18 November 2008

Prof Video On Consumer Devices Via TI DaVinci Based Chip

Texas Instruments Incorporated, a member of the ARM Connected Community, has announced its latest digital media processor based on DaVinci technology which will provide H.264 and D1 resolution for professional quality video on low-cost consumer video products.

The DM357 is a low-cost, ARM-based processor that includes a royalty-free H.264 codec at D1 resolution for video compression, as well as MPEG-4, JPEG and G.711 codecs that do not require licensing fees or royalties to TI, and an integrated Ethernet Media Access Controller (EMAC) to help developers reduce their bill of material (BOM) costs, the company explained.

"Now integrated with H.264, embedded EMAC, DDR2 and other system peripherals, the DM357 is yet another offering from TI that allows developers to add functionality and value to their digital video solutions at minimal cost," said Jacob Alamat, product marketing manager for digital media processors, Texas Instruments. "The DM357 builds on the existing DaVinci technology software framework, which allows customers to quickly develop a scalable product line on TI's digital media processors."

The DM357 processor includes an ARM926EJ-S core that runs at 270 MHz, as well as a co-processor to speed H.264, MPEG-4 and JPEG (HMJCP) processing, in addition to an integrated video processing subsystem. The multiple codec offering, EMAC functionality and performance features of the DM357 processor, coupled with a Digital Video Evaluation Module (DVEVM) development tool, helps customers quickly and easily develop end equipments that meet the needs of digital video markets.

Additionally, developers can re-use intellectual property from the robust DaVinci technology portfolioor leverage IP from the vast open-source resources for ARM-based processing to speed them through the development process.

The DM357 processor achieves its performance by integrating H.264 at D1 resolution and MPEG-4 encoding and decoding at 30fps per channel, as well as JPEG encoding and decoding at 50 MPixels per second. The integrated H.264 allows for increased compression for greater storage and streaming capability.

The DM357 also includes a suite of peripherals, such as high speed USB 2.0 On-The-Go and DDR2. The integrated EMAC, three video digital-to-analog converters, a host port interface and even more system integration save developers more than US$4 in BOM, as well as the associated manufacturing and design costs compared to the use of discrete parts, according to TI.

The application programming interfaces (APIs) common across DaVinci offerings also means that developers familiar with DaVinci technology or ARM development can quickly begin creation of their products with virtually no learning curve.

When coupled with the DVEVM, developers are able to get started immediately with product development. The DVEVM helps them achieve the fastest possible time to market, with optimized MontaVista Linux, an uboot loader and drivers for the complete peripheral set. Rounding out the DVEVM are the H.264, JPEG, MPEG-4 SP and G.711 codecs, plus Video Input/Output, Audio In/Out, an external EMAC, USB 2.0 On-The-Go and JTAG for test.