NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR INTRODUCES HIGH-INTEGRATION CHIPSET THAT OFFERS MOST ADVANCED DISPLAY PERFORMANCE FOR CRT MONITOR VIDEO CHANNELS

LM1253A, LM2453 Integrate OSD Generator, Preamp, CRT Driver and Bias Clamp Functions, Eliminating Up To 60 Parts from Neck-board PCBs

March 28, 2000 - National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM) today announced the LM1253A/LM2453 chipset that offers the most advanced on-screen display (OSD), highest integration, low power consumption and low system cost to manufacturers of CRT monitors for PCs. The chipset integrates the OSD generator, I²C? bus compatible preamplifier, CRT driver, bias clamp and other functions, eliminating up to 60 parts used in conventional designs, while providing features that improve overall system performance.

"National's LM1253A/LM2453 chipset gives designers a solution for the entire CRT neck-board by offering the highest level of integration in PC monitors available today. By eliminating up to 60 components used in conventional designs, our chipset reduces the size of the video PCB by up to 50%," said Muthanna Salman, marketing manager for National's data conversion group. "Benefits of this integration include reduced design time and smoother manufacturing flow, which shortens time to market and lowers overall system cost."

The high level of integration the LM1253A/LM2453 achieves enables superior OSD performance with color-balanced brightness, power consumption about 50% less than conventional DC-coupled designs, and higher performance using a bus that is compatible with the industry-standard Inter-IC (I²C) bus for convenient interfacing with the monitor microcontroller.

For optimum performance, functions are partitioned between the LM1253A and LM2453. The CMOS LM1253A is an I ²C compatible OSD generator and preamplifier, while the bipolar LM2453 is a CRT driver with an integrated AC-coupled clamp circuit and a 120V boost supply.

The sub-micron CMOS LM1253A contains the patent pending, software-programmable Videoplex interface for communication between the preamplifier and driver to convey multiple video, CRT brightness and bias information for the RGB channels. A single 5V, 250mA supply has a low current standby mode for reduced power consumption. The chip also features easy interfacing for the horizontal and vertical flyback, and automatic brightness limit (ABL) functions.

OSD features include 190x2 color and 64x4 color 18x12 ROM-based character fonts. The OSD is programmable up to 512 characters and allows for Windows-style "Button-Box" borders.

High-speed, high-voltage technology and National's low power design expertise were used to develop the bipolar LM2453. Differential input is used to ensure good DC stability when operating at a higher gain of 50X. Other features include an ultra-low power DC-bias clamp function that provides more than 60V of dynamic range, and governs the brightness and bias functions.

Pricing and Availability
Available now, the LM1253A and LM2453 chipset is priced at $6.00 in 1000-unit quantities. The LM1253A is housed in a low-cost 28-pin dual inline package. The LM2453 is housed in a 15-pin TO-220 package. For more information on the LM1253A and LM2453, visit National's World Wide Web site at http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM1253A and http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM2453.

About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 10,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.