Eidos Plc, the Hampton, Middlesex-based video compression specialist has signed a non-exclusive development and marketing agreement with games developer Domark Software Ltd to develop a software video playback system. The Games Codec will enable playback of video off a CD-ROM without needing additional hardware, Eidos said. Charles Cornwall, chairman of Eidos said the technology will provide MPEG-comparable picture quality in software. Eidos claims games publishers that use the technology will get greater flexibility to use video on an interactive basis. In contrast to MPEG, the Eidos technology enables simultaneous video branching, so there is no pause in play to wait for the new video sequence to be found by the CD-ROM when the games player changes scene. The company said the technology removes the jerky images that can appear on games currently on the market. Its maximum target is 300Kb per second. It is aiming for a lower rate of moving data from the CD-ROM so more data can be stored there. Domark will incorporate the Games Codec into its upcoming Lords of Midnight interactive compact disk publication so it can include video sequences into the game, which is due to be completed in three months’ time. Domark will not be paying Eidos any development funding and will be able to mould the technology to suit its development needs. Eidos will receive a royalty for each compact disk game sold using the Games Codec. The technology expands Eidos’s potential market because the user needs only an 80486 personal computer running at 33MHz and CD-ROM player, and does not need an MPEG compression board. Eidos has spent the last year extracting the technology from its first application, an editing system, and remoulding it to suit the multimedia market. Its an inherently fabulous technology, but it was being misdirected, Cornwall commneted.
