PCI-EXPRESS CAPABLE OF 16 CHANNELS OF D1 H.264 VIDEO ENCODING.

Stretch(R) Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., has introduced the surveillance industry's first PCI-Express (PCIe) add-in card capable of 16 channels of D1 H.264 video encoding. The Stretch PCIe DVR Reference Design Kit (RDK) is a production ready, high performance audio/video capture and hardware compression platform capable of performing H.264 compression on 480 frames of D1 video per second. Utilizing the new Stretch S6000 family of software configurable processors and its Intelligent Encoder software, the PCIe DVR RDK delivers unparalleled channel density in a cost-effective short form factor PCIe add-in card.

"It is estimated that over 30 million video surveillance cameras will ship in 2007," stated Bob Beachler, Stretch VP of marketing. "The explosion in the number of channels, along with the commensurate increase in video storage requirements is driving OEMs to look for low-cost yet powerful encoding solutions. The Stretch PCIe DVR RDK delivers on these requirements."

S6000 Family Enables Unrivaled Channel Density and Low Cost

The S6000 family of software configurable processors was designed specifically for multi-chip video encoding applications. The PCIe DVR RDK uses four S6000 family devices, each performing H.264 video encoding on 4 channels of D1 resolution at 30 frames per second. The S6000 family's Processor Array Technology allows multiple S6000 devices to directly communicate large amounts of video data between processors, obviating the need for bridge chips or aggregating FPGAs. The integrated PCI-Express interface removes a separate PCIe bridge. Video capture is performed using devices from Techwell, a leading supplier of video decoders. Early on in the development of the S6000 family, Stretch began working with Techwell to ensure a seamless interface between their devices and the S6000 family. This partnership with Techwell was instrumental in the creation of the PCIe DVR RDK.

"We are pleased to have worked with Stretch on the groundbreaking PCIe DVR RDK," stated David Nam, Techwell's VP of sales and marketing. "Coupled with our 4-in1 video decoder, we believe the Stretch Solution is well positioned for the real-time D1 H.264 capture card segment."

Stretch Intelligent Encoder Provides Multi-Standard Video and Audio Encoding

At the heart of the software for the PCIe DVR RDK is the Stretch Intelligent Encoder Software Development Kit (SDK) (see related release: "Stretch Inc. Ushers in the Era of Intelligent Encoding for the Video Surveillance Industry"). Using the application programming interface of the Intelligent Encoder, system designers can configure either H.264 or MJPEG video encoding and bit rates can be further controlled by dynamically selecting desired frame rates and resolutions to be encoded. The encoder's built-in analytics provide scene change, blind and motion detection, as well as night detection, and can be used to dynamically change resolutions and frame rates of the recorded stream. Multiple areas of interest can be defined to further refine the definition of trigger criteria. The Stretch PCIe DVR RDK captures 16 channels of audio and can compress them within the Intelligent Encoder into G.711 or G.726 streams.

Easy Integration through a Comprehensive Application Programming Interface

Integrating complex video encoding systems can be a long, difficult process, but Stretch developed a rich application programming interface (API) layer that can be used by system programmers to configure and use the PCIe DVR card without knowledge of the underlying architecture. This library can be used directly by third party DVR application software to interface to the Stretch card, configure stream parameters and control data flow. The API interface is supplied as source code and can be used directly by application code or adapted to meet specific requirements. By providing a rich API, Stretch has made the design cycle fast, easy and efficient.

Complete Reference Design Solution

Stretch developed the PCIe DVR RDK with DVR end-user equipment manufacturers in mind. The PCIe DVR RDK includes everything needed to take the design into volume production, including design files, a bill of materials and Gerber files for PCB fabrication. The kit ships with a distribution license for the Stretch Intelligent Encoder, source code for the S6000 DVR application software and the API interface for the host PC. The Stretch PCIe DVR Reference Design Kit is also available as an evaluation kit containing the same hardware, source code and software applications, but without the distribution license. Intended as an evaluation vehicle for the PCIe DVR RDK, the platform can also be used to develop proprietary algorithms, benchmark system performance, or develop unique audio/video processing applications using the compute power of the four onboard S6000 family devices.

Availability and Pricing

Pricing starts at $2,995 for the evaluation kit (ordering code: HW-EVK-S6D1X16) or $38,000 for the full RDK with distribution licenses and design file information (ordering code: HW-RDK-S6D1X16). The Stretch S6000 family software configurable processor is available now with pricing starting at $25 for high-volume applications.

About Stretch

Stretch Inc. is delivering a family of software configurable processors, the first to embed programmable logic within the processor. Using familiar C/C++ programming tools, system developers automatically configure Stretch's off-the-shelf processors to achieve extraordinary performance, easy and rapid development, significant cost savings, and flexibility to address diverse markets and changing application needs.

For more information, visit http://www.stretchinc.com or call 408/543-2754.