Specifications

ESS Technology, Inc. SAM0025A-062397 1
PRELIMINARY
ES1879
Audio
Drive
®
Solution
Data Sheet
DESCRIPTION
The ES1879
Audio
Drive
solution is a mixed-signal single-chip
solution that adds 16-bit stereo sound and FM music
synthesis to notebook computers. It is compliant with the
Microsoft
PC97 specification and WHQL audio
requirements. The ES1879 includes an embedded
microcontroller, an OPL3™ superset
ESFM
™ music
synthesizer, 16-bit stereo wave CODEC, 16-bit stereo system
DAC, 16-bit stereo music DAC, 16-bit stereo I
2
S DAC,
optional ISA Plug and Play (PnP) support, hardware master
volume control, DMA control logic with FIFO, ISA bus
interface logic, general-purpose I/O, and digital dual game
port. The ES1879 also incorporates three serial ports that
allow interfacing with external DSP, wavetable, and MIDI
(MPU-401 UART mode compatible). In addition, the ES1879
offers I
2
S Zoom Video interface and support for the optional
ES978 Expansion Audio Mixer in docking stations.
A four-wire expansion analog bus and two-wire serial control
bus connect the ES1879 with the ES978, allowing the
ES1879 to engage the docking station’s audio resources
when docked.
The ES1879
Audio
Drive
can record, compress, and play back
voice, sound, and music with built-in mixer controls. Using two
high-performance DMA channels, the ES1879 supports full-
duplex operation for simultaneous record and playback. One
channel supports bidirectional DMA data transfers and the
other supports DMA playback.
The ES1879
Audio
Drive
supports optional ISA Plug and Play
with configuration for 4 logical devices: configuration device,
audio plus
ESFM
™ synthesis, game port, and MPU-401.
The integrated 3-D audio effects processor uses technology
from
Spatializer
®
Audio Laboratories, Inc. and expands the
sound field emitted by two speakers to create a resonant 3-D
sound environment.
The MPU-401 hardware is for interfacing with an external
MIDI serial port. The ES1879 music DAC allows the use of an
external wavetable (ES689/ES69x) connected to a wavetable
serial port. I/O address, DMA and interrupt selection can be
controlled through system software or Plug and Play.
A DSP serial interface in the ES1879 allows an external DSP
to take over ADC or DAC resources.
The ES1879 supports telegaming architecture with headsets
and includes data paths for host-based Acoustic Echo
Cancellation processing.
The enhanced dual game port supports hardware timing
interrupt generation that eliminates the need for CPU polling.
Advanced Power Management (APM) features include
suspend and resume from disk.
The ES1879 is backward compatible and pin compatible with
the ES1878.
The ES1879
Audio
Drive
®
solution is available in an industry-
standard 100-pin Small Quad Flat Pack (SQFP) package.
FEATURES

Single, high-performance, mixed-signal, 16-bit stereo
VLSI chip for digital audio

High-quality, OPL3 superset
™ music synthesizer

Patented
ESPCM
compression

High performance DMA supports Demand Transfer or
F-type

Integrated 3-D audio effects processor from
Spatializer
®
Record and Playback Features

Record, compress, and play back voice, sound, and
music

16-bit stereo CODEC for digital audio

3 additional stereo DACs for system playback, music
synthesis and I
2
S from PC card

Programmable sample rate from 4 kHz to 48 kHz for
record and playback

2- or 3-button hardware volume control for up, down, and
mute

Full-duplex stereo operation for simultaneous record and
playback
Inputs/Outputs

MIDI serial port compatible with MPU-401 UART mode

Supports up to 7 general-purpose inputs and 7 general-
purpose outputs that can be slaved with corresponding
pins of ES978 expansion audio mixer

ESS high performance dual game port with hardware
timing

Optional full ISA Plug and Play support

I
2
S Zoom Video port interface with a sample rate up to 48
kHz for MPEG audio

Wavetable serial port interface to ES689/ES69x for direct
access to the music DAC

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