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Yamaha to Launch mLAN Licensing Campaign
New Digital Network Interface Technology Offered on Generous Terms |
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Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka - July 19, 2000 - Yamaha Corporation, an established leader in digital audio, will launch a licensing campaign in September to help popularize mLAN, the company's digital interface technology that allows simple and efficient interconnection of electronic instruments, professional audio equipment, and computers. mLAN uses the industry standard IEEE1394 high-speed serial bus to carry audio and control data, enabling the easy configuration of sophisticated systems for creating and mastering music.
"We will provide technology transfer programs, mLAN connection management specifications, patent usage rights, and logo usage rights in addition to Yamaha's implementation of standards required for mLAN, all tailored to the needs of the licensee," said Masatada Wachi, managing director and general manager in charge of Yamaha's Business Development Group. "Prospective partners will be electronic instrument manufacturers, makers of professional and general audio equipment, software developers and marketers," he said.
Yamaha is also making it easy for third parties to adopt mLAN by preparing a variety of licensing options. The company expects licensing agreements with about 20 companies to be in place during the initial year. |
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| License Content |
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mLAN was conceived as a new digital network interface for music applications and incorporates original connection management technology developed by Yamaha. The technology allows users to link electronic instruments, professional audio components, computers, and similar devices to achieve more efficient exchange and management of audio and MIDI data.
Based on the high-speed serial bus IEEE1394 and "Audio & Music Data Transmission Protocol" (A&M Protocol), which have become industry standards, mLAN adds the capability to meet requirements from musicians and audio engineers who use electronic musical instruments, audio equipment and computers. Electronic keyboards, synthesizers, digital mixers, and other similar devices connected by a single IEEE1394 cable can be linked in various configurations using virtual audio and MIDI cables.
"Through the licensing campaign Yamaha will launch worldwide this September, we hope to achieve broad popularization of mLAN," Yamaha's Masatada Wachi noted. "This should help ordinary consumers become aware of the advantages of the IEEE1394 bus so that an even wider range of electronic devices might be produced with IEEE1394 interfaces. This will give users of such devices greater freedom and flexibility," he added.
The licensing program encompasses the following basic formats.
1. Technology Transfer (Example A)
Yamaha provides mLAN adapter boards and their interface specifications. The licensee need only design the client interface, thus affording easy adoption of mLAN technology.
2. Technology Transfer (Example B)
Yamaha provides circuit diagrams, firmware, and other design information for mLAN adapters, allowing the licensee to build mLAN products of its own design.
Format 1 and 2 includes Yamaha's implementation of all standards needed for mLAN.
3. Implementation Contract (Example C)
Yamaha provides all intellectual property usage rights and technical data necessary for implementing specific mLAN functions. The licensee can develop mLAN-compliant products based on this contract.
Format 3 requires the licensee to implement all standards needed for mLAN.
Yamaha expects to be launching its own mLAN products in the near future. These will include mLAN specification-based devices such as interfaces for the direct connection of MIDI and audio devices.
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| Major mLAN Features Inherited from IEEE1394 |
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1. Conforms to industry standard IEEE1394
The high-speed IEEE1394 serial bus (also known simply as "1394") provides the basis for mLAN, a digital network interface for music. A network can be configured simply by linking mLAN-compliant instruments, professional audio devices, and computers using IEEE1394 cables.
2. Allows simple daisy-chaining of devices
Cabling patterns for mLAN allow the user to daisy-chain* devices with IEEE1394 cables or to create branching configurations. Since there is no input/output distinction for connectors, the hook-up process is extremely simple. Separate audio and MIDI cables or other interface-specific cabling is no longer necessary. (*See Background)
3. Affords high-speed transfer of large-volume data
IEEE1394 supports data transfer rates of 100, 200, and 400 Mbps (megabits per second). As an example, theoretically a rate of 200 Mbps corresponds to support for approximately 100 channels of audio data and up to 256 ports.
4. Control also possible without a computer
The mLAN specification also affords the use of electronic instruments in conjunction with home audio systems, making it possible to configure a digital network even without a computer.
5. Promotes excellent digital sound quality
All musical data is carried over the network in digital form so no sound quality deterioration occurs. As the sound processed by electronic instruments and mixers remains in the digital domain, efficient transmission without quality degradation is assured.
6. Allows for future expandability for multimedia applications
Already being implemented in a wide variety of digital consumer electronics, IEEE1394 is considered the standard of choice for the digital network of the future. Yamaha's mLAN interface has the potential to expand applicability to electronic instruments and home audio components, allowing unified control of such devices together with digital video and similar equipment. |
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| Background |
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The Birth of mLAN
IEEE1394 is an enhanced bus standard that is based on the original FireWire technology developed by Apple Computer. The standard allows connection of computers to consumer and professional electronic equipment such as video cameras, audio equipment, electronic musical instruments, and many other kinds of devices. The standard also allows for direct interconnection between such devices without resort to a computer. IEEE1394 was developed to enable the implementation of a high-speed digital interface at low cost. IEEE1394 interfaces are currently found in computers, digital video cameras, and CD-RW drives.
Yamaha Corporation, as a member of the 1394 TA (Trade Association), has been playing an important role in making a specification for audio and music data transmission over IEEE1394. In June 1997, the Specification for Audio and Music Data Transmission became a 1394 TA specification and it is expected to become international standard IEC61883-6.
This specification (also known as the "A&M protocol") covers the handling of audio data and MIDI data on the IEEE1394 bus. It is a plug-and-play-type standard that fully utilizes the high performance potential of the IEEE1394 link. The protocol makes it possible in theory to transmit over a single cable, more than 100 channels of CD-quality digital audio or music data that would otherwise require several hundred conventional MIDI cables.
In another important feature, the IEEE1394 interface allows the daisy-chaining of multiple components. Whereas normal A/V systems require that source components such as CD player, MD player, and tuner be connected in a radial pattern with the amplifier at the center, the new format allows for a simple serial (daisy-chain) connection such as amplifier CD player MD player tuner. The protocol also makes it possible to configure a network comprising a multimedia PC, A/V components, and an electronic keyboard, for example.
Yamaha's mLAN is the application of this protocol to networks specifically designed with synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments, digital mixers, and professional audio equipment in mind. Though mLAN allows ease of integration with one or several computers, it also can operate in configurations without a computer. The mLAN is designed as a flexible specification with room for further improvement as new products are developed and new possibilities emerge.
With the start of mLAN licensing, Yamaha intends to strengthen the IEEE1394 cause, opening the way for broad popularization of the standard and the pioneering of new markets.
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Appendix
IEEE1394
The IEEE1394 standard, based on FireWire technology developed by Apple Computer, was established by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in 1995. IEEE1394 is a low-cost, high-speed digital network standard employed for connecting computers to audio and video devices, and also for interconnecting such devices.
The 1995 version of IEEE1394 (called IEEE1394-1995) allows for a maximum data transfer rate of 400 Mbps (megabits per second) and the maximum cable run between adjacent devices of 4.5 meters. In the near future, the standard will be upgraded to support transfer rates of up to 1.6 Gbps (gigabits per second) and maximum cable runs of 100 meters between adjacent devices. Under names such as "FireWire" and "i.Link", 1394 technology finds applications in digital video cameras, set-top boxes, and other digital electronics products, as well as in peripherals such as hard disks, CD-ROM drives, and CD-RW writers.
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Note:
'FireWire' is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
'i.Link' is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. |
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