

Atari Falcon030 is a trademark of Atari Corporation
IRIS Indigo is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.

EDITORIAL CONTACT:
Motorola, Inc.
Joan MacNeil
Cunningham Communication, Inc.
(408) 982-0400

Atari Corporation
Anne Ellingsen
Redgate Communications
(415) 777-3911

READER CONTACT:
Motorola DSP Marketing
(512) 891-2030





Keywords: 

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