Doug Rasor
TI Vice President of Strategic Marketing

Lights. Camera. Action! TI went Hollywood on Day Three of TIDC 2006 celebrating “Heroes Who Entertain Us.” I even got a chance to show off on the electric guitar as I demoed the latest digital amplifier technology from Fender. This music-industry legend has taken TI technology and created a seven pound amp that blasts 250 Watts of sound. This little thing was able to fill a huge auditorium with a riff from Born to Be Wild as TI’s VP of DSP, Greg Delagi, rode onto the stage on a motor cycle.

You read that correctly. Greg made a grand entrance on a Vectrix electric motor bike that uses a TI C2000 DSP to control the motor and electrical system. This thing can go from zero to 50 in six seconds, gets 60 miles on a single charge and has no emissions. It’s hard to believe that this is the same chip that powers the Boston Digital Arm we saw yesterday. It’s truly amazing the breadth of products that can leverage the same technology. TIDC gives us a chance to step back and really appreciate what’s being done out there.

Greg took the stage to discuss this very point in terms of the proliferation of digital technology for communications and entertainment. He noted that it will be the convergence of these technologies that offers the greatest opportunities for customers leveraging TI analog and DSP devices. Specifically, the DaVinci™ platform from TI, which delivers an SOC approach to these converging areas, will be critical in delivering next-generation capabilities to consumers who have come to expect more, faster.

Greg was then able to show real-world examples of what companies are doing in this realm. LifeSize previewed its HD video conferencing system. For those of you who have struggled with video conferencing over the years, let me tell you that this will blow you away. It really looks and sounds like everyone is in the same room.

Microsoft showed their streaming media technology using DaVinci. TI and Microsoft have worked together for several years and will continue to work together on projects that expressly impact digital appliances.

For the grand finale, we got a sneak-peek at Disney’s new 3-D animation process that leverages TI’s DLP technology. Wait until this comes to a theater near you! This isn’t your circa-1950’s cardboard, red-and-blue novelty glasses. This is state of the art technology that makes you feel like you’re in the film.

It’s been a great three days that have really flown by. I can’t wait until next year and I hope to see you there.