The "multimedia signal processor" (MSP) chip is cited in Microsoft papers released earlier this month as one of the core chips on a Talisman multimedia circuit board, which plugs into a standard PCI slot in a personal computer. The Talisman board design provides 2D and 3D graphics acceleration, Windows acceleration, full-resolution MPEG-2 playback, videoconferencing, sound, and modem capability in a single hardware subsystem.
The Samsung MSP chip is based on a dual-processor design, handling intensive multimedia functions that typically tax a general-purpose processor, such as Intel's Pentium. The MSP also supports DirectX programming interfaces, with which developers write multimedia applications.
Analysts say an add-in card using the new Samsung chip could cost between $200 and $300 to manufacture.
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