SANTA CLARA, Calif., — October 5, 2009 — OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVTI), a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, today announced that its OV9712, a native 720p wide-screen high-definition video image sensor, was selected by Microsoft® for its next generation webcam. The LifeCam Cinema™, Microsoft’s newest flagship webcam, offers HD-quality digital video capture, a growing trend driven by social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
“The LifeCam Cinema is our first webcam to offer widescreen HD video,” said Kurt Wrisley, senior development program manager at Microsoft. “Combining OmniVision’s OV9712 sensor and Microsoft’s new ClearFrame Technology, the LifeCam Cinema offers best-in-class low-light performance and image quality, as well as broader field of view thanks to a 74-degree viewing angle. LifeCam Cinema will now have access to new integrations with Windows Live – Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery – that make editing and uploading videos and photos easier.”
“Webcams are used predominantly indoors where lighting conditions are often far from ideal, making image quality and low-light performance key drivers to the success of these products in the market,” said Nick Nam, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. “The LifeCam Cinema design win underscores Microsoft’s continued confidence in OmniVision to deliver the highest quality digital imaging solutions for mainstream consumer products.”
The OV9712 is a no-compromise 720p HD sensor offering a widescreen HD video format with display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, operating at 30 frames per second. The 1/4-inch OV9712 uses a 3-micron OmniPixel®3-HS pixel architecture, delivering best-in-class low-light performance of 3300 mV/lux-sec. This allows the OV9712 to operate in low-light situations well below 15 lux, offering a cost effective, high-quality video solution suitable for a wide variety of applications including notebooks, netbooks, PC cameras, digital video camcorders, DSCs, mobile phones and other portable media players. OmniVision’s OmniPixel®3-HS pixel technology has already been proven in high quality video applications and is now available in Microsoft’s LifeCam Cinema.
Safe-Harbor Language
Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the expected benefits, performance and capabilities of, and the expected timeframe for volume production of the OV9712 are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties, which could cause the forward-looking statements and OmniVision’s results to differ materially, include, without limitation: potential errors, design flaws or other problems with the OV9712, customer acceptance, demand, and other risks detailed from time to time in OmniVision’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, OmniVision’s annual report filed on Form 10-K and quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q. OmniVision expressly disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement.