Plextor releases open source SDK for video

Hi Jonathan,

Below is Plextor's press release announcing support for Linux.


CONTACT:
Marianne Welch				Dirk Peters, Director of Marketing
Welch Communications			Plextor Corp.
(408) 395-7363				(510) 440-2104
info@welchcommunications.com		dpeters@plextor.com

Plextor PVRs Now Support Linux

First Hardware-Based PVRs to Deliver MPEG-4
Video Capture and Compression on Linux Platform

FREMONT, Calif. - March 8, 2005 - Plextor® Corp., 
a leading developer and manufacturer of 
high-performance digital media equipment, today 
announced the availability of a free Linux 
Software Developers Kit (SDK) for ConvertX video 
capture devices.  For the first time, the Open 
Source Software (OSS) community can enjoy the 
advanced features of Plextor ConvertX PVRs, 
including real-time hardware-based MPEG-1, 
MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and Motion JPEG video encoding in 
a low-cost USB 2.0 video peripheral.

Licensed under the GNU General Public License, 
the Linux SDK supports the popular Video for 
Linux 2 (V4L2) and Advanced Linux Sound 
Architecture (ALSA) specifications.  It also 
supports deprecated Open Sound System (OSS) 
applications via the OSS compatibility layer 
provided by ALSA. The new driver, which requires 
the Linux 2.6 kernel, includes sample code that 
can be reused in open source or proprietary 
applications to help developers get started 
quickly. 

"Plextor is strongly committed to supporting the 
Open Source Software movement with free 
development tools that help speed the creation of 
next-generation Linux-based video software," said 
Dirk Peters, director of marketing, Plextor. "The 
release of this SDK was a direct response to 
requests from the user community for an easier 
way to work with Plextor ConvertX video capture 
devices on computers running Linux."

"Plextor's new Linux SDK provides developers with 
a free GPL-based full-source driver to support 
all of the popular V4L2 applications," said, Tom 
Luax, vice president of sales, WISchip 
International.  "The combination of low-cost 
MPEG4/DivX Video compression hardware and Linux 
OSS software is a great solution for anyone who 
wants to build a high-quality and low-cost 
personal video recorder for their PC.

Availability
Version 0.91 of Plextor's new Linux SDK, with 
support for ConvertX PX-M402U and PX-TV402U, is 
available immediately from 
http://www.plextor.com/english/support/LinuxSDK.htm.

About Plextor
Plextor Corp. is a leading developer and 
manufacturer of high-performance digital media 
equipment for professionals, consumers, and 
enterprises.  Headquartered in Silicon Valley 
since 1990, Plextor has introduced generations of 
award-winning products, including digital video 
converters and CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and DVD±R/RW 
optical disk drives.  Plextor is privately owned 
by Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd., a developer and 
manufacturer of advanced technology hardware and 
precision electronic equipment headquartered in 
Japan. Contact Plextor at www.plextor.com.
###

Plextor is a registered trademark and ConvertX is 
a trademark of Plextor Corp.  All other 
trademarks are the property of their respective 
holders
-- 
Marianne Welch
Welch Communications
Office: 408-395-7363
Mobile: 408-718-0360
marianne@welchcommunications.com