August 24, 2005 -- ViXS Systems, Inc. a developer of video processing and wireless chipsets, is partnering with PLX Technology, Inc. to develop the industry's first dual-stream, USB-connected PC-TV tuner card reference design. Leveraging the ViXS XCode II-L MPEG encoder, the PLX NET2282 Hi-Speed USB peripheral controller and PLX Remote PCI (RPCI) development tool, the reference design will enable manufacturers to develop standalone products for consumers to easily convert desktop PCs or laptop PCs into multimedia PCs without the inconvenience of installing an aftermarket PC-TV tuner board. In addition, the ViXS XCode II-L video processor lets consumers enjoy high-quality video and advanced functions, such as dual-stream PVR, watch-and-record capabilities and high-speed archiving to a DVD.

"ViXS' advanced video technology, XCode II-L, has the unique ability to support multiple streams of high-quality video at low bit rates, and its high-speed transrating and transcoding made it an obvious choice for this reference design," said Jimmy Chou, product marketing manager at PLX Technology. "Through this partnership, consumers can expect to see standalone, USB-connected dual TV tuner products from manufacturers that provide the ability to instantly transform any PC or laptop with a USB connection into a multimedia PC."

The PLX NET2282 peripheral controller simplifies the conversion of existing PCI add-in cards to the standalone USB 2.0 designs. The controller's versatility and ease of design is further enhanced by support from several operating systems, so additional software modification is minimized. The RPCI interface, similar to that of PCI, provides a simple driver-conversion tool for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP drivers for PCI-based board designs using the NET2282 controller. Included at no extra charge in the PLX NET2282's rapid development kit, the RPCI allows driver developers to begin test and development work on NET2282-equipped PCI boards without the need to learn USB drivers.