Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) and Bitec, Ltd. announced the availability of a video development kit that enables designers to rapidly develop and prototype high-performance, cost-sensitive video applications. At the heart of the kit are Alteras Cyclone® III FPGAs, which are an ideal video processing platform given the devices large parallel processing capabilities with up to 288 multipliers, 4-Mbit embedded memory blocks, and low power consumption. The kit supports multiple video I/O formats, allowing video application developers to quickly develop, debug, and prototype designs using their lab video signals and displays.

“The Cyclone III FPGA architecture, with its abundance of logic, multiplier, and embedded memory resources, delivers high-performance video processing capabilities cost-effectively,” said Dr. Andy Robertson, CEO of Bitec. “We have designed this video development kit jointly with Altera to appeal to customers developing applications in video surveillance, video conferencing, industrial imaging, and other video applications.”

The video development kit features a Cyclone III development board with two High-Speed Mezzanine Connector (HSMC)-based video interface daughtercards developed by Bitec. The kit supports composite, S-Video, DVI and RGB video and contains:

* Cyclone III EP3C120F780 development board

* Quad-Video HSMC daughtercard (8 composite or 4 S-Video inputs)

* DVI HSMC daughtercard and DVI cable

* Quartus® II Web Edition software

* Access to Altera® OpenCore Plus evaluation intellectual property (IP) megafunctions including the Video and Image Processing (VIP) Suite

* A CD-ROM with a video mosaic reference design developed by Bitec

“This development kit showcases the video-processing capabilities of the industrys only 65-nm low-cost and low-power FPGAs,” said Luanne Schirrmeister, director, low-cost products, Altera Corporation. “Working closely with our partner Bitec allowed us to bring to market a versatile video processing platform that enables engineers to quickly develop and prototype a broad range of video applications.”

Availability

The Cyclone III FPGA-based video development kit is currently available exclusively through Bitec. Interested customers can find additional information about the kit at www.bitec.ltd.uk/ciii_video_dev_kit.html. For additional information about Alteras Cyclone III FPGA development board, visit www.altera.com/devkits. For additional information about Alteras VIP Suite, visit www.altera.com/vipsuite.

About Bitec

Bitec has a growing range of hardware and software solutions focused on the development of high-speed processing systems. Its main market areas are industrial and academic research, enjoying a global customer base through a network of partners and distributors. For more information, visit www.bitec.ltd.uk.

About Altera

Altera programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more at www.altera.com.