Hong Kong has 7.5 million inhabitants.Large parts of the cityscape are dominated by skyscrapers.This view from the Lumin offices shows the Hong Kong Science Park.

The narrow streets of the skyscraper canyons lead to Hong Kong Science Park. This is where Pixel Magic's headquarters are located. On the way there, we reminisce about the origins of Pixel Magic two decades ago. Even before 2005, the beginning of the YouTube age, the number of videos on the Internet had already risen sharply. Anyone who watched them back then remembers two things in particular: excessive loading times and miserable image quality. Pixel Magic wanted to change both of these things and in 2005 launched the Crystalio VPS-3800, an image upscaler equipped with a Linux-based video processor. It ensured that excellent picture quality could be produced even from mediocre source material. This processor signalled the breakthrough for Pixel Magic, whose products are now sold in 25 countries.

 

Peter Lie develops both hardware and software for the Lumin streamers.He explained to us in detail the steps that are taken from the idea to the finished product.

So how did it come about that a high-tech imaging company developed in the direction of the audiophile market?In 2007, electrical engineer Peter Lie (photo) joined Pixel Magic.He was initially primarily responsible for the clocks in the processors - not only for the image but also for the sound. In 2010, there were initial plans for a component that would exclusively stream music. The A1 streamer, which was later presented under the brand name Lumin, is a complete in-house development in terms of both software and hardware. Sound quality already played a role in the Linux programming of the image optimiser. Today, the streamer software is also developed entirely in-house. The team takes a lot of time during development to carefully optimise digital filters, the resampling engine, MQA decoding and also the volume control of the output level.

The current Lumin portfolio includes the X1, P1, T3 and D3 streamers. The latter is the entry-level device and is available for around 2,600 euros. The portfolio also includes the U1X, U2 and U2 Mini network transports (all without a built-in DAC). This is rounded off by the AMP power amplifier and the L2 server. The following pages will give you an insight into Lumin's planning and development department in Hong Kong.

Deutsch