Amiga ISO Collection/AmigaDemoCD2.iso/ASCII/TEXTE/SCENE/MISC/pup-abox.lha/aboxe.text

Text File | 1996-10-31 | 19.6 KB | 342 lines

    Code name: A\BOX

 * The product - the data - the facts

 * The hardware of the A\BOX

 * The Silicon Dream

 * The corner-stones of the CAIPIRINHA design:

 * The general system design of the A\BOX

 * A large number of options for the operating system software

 * Open concepts for the future

 * Worldwide availability guaranteed.

Code name: A\BOX

 A leap forward towards realising a vision

 The product - the data - the facts

October 22, 1996: phase 5 digital products are pleased that they are now able to
announce the long-awaited specifications for the new computer system scheduled
for 1997 and based on a powerful Custom Chip technology. Under the name of the
current project, A\BOX, we are realising a trail-blazing visionary concept that
explodes the barriers of today's standards. As an extremely powerful and
creative personal workstation, A\BOX will appeal to all users who wish to work
actively and creatively with the most modern technology and who have no desire
to put up with the limitations imposed by mass hardware products that have
fallen victim to a cost-cutting spree nor by the restraining software corsets of
systems that are intended purely for passive consumers and users. With the
enormous power it offers and its integrated functions the A\BOX project can
claim to be implementing a computer design that is as innovative, as outstanding
and as exceptionally cool as the Amiga 1000 was 12 years ago - a computer design
that all Amiga enthusiasts can welcome as the reincarnation of their favourite
computer system on a state-of-the-art technical level.

The hardware of the A\BOX

The computer project we announced has given rise to a great deal of inaccurate
speculation, rumours and false information which have been bandied about in
general discussion forums (in many Internet newsgroups for example) during the
last few months. This is why we would first like to put the record straight and
deliver a few basic facts about the A\BOX concept. The A\BOXproject does not
specify a system that builds up on standard technologies such as PCI-based
graphical chips. We at phase 5 digital products take the view that a new
innovative computer must also offer innovative hardware to match in order to
stand out among the current PC designs and overcome the limitations they impose.
On the other hand, this in no way implies that in designing an innovative
computer we need to depart in any way from standards that are useful and
meaningful for the user of the system (such as a PCI bus for simple expansions,
the use of standardised RAM modules, standard interfaces etc.). The
technological innovation, rather, is to be found on a level of integration which
is of central importance in controlling the system. And despite the effort
involved, which we will be going into later, today's modern methods of design
and production make it possible to realise such an innovative concept in the
form of ASIC's at an extremely competitive price. The central component of the
A\BOX is a novel Custom Chip which is now under development at phase 5 digital
and which will be responsible for many important functions in the system. These
include complete memory administration and processor linkup, all DMA-like
functions including video and audio DMA, blitter-type functions, I/O and control
functions. A team of experienced chip and hardware designers are working on the
realisation of this sophisticated concept, supported by software designers and
aided by the most modern, high-level synthesis tools for VHDL-based
designs.During the first half of 1997 major efforts will go into phases of
simulation and testing, the result of which will be the production of the first
silicon tapeout. This will be followed by the mass production of the ASIC's
which, of course, will be put in the hands of one of the world's leading ASIC
manufacturers.

 In conclusion it can be said that the A\BOX project is an ambitious one which
creates new techniques, a project in which we are by no means reinventing the
wheel, but rather one in which we are making extensive use of the most modern
techniques and development possibilities that are available today to an
innovative company that is willing to invest in order to develop an outstanding,
powerful and competitive product.

The Silicon Dream

The heart of the A\BOX is the system controller, CAIPIRINHA, which will realise
the functional integration on which the A\BOX concept is based. CAIPIRINHA opens
up new dimensions of power and technology. CAIPIRINHAwill be implemented as a
VLSI Custom Chip design in 0.35 um CMOS ASIC technology using a modern, probably
575-pole BGA housing. With a bus width of 128 bits to the memory bus, extensive
dual-port buffers and FIFO's in the data lines, and clock rates of initially 100
MHz externally and 200 MHz internally, CAIPIRINHA can provide an intense data
throughput and powerful additional functions which do not rely on the processor,
such as support for 3D and multimedia applications.

The corner-stones of the CAIPIRINHA design:

 * 128-bit high performance UMA (Unified Memory Architecture) controller, using
fast SDRAMs with a clock frequency of 100 MHz and a maximum band width of up to
1.6 G-bytes/second

 * 64-bit processor bus with a maximum clock rate of 100 MHz

 * two 24-bit video DMA units with freely addressable access, with integrated
24-bit video DAC's

 * four 16-bit audio outputs, 44.1 KHz with any number of virtual tracks, sample
output, FM and AM synthesis

 * video-in ports for 2 independent video inputs in Y/UV 4:2:2 quality

 * audio inputs in 16-bit stereo CD quality

 * LCD (TFT) controller according to the VESA standard

 * a PCI-bus interface for medium-performance I/O applications

 * a local 16-bit DMA bus with 66.7 MHz and a maximum band width of 132
M-bytes/second for universal low-cost applications

 * an integrated IEEE 1394 firewire controller for digital I/O applications
 * a desktop bus interface.

  CAIPIRINHA is basically designed as a highly complex system and memory
controller in the form of a SOMA Engine (Sole Memory Access). At the same time
CAIPIRINHAmanages all access to the A\BOX memory which takes the form of a
highly powerful Unified Memory Architecture (UMA). All external memory access,
including that of the processor, only occurs virtually and is administered and
implemented by CAIPIRINHA. Unified Memory Architecture means that the entire
system memory is made available as a unified memory which stores all types of
data, such as programs and their data, display data, 3D-textures or Z-buffer
data, audio data, incoming flows of video data etc. etc. and which can be
addressed by all functional units in the system. For the user UMA means that the
entire memory in the system is available for all applications at all times. When
the memory is expanded with inexpesnive SDRAM modules, the additional memory
capacity is then always available for all applications and functions in the
system. In terms of its principle UMA corresponds to the Amiga Chip RAM which
can be addressed both by the processor and by the custom chips and video and
audio DMA units of the Amiga. Unlike the Chip RAM, however, and unlike the
low-cost attempts made to implement UMA memories in the PC field, the memory
subsystem of the A\BOX in the form of a unified memory architecture will be
implemented with 128 bits databus width and by use of synchronous DRAM's which
have a speed of 100 MHz, which allows a band width of 1.6 G-bytes/second. A
special method of controlling the SDRAM modules also considerably reduces
latency times when accessing the memory.

  Due to the integration of the video DMA into CAIPIRINHA the UMA memory can
simultaneously be used as a display memory. CAIPIRINHA provides two video DMA
engines: one 220 MHz high-performance video output for resolutions of up to 1600
x 1280 pixels with 24 bits and a refresh frequency of 75 Hz and a
Genlock-capable 135 MHz video output for a second monitor or image output in
video resolutions such as PAL/NTSC or S-VHS. The video output of the 135-MHz
output can be superimposed as a window on the 220 MHz display while both video
DMA's are in parallel operation.

Unlike conventional raster scan displays, CAIPIRINHA's video DMA engines
function on the basis of a random memory access (Random Access Display), which
makes it possible to display any data in visual form at any random screen
positions. With this method windows, as hardware windows for example, can be
superimposed and moved around anywhere with their full content, without any
delay or jerkiness, even with moving animation or video sequences. Special
pipelines and FIFO buffers within CAIPIRINHA's video DMA ensure a stable data
throughput. The complex display possibilities are controlled by an integrated
display-list RISC processor (DLRP). As the video DMA engines always have an
output in 24-bit display mode, it is, of course, possible to mix any depth of
shade at will. In this way, for example, on a memory-saving background with a
colour depth of 8 bits it is possible to display 16-bit and 24-bit windows in
any position. Of course CAIPIRINHA makes it possible to open and display virtual
screens of any size and to make use of the capacity of the entire RAM. For
example an image-processing application can open a virtual screen of 4000 x 4000
pixels in 24 bits in a system expanded to 72 M-bytes and scroll it in a display
that can be represented on the monitor in 1280 x 1024 pixels without any delay
or jerkiness. Another interesting feature of CAIPIRINHA's video DMA engines is
the fact that windows need no longer be merely rectangular, but can assume
practically any outlines. Last, but not least, video data in the RAM which are
intended for output can be stored in various formats such as RGB, YUV or CMYK
and displayed simultaneously.

It goes without saying that CAIPIRINHA has a highly complex functional unit
(FAME, Flexible Area Movement Engine) for rapidly writing into, copying and
linking memory locations or images, and which, in a similar way to the hardware
windows that can be displayed with CAIPIRINHA, can assume practically any
outlines and not merely the rectangular forms we know from classical blitters
(block image transferers). At the same time a parallel DSP-RISC type processing
unit is also integrated into this functional unit. With a very compact set of
commands this allows fully programmable image and signal processing and matrix
operations. This means that FAME supports special multimedia and 3D applications
which can make optimum use of this supportive processing capacity which is
available parallel to that of the CPU. Because it is a programmable DSP-RISC
processing unit, however, FAME is not limited to today's standards. Its powerful
features are also available for future standards such as new 3D or
video-compression algorithms.

Audio output via CAIPIRINHA physically occurs via 2 channels in 16-bit CD
quality. Internally the number of virtual audio tracks is limited only by the
memory space available. FAME is able to engineer real-time generation  and
mixing of various audio tracks in any random format (e.g. also 24-bit audio)
without making demands on the processor. It is also possible to generate various
sound effects, a feature which is optimally supported by functions similar to
DSP. In general digital samples, FM-synthesized sounds and envelope-VCO
generated tones can be generated, modified, mixed and output via these freely
programmable audio-DMA.

In addition to these superb functions CAIPIRINHA offers a full range of
additional controlling functions: an integrated PCI-bus controller controls the
PCI expansion bus which is available for low-cost standard expansions in the
lower performance range or for I/O applications with medium band width
(e.g.Ultra-SCSI or ATM). A local 16-bit DMA bus is available for further I/O
applications, and an interesting and easy-to-implement interface is specially
available for hardware manufacturers who do not want to work with standard PCI
components. Another important feature which will play a major role in future
multimedia applications is the integrated IEEE 1394 firewire bus. A large number
of electronic enhancements for computer and consumer can connected via this
high-speed serial bus.

   The general system design of the A\BOX

The A\BOX system will be implemented as a progressive and innovative concept of
a personal workstation which offers extremely good value for money. As we have
mentioned, the system builds up on the innovative CAIPIRINHA chip which serves
as the functional heart of the system. The type of processor we intend to use
will be the Initial PowerPC processors of types 603e and 604e. Theoretically
these can be operated with clock frequencies of up to 500 MHz. At present, with
the first A\BOX design, a maximum of two processors can be connected on the
CAIPIRINHA processor bus; a corresponding expansion option for the second
processor will be available in the A\BOX design.

The memory can be expanded by using inexpensive standard SDRAM modules with a
width of 64 bits (168-pin JEDEC DIMMS). In future these SDRAMs will increasingly
be replacing slower, traditional DRAMs. Eight slots will be available so that
the memory can be expanded to a maximum capacity of 1 gigabyte. The slots can be
expanded in pairs (due to the 128-bit mode).

As a standard feature the system provides two video outputs, one of which has a
maximum pixel rate of 220 MHz and the second of which can be operated at 135
MHz. In addition to this, the second video output can be synchronised externally
and is thus suitable for compatible analogue video applications.

Also available, naturally, are an integrated Fast SCSI-II controller with an
external port and an integrated ISDN connection. Via standard video inputs two
analogue video inputs can be simultaneously digitalised in Y/C quality and then
processed in real time. The audio inputs and outputs also offered by
CAIPIRINHAwhich it will, of course, be possible to synchronise with the video
ports, are available in the form of Cinch jacks for processing high-quality
audio data.Keyboard, mouse and other operating devices are connected up via a
serial desktop bus. In addition to this, there are external connections for the
IEEE 1394 firewire port, the serial interface and the parallel interface.

Due to the open design concept of A\BOX, the outstanding hardware features of
the CAIPIRINHA system controller and the excellent operating system capacities,
A\BOXoffers itself as an ideal platform for unusual applications for third-party
developers working both in the field of software and in the field of
hardware.Any I/O expansions which may be required, such as ATM boards, Ultra
SCSI or RAID controllers or others can be easily adapted via the PCI bus. In
addition to this, the most versatile enhancements can be developed for the A\BOX
via both the PCI and the 16-bit DMA bus.

At present all options are still open as far as the housing is concerned. The
mainboard design of the A\BOX will, at all events, be geared towards the usual
standards so that the option of choosing a more inexpensive standard housing
will be kept open in addition to a custom housing.

A large number of options for the operating system software

A large number of options will be available for the operating system software of
the A\BOX. In general the A\BOX project aims to implement an Amiga-OS-compatible
operating system of a state-of-the-art technical standard and to provide it as a
basic operating system for the A\BOX. Modern functions such as support for
multi-processing are to be transparently integrated. The basis for this
development has already been created in the form of the Amiga-OS 3.1 compatible
operating core which is currently being tested in the software labs of phase 5
digital products. In the near future we will also be pressing ahead with more
development work in co-operation with important software partners, for example
on an updated GUI or other high-level components. An important aspect of this
development work will be our efforts to make the operating system provide
complete support for the superb possibilities offered by the hardware.

In addition to this we also plan to implement a NetBSD and a Linux version for
the A\BOX in co-operation with other partners. The current concepts provide for
a very close integration of these OS adaptations into the basic operating system
of the A\BOX so that parallel operation of the two operating systems and of
software applications based on these operating systems will proceed with extreme
transparency and excellent coordination. A\BOX will also be open for other
operating systems, especially including the ones that are already suitable for
the PowerPC. In the future we might use attractive standard operating systems by
way of licence agreements and emulation.

Open concepts for the future

The A\BOX concept which we have introduced here will be structured in such a way
that it is forward-looking and open. The technology used in the CAIPIRINHAcustom
chip is upgradable on silicon level. This means that in the future it will be
possible to implement compatible systems enhancing the functions with wider
memory or wider processor buses and to realise faster versions of this custom
design with higher internal clock rates. In addition to this it is conceivable
that a downgraded 64-bit version will be implemented. This means that systems of
average capacity (e.g. 24-bit screen resolution with a maximum of 1280 x 1024
pixels) but which possess the full functional power of the concept we have
outlined can be implemented at a price range considerably below DM 1500 or USD
1000. In order to possibly implement such a low-price version of the CAIPIRINHA
Custom Chip, phase 5 digital products in the near future will be seeking contact
with partners who might possibly be interested and who offer the preconditions
for the large-scale manufacture and distribution of such a product. But phase 5
will also be open for OEM partnerships with regard to the mass-produced A\BOX
mainboards or the CAIPIRINHA system controller.

Worldwide availability guaranteed.

Worldwide availability guaranteed. For our own A\BOX systems, which will be sold
in a price range starting from DM 3,000 (USD 2,000 or GBP 1,300) net (in the 150
MHz class with the basic features, i.e. a 16 M-byte memory, a hard disk in the 1
GB range and a CD-ROM disk drive) phase 5 digital products will be setting up an
active international distribution system during the course of 1997, which will
ensure that product and sales support is available as soon as delivery
commences. This work will include selecting sales representatives, giving them
preparatory training courses and opening up distribution and service branches as
far as is necessary for professionally attending to important markets. The
expansion of our Internet activities in the fields of sales, support, product
support and marketing will make an important contribution towards distributing
the system among an interest group that spans the four corners of the
globe.These activities will guarantte for a worldwide availability of the A\BOX
systems to interested users and customers.

Contact:
phase 5 digital products
 In der Au 27
 61440 Oberursel, Germany

Telefon:  [phone]
 Intl. Phone:  [phone]
 Fax:  [phone]
  Intl.Fax:  [phone]

Email: [e-mail] oder:   [e-mail]

Disclaimer: All rights reserved. All specifications are preliminary and subject
to change without notice.  AMIGA is a registered trademark of the respective
owners.PowerPC is a registred trademark of the IBM Corporation.Now, Davy, that's
what we call Cool Stuff! Special thanks to competent individuals such as Dr.
Edward L. Hepler who spent some of their valuable time to enlighten common
newsgroup discussions with valuable comments.



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