Press Release

RidgeRun ^TM Shows Streaming Video and Networking for Embedded Multimedia

San Francisco, CA - August 28, 2001 - Showing a new model of interacting with multimedia appliances, RidgeRun, Inc., is publicly demonstrating DSPLinux-based solutions harnessing the power of the DSP on Texas Instruments (TI) processors at Booth No. 1359 at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco's Moscone Center.

At the three-day show, RidgeRun will exhibit a host of wireless and multimedia-centric applications that use its DSPLinux as a foundation. The demonstrations include streaming video from a network-connected web server running on a TI TMS320DSC21 processor, which combines DSP and ARM processors on a single chip. Demonstrations include converting the video camera input into JPEG, MPEG4 or H.263 formats on the DSP and using a Quicktime viewer on a PC to display streaming video from a web server.

The TMS320DSC21 processor is shipping in several digital cameras and multimedia devices today. RidgeRun is demonstrating the power of this processor in supporting both video encoding and advanced networking in a single dual-core processor. The demonstration camera uses a network connection to allow new ways of interacting with the device. Pictures, video clips or even a streaming video feed from the camera can be viewed on any web browser over the network. Of course, still pictures and video clips can be captured and viewed on the camera itself.

"People can see today what we are doing to shape the next generation of networked products using streaming video," RidgeRun CEO Rudy Prince said. "The benefits of RidgeRun's powerful software platform allow developers of PDAs, web/security cameras, and wireless phones to quickly bring multimedia capabilities to market using advanced dual-core DSPs."

DSPLinux from RidgeRun is the industry's first embedded Linux distribution targeted exclusively toward devices built on DSPs. The new DSC processor family from TI combines an ARM core with a DSP on a single chip. With DSPLinux, the Linux kernel runs on the ARM, while a powerful bridge interface makes it easy to run real-time tasks on the DSP. In addition to integrating the Open Source kernel and applications, DSPLinux includes proprietary advancements in memory compression, power management, security, multimedia and imaging which further leverage the power of TI's DSP components and allows OEMs to meet their performance and cost targets.