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Cambridge startup aims to change computer display

Fabless semiconductor company Newnham Research Ltd. said it has developed a way of connecting computers to displays through a USB connection. Newnham (Cambridge, England) added that Kensington Computer Products Group would use the technology in a docking station for laptop computers.

The so-called NIVO solution — Newnham didn’t say what NIVO stood for — is intended to allow any number of monitors to be connected to a single PC, and if required, function independently to display different content. It comprises software running under Windows XP on the host computer and a hardware module that includes a silicon-based hardware rendering engine (HRE) that is connected to or embedded into a monitor.

The two are connected through the computer’s USB port. The software processes a stream of display information into a compact form and then transmits it over a USB 2.0 link to the HRE device. The HRE then transforms the data back into pixels to be displayed on the monitor. The solution is compatible with all CRT and flat panel monitors with screen resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 pixels at 75-Hz. It offers VESA-compliant scan and refresh rates and 24-bit true color depth at all resolutions, the company claimed in a press release.

'The USB NIVO provides a breakthrough for fast and easy deployment of additional displays using USB,' said Michael Ledzion, chief executive officer of Newnham Research, in a statement.

Newnham did not say whether it has working silicon for inclusion in the HRE modules. Nor did the company say what manufacturing process it has designed its silicon for or where it is getting its silicon made. With foundries running at close to 100 percent utilization and tending to favor high-volume, well-established customers it is important that startups have good relations with their chosen foundry.

The company was founded in 2003 by Quentin Stafford-Fraser and Martin King, the inventor of predictive text messaging, who engineered the sale of Tegic for $290 million in 1999. King invested $2.5 million in the company's series A round of financing. Newnham then secured $8 million in Series B financing from Atlas Venture and Benchmark Capital in 2005.

Newnham has used the money to open offices in Palo Alto, Calif., in addition to its Cambridge, England office, and to obtain representation in Japan. Kensington Computer Products Group is a division of ACCO Brands USA LLC.