Media Vision
Encyclopedia
Media Vision was an American electronics manufacturer of primarily computer sound cards and CD-ROM kits, operating from 1990 to approximately 1995 in Fremont, California
. Media Vision was widely known for its Pro AudioSpectrum PC sound cards—which it often bundled with CD-ROM drives—and its spectacular growth and demise.
In 1992, Media Vision was the first company to publish Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions on CD-ROM; having beat Microsoft
to market with its own product, Bill Gates
's assistant telephoned and ordered two copies. During the same year, the company acquired Pellucid, Inc., a computer graphics company, and began producing a line of high-performance video graphics cards for the PC. Media Vision became a publicly traded company in late 1992.
In 1993, Media Vision updated its logotype to reflect its expanding product lines and broad foray in to technologies beyond computer audio. Perhaps one of the biggest endeavors was the company's leap into software publishing with the creation of its Multimedia Publishing Group. CD-ROM titles such as Critical Path
, Quantum Gate, and Forever Growing Garden were often bundled with its multimedia kits. The new logo reflected the company's desire to be known as a cutting-edge multi-media technology company. During the same year, the company expanded business operations into Europe with the establishment of Media Vision GmbH in Munich, Germany.
history. The investigation and trial lasted nearly a decade, resulting in criminal charges filed against Jain in 1998 and ultimately his indictment on 27 counts of financial fraud (Wired) and the incarceration of Jain and CFO Steve Allen (http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/media%20vision.doc).
The collapse of Media Vision cost investors and bond holders US$200,000,000.
Media Vision ultimately became Aureal Semiconductor
. When the company changed its name to Aureal, it sold all product lines, key technologies, and trademarks related to the old Media Vision to SVT Shiva, Inc. (SVTI) of San Jose, Calif. SVTI then created a new division called Media Vision Innovations, Inc. to sell existing inventory. The new division also developed and sold a few new multimedia products under the Media Vision name. SVTI agreed to purchase audio chips from Aureal for the first two years as part of the deal.
, where he designed much of the Apple IIc
.
In addition to Component Engineer James Persall, the engineering staff included electrical engineers:
The development of SCSI
device drivers was outsourced to Trantor Systems.
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
. Media Vision was widely known for its Pro AudioSpectrum PC sound cards—which it often bundled with CD-ROM drives—and its spectacular growth and demise.
Company history
Media Vision was founded in May 1990 by Paul Jain and Tim Bratton. Early employees also included Russ Faust, Sandy Pfister, Dan Gochnauer and Bryan Colvin. Many of the founders and early employees had worked together under Mr. Jain at Video Seven, a video card maker which by then had been purchased by and absorbed into LSI Logic. As Mr. Bratton recalls, he wrote the company's business plan while an engineer at National Semiconductor and studying for his MBA at Santa Clara University. Mr. Jain and Mr. Bratton used the plan to raise $1 million in funding and by July 1990, after returning from the MPEG standard committee meeting in Porto, Portugal, Mr. Bratton joined the company as its first full time employee. Mr. Faust and Ms. Pfister joined soon after. Mr. Jain remained at National Semiconductor for another month and joined the company full time in August 1990. Within its first two years of operation, Media Vision had become the second-largest producer of personal computer sound cards, providing strong competition to Creative Labs.In 1992, Media Vision was the first company to publish Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions on CD-ROM; having beat Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to market with its own product, Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
's assistant telephoned and ordered two copies. During the same year, the company acquired Pellucid, Inc., a computer graphics company, and began producing a line of high-performance video graphics cards for the PC. Media Vision became a publicly traded company in late 1992.
New logotype, new image
Critical Path (video game)
Critical Path is a post-apocalyptic full motion adventure video game developed by Mechadeus and published by Media Vision Technology. Critical Path was one of earliest games to be released on CD-ROM, and featured real time video which made it appear to be graphically superior to most games of its...
, Quantum Gate, and Forever Growing Garden were often bundled with its multimedia kits. The new logo reflected the company's desire to be known as a cutting-edge multi-media technology company. During the same year, the company expanded business operations into Europe with the establishment of Media Vision GmbH in Munich, Germany.
Financial scandal
Media Vision could not sustain its meteoric rise. On May 17, 1994, CEO Paul Jain resigned as Media Vision quickly became the subject of the longest-running securities fraud case in Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
history. The investigation and trial lasted nearly a decade, resulting in criminal charges filed against Jain in 1998 and ultimately his indictment on 27 counts of financial fraud (Wired) and the incarceration of Jain and CFO Steve Allen (http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/media%20vision.doc).
The collapse of Media Vision cost investors and bond holders US$200,000,000.
Media Vision ultimately became Aureal Semiconductor
Aureal Semiconductor
Aureal Semiconductor Inc. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-late 1990s for their PC sound card technologies including A3D and the Vortex The company was the reincarnation of the, at the time, bankrupt Media Vision Technology...
. When the company changed its name to Aureal, it sold all product lines, key technologies, and trademarks related to the old Media Vision to SVT Shiva, Inc. (SVTI) of San Jose, Calif. SVTI then created a new division called Media Vision Innovations, Inc. to sell existing inventory. The new division also developed and sold a few new multimedia products under the Media Vision name. SVTI agreed to purchase audio chips from Aureal for the first two years as part of the deal.
Media Vision products
Media Vision's products included PC adapter cards, other hardware, and computer games.PC adapter cards
- Pro Audio Spectrum (1991): 8-bit ISA audio card with CD-ROM interface.
- Pro Audio Spectrum PlusMedia Vision Pro AudioSpectrumThe Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrum family of personal computer sound cards included the original 8-bit Pro AudioSpectrum , the 8-bit Pro AudioSpectrum Plus, 16-bit Pro AudioSpectrum 16, Pro AudioSpectrum 16 Basic and 16-bit Pro Audio Studio...
: ISA audio card, 8-bit digital sampling, 16-bit digital audio playback with CD-ROM interface, Sound BlasterSound BlasterThe Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
compatibility. - Pro Audio Spectrum 16Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrumThe Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrum family of personal computer sound cards included the original 8-bit Pro AudioSpectrum , the 8-bit Pro AudioSpectrum Plus, 16-bit Pro AudioSpectrum 16, Pro AudioSpectrum 16 Basic and 16-bit Pro Audio Studio...
(May 1992): 16-bit ISA card with CD-ROM interface, 16-bit stereo digital audio, stereo FM synthesis, Sound BlasterSound BlasterThe Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
compatibility ; based on the MVD101 chipset. - Thunder BoardThunder BoardThe Thunderboard was an 8-bit mono sound card from Media Vision that had Sound Blaster compatibility at a reduced price. It was widely advertised as “proudly made in the USA”; possibly a reference to the Sound Blaster, manufactured by the competing Singapore-based Creative Technologies...
: low-cost 8-bit ISA Sound BlasterSound BlasterThe Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
compatible sound. - Thunder and Lightning: VGA adapter with Sound BlasterSound BlasterThe Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
compatible sound. - PCMCIA 16 Bit Sound Card
- Pro Audio Studio 16: enhanced version of the Pro Audio Spectrum 16 sound card, bundled with voice-recognition software and a microphone.
- Pro Audio 16 Basic: Stripped down version of Pro Audio Spectrum 16, without SCSISCSISmall Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
interface, the bundled voice recognition software and microphone; based on the MVD101 chipset. - Pro Sonic 16: Based on Media Vision's JAZZ 16 chipset (not compatible with the Pro Audio Spectrum line).
- Pro 3-D: Based on Media Vision's JAZZ 16 chipset (not compatible with the Pro Audio Spectrum line), with built-in SRSSound Retrieval SystemThe Sound Retrieval System is a patented psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technology originally invented by Arnold Klayman in the early 1980s. The Sound Retrieval System (SRS) is a patented psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technology originally invented by Arnold Klayman in the early 1980s....
surround sound, and KORG wavetable daughter board. - ProZonic: Released in 1996 by Media Vision Innovations, Inc.
- Pro Movie Spectrum/Studio: a realtime video capture board.
- Pro Graphics 1024: high performance video card.
- Pro Graphics 1280: high performance video card.
Other hardware
- multimedia kits, each bundling a Pro Audio Spectrum sound card, CD-ROM drive and software
- Audio Port (March 1992): parallel/printer port audio device for laptop computers
- CDPC: integrated desktop CD-ROM, audio I/O, amplified speakers
- Memphis: enhanced version of the CDPC
- ReNORenoReno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
: portable CD-ROM/CD Audio device - Pro Audio Spectrum Patch Panel for the Apple Macintosh
Software
- Critical PathCritical Path (video game)Critical Path is a post-apocalyptic full motion adventure video game developed by Mechadeus and published by Media Vision Technology. Critical Path was one of earliest games to be released on CD-ROM, and featured real time video which made it appear to be graphically superior to most games of its...
- Quantum GateQuantum Gate (video game)Quantum Gate is an interactive movie created by Hyperbole Studios in 1993 and published by the now defunct Media Vision Technology. . Quantum Gate sold over 100,000 units and was regarded as a technical and artistic breakthrough in PC entertainment design...
- Forever Growing Garden
- PlanIt Adrenaline
- PlanIt Earth
Internal structure
Internally, Media Vision was dominated by its large engineering and marketing departments, roughly equal in size and reporting to the Chief Operating Officer Russell Faust. Director of Manufacturing Wayne Nakamura also reported to the COO.Engineering
The company's engineering efforts were headed by VP of Engineering Dan Gochnauer, formerly of the Sperry-Rand Corporation.Hardware
The Director of Hardware Engineering was Bryan J. Colvin, once an early employee of Apple ComputerApple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, where he designed much of the Apple IIc
Apple IIc
The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer’s first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The end result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place...
.
In addition to Component Engineer James Persall, the engineering staff included electrical engineers:
- Korhan Titizer designer of the fully custom MVA508 analog mixer ASIC
- John Minami, co-designer (with Bryan Colvin) of the digital standard-cell MVD101 ASIC
- Mike Rovner, designer of many analog PCB circuits
- John Carlsen
- John NearyJohn NearyEdward John Neary , an electronic engineer, specializing in audio processing equipment for motion pictures and broadcasting....
Software
The Director of Software Engineering was Jim Gifford. Reporting to him were:- Doug Cody (a distant relative of Buffalo Bill Cody)
- Shao Hong Ma, an ADPCM specialist who wrote embedded software
- Ken NicholsonKen Nicholson-Career:Nicholson is a video game developer and Windows graphics pioneer. He was the founder of GamePC Consortium and inventor of the technology used by Microsoft as the basis for Windows' DirectX graphics....
, who later became Director of Game Software Development.
The development of SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
device drivers was outsourced to Trantor Systems.
Sales & marketing
Marketing staff included:- Tim BrattonTim BrattonTim Bratton is one of the founders of Rhapsody.- External links :...
- Claire Miriam, Public Relations
- Ryo Koyama, Advertising
- Gary Kinsey, Developer Relations (ISV)
See also
- Aureal SemiconductorAureal SemiconductorAureal Semiconductor Inc. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-late 1990s for their PC sound card technologies including A3D and the Vortex The company was the reincarnation of the, at the time, bankrupt Media Vision Technology...
- Creative Labs
- Media.VisionMedia.VisionMedia.Vision is a Japanese video game developer best known for the Wild Arms series of video game RPGs.-PlayStation:* Crime Crackers* Crime Crackers 2...
(unrelated Japanese video game company)