InsideDSP — In-depth analysis and opinion

Jeff Bier’s Impulse Response—The Alchemist’s Dream

Over the last few months I’ve noticed an increase in the number of tools that transform high-level signal-processing application descriptions into real-time implementations. The appeal of this idea is obvious. Many signal processing applications are initially designed using high-level tools and then migrated into low-level descriptions. Often this migration process involves multiple labor-intensive, error-prone steps. For example, an application might be developed using MATLAB, then re-built Read more...

Inside DSP on Digital Video: H.264: the Video codec to watch

Digital video found its first big consumer market in DVD players, and has moved on from there. Now you can buy digital set-top boxes, camcorders, personal video recorders (PVRs), portable media players, and even digital-video-enabled cell phones. Products that can only handle analog video will soon be extinct; they’ll be relegated to technology museums, sitting next to vinyl records and eight-track tape players. The mass migration from analog to digital video has been enabled by video Read more...

Inside DSP on Digital Video: Processors for video—Know your options

To create a successful digital video product, you need to choose the right processor. Sounds simple—but of course, it isn’t. A big part of the challenge is that there are so many types of processors from which to choose: general-purpose CPUs, FPGAs, DSPs, configurable processors, and fixed-function chips, among others. A further complication is that digital video is a fast-moving field, with standards that are shifting and evolving. As a result, a processor’s ability to adapt to changes Read more...

Inside DSP on Digital Video: Trends to watch—Digital video looks to the future

Digital video technology is reshaping our lives, changing everything from how we entertain ourselves to how we protect ourselves. As digital technologies become pervasive, they are making video products more affordable, convenient, and sophisticated. In this article, we explore major developments in three digital video application areas: home entertainment, mobile video, and surveillance. Home entertainment Digital video has already made significant inroads into home entertainment Read more...

Inside DSP on Digital Video: Developing Software for a Digital Video Product

Implementing real-time video processing functions in software is a challenging task. In this article we explore the particularly difficult challenges presented by video compression algorithms. Although we focus on video compression algorithms, the ideas and techniques in this article also apply to other types of video processing software. What’s Unique about Video Software? Software development for video applications presents many of the same challenges as those found in other embedded Read more...

Inside DSP on Digital Video: Growing a digital video ecosystem

A few years ago, it seemed obvious that we were on the verge of a major change in how consumers obtain and view movies at home. There would be no more schlepping out to the video store to rent a DVD; with the increasing availability of digital video content on the Internet, it seemed clear that everyone would shift to streaming video, to video-on-demand, to any-movie-anytime-with-no-late-fees. The video stores all would close down and become Starbucks cafes or yoga studios. This hasn’t Read more...

New TI Architectures for Cellular Handsets and Base Stations

Last month Texas Instruments went on an announcement blitz, introducing new products for a variety of applications. In two of its most important announcements, TI revealed new processors for cellular applications. The first of these processors, the TCI6482, will target 3G cellular base stations. The TCI6482 will include a number of advancements over its predecessors. Most notably, the TCI6482 will include 28 new instructions, including instructions to accelerate the rake, RACH, search, and Read more...

Jeff Bier’s Impulse Response—Picking a Winning Processor

Last month BDTI completed an analysis of the latest DSP cores from the three leading core licensors. Paging through the analysis, I noticed some striking similarities between these competing cores. All three cores use flexible, multi-issue architectures. All three use RISC-like instruction sets. And all three use a mix of 16- and 32-bit instructions. Interestingly, these basic architectural features are also found in many high-end embedded general-purpose processors (GPP). And the Read more...

Case Study: Developing Performance Claims that Customers Trust

Processor vendors hoping to penetrate new signal processing applications face several challenges. Key among them is convincing prospective customers that the processor will perform well in the target application. Customers are often reluctant to accept vendors’ performance projections, particularly if key application software components have not yet been fully implemented. It’s possible to predict application performance based on analysis of benchmark results, but even then, customers are Read more...

Altera Unveils Unique Structured ASICs

On Monday Altera announced HardCopy II, the latest in its line of structured ASIC offerings. Like Altera’s previous structured ASICs, HardCopy II allows designers to migrate an FPGA design to a more efficient device once programmability is no longer needed. Just as the original HardCopy could only be used with Altera’s Stratix FPGAs, HardCopy II can only be used with Stratix II FPGAs. HardCopy II chips cost roughly one-tenth as much as equivalent Stratix II FPGAs. And, according to Altera Read more...