3Dfx Turns On TV with First Of New Product Line
3dfx diversifies range with VoodooTV FM 'tuner on a chip'.
3dfx Interactive Europe today announces that it is rapidly finalising the development of its ground-breaking VoodooTV FM product, the first in a family of leading-edge multimedia products from a global leader in 3D graphics accelerators. VoodooTV FM will introduce solid-state 'tuner on a chip' technology to the PC, elevating the computer from being a mere tool of productivity to a multi-tasking appliance. VoodooTV FM products will have added functionality such as improved channel management and stereo capabilities, MP3 encode capabilities and enhanced digital video recording power.
VoodooTV FM marks the beginning of 3dfx's long-term strategy to be a leader in the multimedia peripherals market. In the coming year, 3dfx will announce products from its roadmap of multimedia enhancements, featuring emerging technologies such as high-definition television, digital video encoding (and decoding) products and related technologies that will enhance its position as a leader in visual communications.
"Expanding our product offering is critical to the future of 3dfx," says Alex Leupp, President and CEO of 3dfx Interactive. "This is the next logical step toward leveraging the strength of our brand name in retail. Providing entertainment products is what we are known for, and entertainment is what convergence and multimedia products are all about. This foray into multimedia signals the continuation of our commitment to enhance the visual communication experience."
VoodooTV FM is engineered with a breakthrough, cable-ready, dual-conversion silicon tuner technology. VoodooTV FM is the first product to feature this ground-breaking silicon tuner technology developed for 3dfx by Microtune. The revolutionary silicon tuner technology, MicroTuner MT2032, prevents channels from 'bleeding' over each other through a superior adjacent channel rejection feature. Consumers need not worry about dust, humidity and noise affecting video quality.
VoodooTV FM delivers better noise resistance and faster channel acquisition for clearly the highest quality TV tuning signal and video image available on a PC today. For the price of a single-conversion tuner, consumers can enjoy dual-conversion performance. Today's tuners need to be of a higher calibre to maintain separation between television channels and VoodooTV FM provides that level of technology.
"VoodooTV FM is an exciting product for 3dfx, and a particularly challenging one for Europe with its different TV formats," says Luciano Alibrandi, Product Development Manager EMEA at 3dfx Interactive. "Our new multimedia technology marks a new generation of computer entertainment products that truly set a new standard for desktop TV quality and we're confident that it will perform above our expectations."
"3dfx is taking a leading position in multimedia PC entertainment with its new VoodooTV products and is bringing users into the new world of high-quality, digital video," says James Fontaine, president of Microtune, Inc. "We are pleased that our single-chip MicroTuner is a critical component in 3dfx's new leading-edge products. Our solid-state silicon technology provides the tuner core for delivering the features that consumers want most - superior video and audio quality, fast channel changes and increased reliability."
For only £99 (including VAT), VoodooTV FM is a complete multimedia entertainment and recording centre on a single add-in board. VoodooTV FM features include a stereo TV signal, MPEG 1 capture, digital VCR, MP3 encoding and stereo FM radio reception. Users can now record their favourite tunes from FM broadcasts using the VoodooTV FM MP3 encoding feature, a technology enhancement by Intervideo.
Other leading-edge technology features includes PAL support, and full compatibility with Windows 95, 98, 98SE and Millennium Edition.
The VoodooTV FM is expected to be available in the first week of November 2000.
VoodooTV FM marks the beginning of 3dfx's long-term strategy to be a leader in the multimedia peripherals market. In the coming year, 3dfx will announce products from its roadmap of multimedia enhancements, featuring emerging technologies such as high-definition television, digital video encoding (and decoding) products and related technologies that will enhance its position as a leader in visual communications.
"Expanding our product offering is critical to the future of 3dfx," says Alex Leupp, President and CEO of 3dfx Interactive. "This is the next logical step toward leveraging the strength of our brand name in retail. Providing entertainment products is what we are known for, and entertainment is what convergence and multimedia products are all about. This foray into multimedia signals the continuation of our commitment to enhance the visual communication experience."
VoodooTV FM is engineered with a breakthrough, cable-ready, dual-conversion silicon tuner technology. VoodooTV FM is the first product to feature this ground-breaking silicon tuner technology developed for 3dfx by Microtune. The revolutionary silicon tuner technology, MicroTuner MT2032, prevents channels from 'bleeding' over each other through a superior adjacent channel rejection feature. Consumers need not worry about dust, humidity and noise affecting video quality.
VoodooTV FM delivers better noise resistance and faster channel acquisition for clearly the highest quality TV tuning signal and video image available on a PC today. For the price of a single-conversion tuner, consumers can enjoy dual-conversion performance. Today's tuners need to be of a higher calibre to maintain separation between television channels and VoodooTV FM provides that level of technology.
"VoodooTV FM is an exciting product for 3dfx, and a particularly challenging one for Europe with its different TV formats," says Luciano Alibrandi, Product Development Manager EMEA at 3dfx Interactive. "Our new multimedia technology marks a new generation of computer entertainment products that truly set a new standard for desktop TV quality and we're confident that it will perform above our expectations."
"3dfx is taking a leading position in multimedia PC entertainment with its new VoodooTV products and is bringing users into the new world of high-quality, digital video," says James Fontaine, president of Microtune, Inc. "We are pleased that our single-chip MicroTuner is a critical component in 3dfx's new leading-edge products. Our solid-state silicon technology provides the tuner core for delivering the features that consumers want most - superior video and audio quality, fast channel changes and increased reliability."
For only £99 (including VAT), VoodooTV FM is a complete multimedia entertainment and recording centre on a single add-in board. VoodooTV FM features include a stereo TV signal, MPEG 1 capture, digital VCR, MP3 encoding and stereo FM radio reception. Users can now record their favourite tunes from FM broadcasts using the VoodooTV FM MP3 encoding feature, a technology enhancement by Intervideo.
Other leading-edge technology features includes PAL support, and full compatibility with Windows 95, 98, 98SE and Millennium Edition.
The VoodooTV FM is expected to be available in the first week of November 2000.