Metalithic Systems

I was a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Metalithic Systems Inc. a hardware startup based in Sausalito, California. Below is a selection of press releases and articles from that time.

• A Metalithic hardware demo applied reconfigurable computing to fold a neural network inside an array of field programmable gate arrays. The application was specific to machine vision via real time edge detection.

Metalithic Systems Exploits Real-Time

The Xilinx Reconfigurable Computing Developer’s Program is promoting the commercial use of FPGAs in Rapid Reconfiguration (RR, also known as reconfigurable computing, RC) applications. These systems add significant value by dynamically changing FPGA designs, in real-time, while the system is operating. Applications that can exploit the benefits of the RR concept include graphics and image processing, audio processing and data communications.

In recognition of the unique achievements of Metalithic System Inc. (Sausalito, California), Xilinx presented the company with its inaugural “RR Company of the Quarter” award. Metalithic Systems (MSI) was one of the first companies to realize the potential of RR, and has released a Metalithic Systems Exploits Real-Time commercial product that has RR benefits which vastly improve the music industry’s state-of-the-art.

Metalithic System’s Digital Wings board MSI’s Digital Wings audio processing system uses FPGAs in one of its first massmarket commercial applications. Digital Wings is a complete audio authoring system that operates in the Windows environment on a PC. It delivers 128 tracks, allowing a random access edit environment with a programmable algorithmic synthesizer that supports pan, level, fade, parametric EQ, echo, chorus, reverb and stereo effects.

The Digital Wings for Audio product – a system consisting of a single add-in board for the PC and related software – was announced and demonstrated at the NAMM (National Association of Music Marketers) convention in Anaheim this January. (NAMM is the “COMDEX” of the music industry.) Their closest competitor was displaying a 48-track, 9-board system costing more than 50 times as much. Enthusiastic editorial interest in MSI and Digital Wings has resulted in feature articles planned for upcoming editions of Pro Sound News, EQ, Electronic Musician, and Mix. MSI left the convention with commitments for tens of thousands of systems. Digital Wings will be distributed through retail stores later this spring.

MSI’s proprietary “nanoprocessor technology” uses Xilinx XC3090 and XC4005 FPGAs to reconfigure the system’s hardware on-the-fly. Hardware changes with the needs of the system. In one instant it handles a specific communication function, in the next it is configured as a multi-processor to do complex pattern recognition, and in the next it’s a microcontroller handling a specialized peripheral. Reconfigurable FPGAs perform all these functions, significantly reducing system cost while accelerating system performance.

Congratulations are due to the whole MSI development team.

MetaLithic Releases Elite Studio Audio Interface

High-performance, open architecture, multiple audio I/O for Windows

September 26, 1998

MetaLithic Systems today announced the release of Elite Studio audio hardware for Windows systems with 20 channels of I/O, analog (8 in/8 out) plus S/PDIF digital I/O. Elite Studio is designed to provide the hardware muscle for popular applications such as Cubase VST Cakewalk Pro Audio, Acid, Sound Forge, Wavelab, and many others.

Elite Studio’s 32-bit PCI card connects to a 10x10 rack-mount breakout box through a single standard LAN cable, allowing for a neat, uncluttered studio setup.

To provide the highest possible fidelity, precision-engineered analog circuitry around the pro-grade 20-bit data converters delivers spacious digital sound imaging. All converters for the 8 analog ins and 8 analog outs are located outside the computer in the breakout box, for extremely quiet operation. For S/PDIF, Elite Studio fully conforms to the IEC-958 specification and utilizes adaptive jitter filter technology for improved data recovery.

Transparent sound, exemplary head room, and ultra-low distortion give added value to the already competitive price (US$1,098 MSRP). Furthermore, MetaLithic backs its products with a 1-year warranty, free technical support, world-wide distribution, and innovative hardware technology that can be upgraded via software updates.

Elite Studio is currently shipping with standard Windows multimedia drivers and Steinberg ASIO drivers for efficient multi-channel operation.

Metalithic Systems Ships Version 1.4 of Digital Wings for Audio

July 11, 1997

Digital Wings for Audio, the complete (hardware and software) 128-track digital recording studio for Windows 95, is now shipping version 1.4. This new update, available free to registered owners, provides background processing that speeds up operation dramatically with long songs and/or large numbers of tracks. Other enhancements include:

• Quickzoom navigation zooms in on any piece(s) of audio with a single mouse operation.
• The Prepare Recording option sets up the system prior to initiating record mode, eliminating the pre-recording pause characteristic of hard disk recording systems.
• Loop record mode plays a designated section of the song repeatedly while recording. Each new take goes on a new track, while previous takes are muted. This simplifies combining the best performances from several takes into a single, composite track.

Finally, Metalithic now provides a 5-year limited warranty on hardware (retroactive to the purchase date for owners of previous versions), yet the system list price remains at $799. Digital Wings for Audio is available at selected music and audio dealers in North America, Europe, and Japan.

Reconfigurable System Nears Rollout

Metalithic Systems to introduce Digital Wings for Audio sound board in Aug 1996 - Product Announcement

Electronic News, July 15, 1996 by Peter Brown

Sausalito, Calif.–Metalithic Systems Inc. (MSI), based here, is preparing to roll out next month what it claims will be the industry’s first commercially marketable reconfigurable computing system–in this case using Xilinx field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Metalithic’s system, dubbed Digital Wings for Audio, will use reconfigurable logic to create a hard disk recording system for PCs, said Kent Gilson, CEO and founder of MSI. The MSI system will be targeted at professional musicians and sound recording studios. “We are going after the price/performance customers that want high quality digital audio products at a low price,” said Mr. Gilson.

MSI is a privately owned company that was founded in 1992 to commercialize reconfigurable computing on-the-fly to meet the need of desired applications. Digital Wings for Audio will be MSI’s first product.

Digital Wings for Audio uses two Xilinx 3190 series FPGAs that can be reconfigured on the same piece of silicon, said Daryl Eigen, CEO of MSI.

“Instead of using 15 separate pieces of silicon to do 15 separate jobs,” said Mr. Eigen “we have taken two Xilinx chips and reconfigured them 15 times.” According to Mr. Eigen the company went through more than 100 different changes to the silicon when creating Digital Wings for Audio before the company found the design that worked best.

The term reconfigurable computing refers to the use of reconfigurable chips in a system, allowing the device to be reprogrammed on-the-fly in real-time to perform multiple functions that normally would require an individual chip for each function.

“Metalithic fills a niche that no one has tried to fill,” said Murray Disman, head of Information Associates and editor/publisher of the Programmable Logic News & Views newsletter. “It is a complete reconfigurable package that includes the board, software and break-out box. It is a top-to-bottom package based on reconfigurable computing.”

The system will feature 128 real-time tracks with simultaneous playback all in waveform sound, said Mr. Gilson. The system offers MIDI-like sound but in a wave-format designed to save disk space, he added. The system is said by the company to work with current generation hard drives, to minimize space and run under Windows 95 as well as perform editing functions with current software music tools.

Digital Wings for Audio is currently in beta testing and is expected to be available in August priced at approximately $2,000. Mr. Eigen said this is price competitive compared to $4,000 for most home studio products. A consumer version of Digital Wings for Audio is also in the works for the future, Mr. Eigen revealed.