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- From: bsalter@acorn.co.uk
- Subject: Acorn news release: Expansion unit
- Date: 20 Jan 93 08:44:43 GMT
-
- Acorn Launches Unit for Multimedia Expansion
-
- Embargo Release Date 20th January 1993
-
- Acorn Computers is launching its Multimedia Expansion Unit designed to add
- CD ROM expansion capability to any Acorn Archimedes computer system.
-
- Aimed primarily at the Education market, the Expansion Unit comprises the
- latest state-of-the-art Sony CD ROM drive in a case that not only
- complements the styling of the best selling A4000 and A5000 computers, but
- also features two expansion bays designed to house another CD ROM drive, a
- 3=" magneto-optical drive, a tape streamer or a hard disc drive, making it
- suitable as a mass storage add-on for an Archimedes computer.
-
- Also housed in the Expansion Unit is a sophisticated audio mixer and pre-amp
- which allows any combination of three audio sources from either the housed
- drives or the main computer to be mixed together or switched individually. A
- third party power amplifier module is also available to fit inside the unit
- in order to power a pair of high quality loudspeakers. Alternatively the
- pre-amp output can directly drive a pair of headphones via a built-in volume
- control.
-
- The Sony CD ROM disc drive is a double speed device which can transfer data
- at 300 KBytes per second instead of the more usual device speed of 150
- KB/sec. It is typically faster than any other CD ROM device currently
- available and is ideally suited for applications needing fast data transfer,
- such as full motion video .
-
- The Multimedia Expansion Unit connects to an Archimedes computer through a
- standard SCSI podule which can be purchased at the same time as the unit.
- Two SCSI cards are available - a mini-podule to allow connection to an
- A3000/A3020 computer or a full sized podule for connecting inside an
- A400-series, A4000 or A5000 computer.
-
- The Acorn Multimedia Expansion Unit will be available for purchase in March
- 1993.
-
- ENDS
-
- Further Information from Neil Gardner, Acorn Computers, Tel 0223 254254
-
-