California based National Semiconductor is demonstrating the newest and hottest streaming technologies for Information Appliances (IA's) at CeBIT 2002. The event is taking place from 13-20 March in Hannover, Germany.

National Semiconductor claims to be the premier analog company driving the information age. Products from Philips, DT Research and Sigma Designs will showcase the streaming capabilities of the company's Geode processors paired with media processors based on the TriMedia core or decoders from Sigma Designs. Now IAs will be able to deliver streaming video and interactive Internet content. This is a function that till now has required the high power and high cost of technology developed for the PC.

In an official release the company claims that the ability to deliver streaming media on the Geode platforms has enhanced the flexibility and variety of services it can deliver to customers.

The release informs that early generations of IAs were challenged by the inability to stream video or process graphic-intensive content. The company claims to have invested in streaming media processing as a primary strategy to grow the IA market in Europe and America.

The company claims that advances in streaming media technologies are critical for the three IA market segments it supports with its Geode processors -- thin clients, set-top boxes and consumer access devices.

In the thin client market, corporate customers will be able to offer more graphic-intensive content for such programs as computer-based training, corporate communications and Internet content. Specific vertical market applications, such as education software curriculum or advertisements on retail point-of-sale kiosks, are better served by the ability to play graphic-intensive software plug-ins the release states.

Advances in MPEG-4 technology are allowing true consumer-quality video and audio entertainment-on-demand to be streamed with traditional broadcast content over the existing cable and DSL broadband infrastructure to a set-top box. The video files can be stored on the hard drive of a set-top box for viewing on the television, later playback or distribution to other client devices around the house. Data in MPEG-4 format is compressed to a smaller size than other file formats, allowing it to travel over a narrower broadband space than other video files and allowing more content to be stored on hard drives for on-demand access.

Cable service providers also can take advantage of the increased compression efficiency of MPEG-4 by significantly increasing the channel carrying capacity of their networks. In Germany the company is demonstrating streaming MPEG-4 at varying bit-rates.

Streaming media capability for non-PC devices will help deliver a PC Internet experience to the consumer in compelling form-factors at compelling prices. On consumer access devices, such as a WebPAD appliance, streaming media also gives consumers the ability to access entertainment-on-demand. The company will display Philips E-Tablet. The product which is powered by the Geode SC3200 and CS1311 devices allows wireless streaming of Windows Media technology.

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