Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) today announced the HD64413F (Quick 2D Graphics Renderer 
with Synchronous DRAM I/F: Q2SD) as the third product in the Quick Series (Q Series) of 
graphics accelerators*1, designed for use in a chip set together with a Hitachi SuperH(TM)*2 
RISC microcomputer to provide high-speed graphics processing in a compact system.  The 
HD64413F achieves faster graphics rendering thanks to a fast 66 MHz operating speed and 
the use of synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) for the graphics memory.  Sample shipments will 
begin in January 1999 in Japan.

Major improvements are being sought in the graphical man-machine interface of consumer 
information products such as car navigation systems and Internet TVs.  The approach to 
meeting these requirements in conventional graphics processing has been to use large 
amounts of high-speed memory and have both geometrical*3 and rendering*4 processing 
performed by the CPU, or to have an embedded graphics chip execute graphics algorithms 
wherever possible.  However, in addition to the need for high processing performance and 
representational simplicity, there is also a growing demand for upward-compatibility of 
software and data bases, and concern over how to handle increasingly complex graphics 
algorithms for large VGA*5 class screens.

In response to this demand, Hitachi developed the Q Series of graphics accelerators to 
perform high-speed rendering and display processing in a chip set together with a SuperH(TM) 
family microcomputer.  Designed around the concepts of simplicity, realtime capability, and 
upgradability, a Q Series chip performs line drawing, surface drawing, and other rendering 
processing corresponding to coordinate conversion and similar geometrical processing 
executed by a SuperH(TM) microcomputer, efficiently and cheaply.  

The new Q2SD features a maximum operating frequency of 66 MHz for the drawing 
system-twice that of the two initial models in the Q Series, the Q2 and Q2i*6-plus 
improved drawing performance through revision of the graphics memory interface.  Display 
capability has also been enhanced through the provision of built-in video capture functions, 
analog RGB output, and cursor display functions.  Fewer external components are required, 
and graphics rendering and video capture operate independently, providing flexible screen 
display capability for VGA-size displays, etc.

As in the Q2 and Q2i, a unified graphics memory architecture*7 is used for managing the 
graphics memory.  With this architecture, all graphic data, including color graphics for 
natural images, etc., and data with different data formats, such as fonts and patterns, are 
managed in the same memory.  In addition, high-speed SDRAM is used for the frame buffers 
(graphic display memory).

Four kinds of drawing commands, including a 4-vertex polygon*8 drawing command that 
allows free transformation of natural and graphical images, enable 2-D graphics to be 
implemented at high speed, and also provide 3-D graphical display capability.
The Q2SD inherits from the Q2 and Q2i such features as a double-buffer architecture*9 to 
implement realtime drawing, functions for TV-synchronized display and sync signal 
generation, a built-in color palette, and YUV to RGB conversion.

The Q2SD uses a 0.35 micron 3-aluminum-layer CMOS process, and is mounted in a 176-
pin LQFP plastic package, enabling a high-performance display system to be configured at 
low cost.  The features of the Q2SD make it possible to create compact graphics processing 
systems with powerful drawing capabilities for a variety of products, including car 
navigation systems, network computers and similar medium-definition OA products, and AV 
products such as Internet TVs and karaoke systems.

  Notes: 1. Accelerator: A chip that assists microcomputer operation by providing 
         mechanisms for shortening processing time.
	 2. SuperH is a trademark of Hitachi, Ltd.
	 3. Geometrical processing: Processing of numeric values in coordinate conversion, 
         including vertex parallel shifting and rotation processing.
	 4. Rendering processing: Processing that draws lines and surfaces in graphics 
         memory to represent the target figure.
	 5. VGA (Video Graphics Array): A display definition standard, representing a 
         display size of 640x480 dots.  VGA is a trademark of IBM Corporation.
	 6. Q2 (Quick 2D Graphics Renderer), Q2i (Quick 2D Graphics Renderer 
         improved): The first and second products released in the Q Series.  These are 2-D 
         graphics renderer chips that enable external graphics memory capacity to be 
         reduced by 50%, and are also capable of 3-D graphical display.
 	 7. Unified graphics memory architecture: A method of managing data of different 
         formats in the same memory.  Data of different formats includes natural images and 
         other color graphics, font patterns, display list (drawing command strings), and 
         figures created by drawing.
	 8. Polygon: A graphic unit used in expressing drawing processing time.  The size of 
         one polygon unit varies depending on the graphic.  For example, in the case of a 
         surface, a rectangular area of 25x20 pixels is taken as one polygon unit, and the 
         polygon index indicates how many polygons of this size can be processed per unit 
         time.
	 9. Double-buffer architecture: An architecture in which two areas-one used for 
         drawing and one for display-are provided in graphics memory, and their roles are 
         switched at regular intervals.  This architecture enables display processing and 
         rendering processing to be carried out in intersecting fashion.

<Typical Applications>
-Car navigation systems
-AV products (Internet TVs, karaoke systems)
-Small-screen OA products (network computers, etc.)


< Price in Japan >

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ended March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen ($63.8 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp. * At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the U.S. dollar.