Texas Instruments and Philips Semiconductors Announce Agreement
on IEEE 1394 Physical Layer Devices
DALLAS (May 11, 1998) -- An interoperability agreement for Texas Instruments' (TI) 400 megabit-per-second (Mbps) IEEE 1394 (FireWire™) physical layer interface (PHY) devices was announced today with Philips Semiconductors. The agreement will allow both companies to provide a variety of interchangeable 1394 PHY silicon solutions. These devices are targeted at high-growth applications such as hard-disk drives, personal computers (PCs), digital camcorders and VCRs, digital set-top boxes and digital televisions. As 1394 becomes prevalent in these markets, the need for compatibility is critical.
"We look forward to developing a close working relationship with Philips," said Larry Blackledge, TI's worldwide business manager for Bus Solutions. "We each benefit from this relationship because both companies will be sharing technical information, and our customers can rest assured they will have several sources for compatible 1394 PHY devices. The current agreement is focused on our 400 Mbps PHYs, including the two-, three-, four- and six-port versions. Looking to future generations of 1394 technology, including 800, 1600 and 3200 Mbps devices, TI plans to continue to leverage its mixed-signal expertise and enable other sources where it makes sense."
Beginning with the development of the specification in the early 1990s, TI has been one of the pioneering companies involved in 1394. Introducing the first 1394 link layer and PHY chips in 1994 established the company as the industry leader. Since then, TI has been a consistent technology leader by introducing faster generations of PHY devices, as well as more sophisticated and robust generations of link layer chips, such as its OHCI-Lynx and MPEG2Lynx products, and custom devices for major Japanese consumer electronics companies.
With the proliferation of new 1394 silicon in the market, it is important for TI and Philips Semiconductors to share sufficient technical information to make 1394 PHYs that are truly compatible. This will greatly help establish an industry standard, which will facilitate 1394 designs.
"The explosion of 1394 design activity in the consumer electronics market is creating a demand for pin compatible IEEE 1394 silicon solutions," said Allen Light, Marketing and Applications manager, Philips Semiconductors. "With TI's high visibility in the 1394 silicon market, it made sense to work with them on 400 Mbps PHYs. Philips is confident this new agreement will allow our customers to have a wider vendor selection and will fuel the rapidly growing 1394 market."
As part of the agreement, TI and Philips will share specification information for their next generation two-, three-, four- and six-port 400 Mbps PHY devices. Each company can differentiate their products by incorporating additional features and capabilities while conforming to a common specification for pin-out, packaging and signaling.
30 Years of Data Transmission Leadership
By leveraging its 30 years of experience with many data transmission standards, including Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 and others, TI's Mixed-Signal Product group quickly established the market leadership position with its 1394 technology.
TI's growing family of 1394 solutions includes PHYs, link layer chips, software and development tools. Additionally, TI offers worldwide design support including 1394 seminars and technical training around the world.
More information about TI's 1394 products is available on the World Wide Web at 
http://www.ti.com/sc/1394.
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