SUNNYVALE, CA — October 30, 2000 — OMNIVISION Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVTI), a market leader in designing, developing and marketing advanced, single-chip CMOS camera chips used in electronic cameras and other optical imaging devices, today announced its dual-mode digital still camera chip-set. The new chip-set, featuring hardware compression image data, is designed for rolling snapshots and USB camera applications. The dual-mode camera design comprises an OV651 DSC Microcontroller and an OV681 Dual-Mode JPEG USB Controller and is used with either VGA or CIF camera chips.
“OMNIVISION’s charter is to deliver low-cost camera technology to the general public,” said Hank O’Hara, vice president of worldwide sales for OMNIVISION. “With our new dual-mode digital camera chip-set, we are providing an affordable way by which consumers can capture, store and manipulate images from remote locations. This technology paves the way for exciting new applications in consumer products.”
The dual-mode camera reference design features four megabytes of SDRAM memory, enabling storage of two minutes of rolling still QCIF snapshots taken at five frames per second or up to 220 JPEG compressed images. The camera can either be tethered to the PC or detached for mobility. The small size, coupled with the fast shutter speed, makes this an ideal solution for applications requiring a portable camera to capture movement. The camera is then connected to a PC via a USB port and the pictures are downloaded. The camera operates in either single shot, multiple shot or self-timer mode, has the ability to compress and store video using JPEG hardware image compression, and provides status display on a separate LCD. OMNIVISION offers a complete reference design for its dual-mode digital camera application that enables rapid design cycles and minimum time-to-market for customers.
OMNIVISION offers the chip-set with either its VGA or CIF camera chip. When combined with OMNIVISION’s two backend chips, the OV681 and OV651, and customer memory, the chip-set becomes a complete digital camera that features all the functionality of a regular camera, including automatic gain control, white balance and exposure control. The CIF and VGA modules support a wide range of operating systems.
Pricing and Availability
The dual-mode CIF digital camera chip set is currently available for $14 in 10K unit quantities. The dual-mode VGA digital camera chip-set is currently available for $19 in 10K quantities.
About OMNIVISION
In July 2000, OMNIVISION completed its initial public offering of five million shares. OMNIVISION’s single-chip camera was named “Product of the Year” in January 2000 by Electronic Products magazine. The technology is used in digital cameras, security and surveillance equipment, toys, hand-held computers, cell phones and has many other applications.
OMNIVISION Technologies, Inc. designs, develops and markets high-performance, high-quality and cost-efficient camera chips. The company’s single-chip image sensors are used in a variety of electronic cameras and optical imaging products for both still picture and live video applications. OMNIVISION provides all the functionality of a complete camera, and only a lens need be added. OMNIVISION is able to integrate all image system functions into a single chip instead of multi chips required to achieve the same functions by competitive image sensors. The single-chip design enables customers to design cameras that are lower in cost, smaller, lighter in weight, consume less power, are more reliable and more easily integrated with other circuits than cameras using multiple-chip image sensors. OMNIVISION is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information about the company, visit www.ovt.com.