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»phase 5 digital products announces the AMIRAGE TM K2, the first model in a series of powerful next-generation computer systems

Oberursel, July 22, 1999: phase 5 digital products today proudly announces a first product of a new series of multimedia computers, the new AMIRAGE TM K2 multimedia computer which will provide breathtaking features and functionality. This new system will finally realize a vision of computing for the next millenium, which phase 5 digital products has shared with many Amiga users and supporters of innovative concepts.

"Based on our license agreement with QNX Software Systems Ltd., we are now able to provide our customers with a powerful realtime OS with all the necessary functionality - and much more - that can make a next-generation multimedia computer fly" says Wolf Dietrich, General Manager of phase 5 digital products. "The lack of a decent OS, which can support our hardware vision, has been the major reason that earlier projects for stand-alone systems at phase 5 had been put on hold. That problem is solved by integrating the QNX Neutrino OS, so we now can push forward our demanding vision of a new powerful computer generation."

The new AMIRAGE TM K2 computer system supports full multi-processing and is already in it's base configuration expandable with additional CPUs. More than that, distributed processing through different networks is fully supported, allowing the realization of a new vision of computing, including distributed, internet-aware applications and services. The AMIRAGE TM K2 computer will be an expandable power-horse for all kind of creative computing and multimedia, with many upgrading options and interfaces for third-party add-ons, and offer full compliance with the major industry and digital multimedia standards.

As the new QNX Neutrino OS will also become available for all PowerUPTM upgrades for Amiga computers developed by phase 5 digital products (please read the respective announcement here), a smooth upgrade path and full Amiga 3.x legacy support is provided both for end users and developers of the existing PowerUP product line from phase 5 digital products. With this stunning feature set, it is expected to see a large number of next-generation applications, running natively under the QNX Neutrino OS on the AMIRAGE TM K2 computer to be available with the release of the new system, which is scheduled for the beginning of the year 2000.

"We are excited that we finally can create a product technology which we could not realize in the past, due to the lack of OS support and a competition with non-existing but announced projects, which we were faced with" outlines Wolf Dietrich. "The new AMIRAGE TM K2 design extends the proposed features of our older pre\box project, and contains many elements of the earlier A\BOX concept, but without the neccessity to design customized hardware right now. As the QNX Neutrino OS concept is also in full accordance with our vision of a new OS - in the past and today - we feel that we finally can make the dream of many Amiga users as well as other computer users come true."

The AMIRAGE TM K2 computer system will be built around the latest available technologies, and support the major standards in digital multimedia. Although it will not be designed as a low-cost system, it will be very reasonably priced, and will be surprisingly attractive in respect of the price/performance ratio. The currently planned key features of the AMIRAGE TM K2 include:

• One to four PowerPC G4 processors, user-upgradable with standard G4 processor modules, each with independent CPU clock frequency, allowing to scale-fit the system to any particular requirement (users who e.g. start with one 400MHz CPU can later add e.g. a 700MHz CPU and nearly triple the system performance transparently; this is the case for all the four CPUs as well)


• Full QNX Neutrino support for the symmetric multiprocessing functionality of the AMIRAGE TM K2 allows applications to make full and dynamical use of the installed CPUs


• The multiprocessing functionality of the AMIRAGE TM K2 allows to immediately scale the system to performance levels of approximately 80 SPECInt95 and 80 SPECfp95, plus a most impressive multimedia performance provided by the up to four Altivec units of the G4 processors


• Up to two GByte main memory by use of fast SDRAM (industry standard DIMMs); base configuration comes with 64 MB installed


• High-performance local 3D graphics, by use of a latest-generation leading-edge 3D processor, with a minimum of 32 MB display and texture memory, resolutions of 1920x1080 in 32bit color depth or better, and hardware video acceleration to support full-screen, full-frame DVD playback


• Integrated Ultra-DMA ATA Controller; base configuration comes with 6GByte hard drive and DVD-ROM drive


• Optional ULTRA-2-WIDE SCSI Controller


• High-Speed IEEE1394 Interface for external devices and networking


• Dedicated port for optional, internal Solid State Drive (SSD, up to 128 MB capacity)


• ISBEE TM (Instant System Boot on External Event) activates the system on user-definable external events such as incoming signals (e.g. modem or ISDN) or calls, or other events; when used with a SSD, the system will be fully operational within seconds


• Two independent 12MBit USB port


• Three 64-bit PCI slots, 66MHz, for high-performance add-on boards


• Three 32-bit PCI slots, 33 MHz, for low-cost add-on boards


• Twisted-pair 10Base100 Ethernet port


• IrDa interface and MIDI ports


• Integrated powerful multimedia coprocessor with specialized DSP functionality, independent VLD (variable length decoder) and image coprocessor for CPU-independent video scaling and filtering, color conversion, overlay, alpha blending and bit mask blanking of digital video signals


• Digital Video In Port for digital video input in CCIR601 / CCIR656 format (eight-bit parallel, 4:2:2 YUV time-multiplexed video data) from devices such as a digital video camera or digital video decoder


• Digital Video Out Port outputs digital YUV data-stream to devices such as a digital video encoder chips, digital video recorder, or other CCIR601 / CCIR656-compatible device


• Video output supports 129-level alpha blending, genlock mode,frame synchronization, chroma key and programmable YUV color clipping


• Dedicated expansion options (video slots) allow to add analog frontends for the digital video ports, either in consumer, prosumer or professional versions


• 16-bit stereo audio input, analog or digital


• 16-bit analog stereo audio output


• Eight-channel digital audio output, 16-bit or 32-bit stereo format


• Dolby ProLogic ® and Dolby Digital (AC-3) ® multichannel audio decoder and output (digital)


• SPDIF output supports two-channel linear PCM audio, one or more Dolby Digital six-channel datastreams, or one or more MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio streams with programmable sample rates


• Synchronous serial interface (SSI) provides fully V.34-compliant modem capability, and optional ISDN services and interface


• Software support: System Services by the QNX Neutrino OS, including an Amiga OS 3.x legacy support package; 3D support by OpenGL compatible libraries; emulation for industry-standard applications from other platforms planned

  Note: These specifications are subject to change with ongoing progress in the computer industry, and will be updated to meet the latest standards.

With it's extensive features and impressive multimedia functionalities, the AMIRAGE TM K2 is a powerful personal workstation for all purposes. But beyond that, it will also be the first fully-featured Personal Network&Media Server that will function as a heart of a new generation of computing. "AMIRAGE TM K2 is not designed to only impress with a potential hardware overkill. We do hear a lot about new applications and even revolutions in the computer industry these days. We at phase 5 digital products also believe that computing will differ in the future, and new services will be expected by the users" comments Wolf Dietrich. "But still the necessary hardware functionality counts, to make such new services available. If you e.g. want your multimedia and 3D data streams to appear somewhere else than on your local monitor, than a typical 3D display card that outputs a single high-frequency analog signal, which allows a maximum of 1.5 meters shielded cable, is not very helpful. For such applications, fully digital processing units - as provided with the AMIRAGE TM K2's processor and coprocessor units - and networking capabilities are needed to process the data and distribute it to any device or appliance that can communicate with the user. The hardware of the AMIRAGE TM K2, as well as the superior functionality of the QNX Neutrino OS, perfectly meet the requirements of such demanding next-generation applications."

Consequently, in the 2nd quarter of 2000, phase 5 digital products will release a first external extension, the AMIRAGE TM LCU, which is a Local Communication Unit. This small and very inexpensive device will be used to provide local video and audio output on separate monitors, TV sets, or other video/audio devices. The audio and video streams are provided as digital data streams (in different digital formats, depending on the actual content, e.g. as MPEG Audio/Video or lossless compressed for the display of digital screens) by the AMIRAGE TM K2. The AMIRAGE TM LCU also accepts inputs via an IrDa interface, e.g. from remote controls or keyboards, to allow full interaction. It is currently planned to connect the LCU via the IEEE-1394 port. As multiple LCUs can be connected to the AMIRAGE TM K2, it is possible to display video and output audio on various devices, including the simultaneous output of different audio/video streams; thus, it is e.g. possible that different persons in a house watch a video, browse the internet, hold a videoconference, and play a 3D game independently and simultaneously (or play an interactive game together, for example). This is just a first example of what will be possible from the synergy of the superior QNX Neutrino OS and the powerful AMIRAGE TM K2 hardware platform from phase 5 digital products. Also under consideration are inexpensive and wireless webpads and hand-held communication devices for videoconfering/videophoning, with lowest power consumption, which use the AMIRAGE TM K2's communication functionalities and data processing and distribution capabilities.

The new AMIRAGE TM K2 computer system is scheduled for shipment with the beginning of the year 2000. The pricing of the base system is TBD and will be determined later this year. More information will be published regularly; please come back often and check for updates, mailings lists, and other news.

© 1999 by phase 5 digital products. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. QNX, Photon microGUI, and Neutrino are registered trademarks of QNX Software Systems Ltd. Amiga® is a registered trademark of Amiga International. PowerUPTM is a registered trademark of phase 5 digital products; AMIRAGE TM K2 and ISBEETM are trademarks of phase 5 digital products.«

»Preliminary information about the Amiga® OS 3.x legacy support on the new BLIZZARD and CYBERSTORM G3 boards, and the upcoming AMIRAGE TM K2 computer system

phase 5 digital products will provide full Amiga® OS 3.x legacy support under the QNX Neutrino OS for PowerUPTM. The existing Amiga® OS 3.x (and it's applications) will be running under a powerful 68k emulator, which runs as a fully memory-protected application under the Neutrino kernel. A new version of the PPC library will provide full compatibility with existing PowerPC applications which make use of the message system of the PPC library, and call threads under the QNX Neutrino OS to execute the PowerPC code. Similarly, updated drivers for CyberGraphX and the CyberSCSI device will directly call native GFX and SCSI drivers under the QNX Neutrino OS, thus providing native PPC execution and increased stability with full memory protection again. By this new software implementation, the current PowerUPTM Accelerator boards will provide increased performance and usability for many applications, and will also serve as development systems for software developers writing applications for the AMIRAGETM K2 next-generation multimedia computer systems by phase 5 digital products, which will be running the QNX Neutrino OS.

The new QNX Neutrino OS for PowerUPTM and next-generation multimedia computer systems, including the Amiga® OS 3.x / 68k emulation system, will be shipping with the new Blizzard and Cyberstorm G3 Accelerators, which are scheduled for delivery by end of September 99. For all users of the installed 603/604 based PowerUPTM boards, the complete software package will be available for free via internet download, or on CD against a fee covering handling and postage.

With an installed base of appx. 10,000 systems, the PowerUPTM accelerators today represent a small, but very respectable starting base for all active Amiga® developers to port and update their applications to the new QNX Neutrino OS for PowerUPTM, and improve them with new functionality. With the new next-generation multimedia computer systems, a rapidly growing market for innovative software developers will emerge early in the year 2000. phase 5 digital products is strongly encouraging developers to port applications to the new QNX Neutrino OS for PowerUPTM and next-generation multimedia computer systems. A new developer contact at phase 5 digital products will be installed by end of August 99.

© 1999 by phase 5 digital products. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. QNX, Photon microGUI, and Neutrino are registered trademarks of QNX Software Systems Ltd. Amiga® is a registered trademark of Amiga International. PowerUPTM is a registered trademark of phase 5 digital products; AMIRAGE TM K2 and ISBEETM are trademarks of phase 5 digital products.«

(Quelle: jeweils Phase 5 digital products)