This month Texas Instruments announced that it will offer a new line of products for implementing digital video applications. TI’s “DaVinci Digital Video Technology” encompasses new video-oriented chips, software, and tools, all of which are intended to be used together to help companies quickly develop new video products. Thus far, only the DaVinci brand has been introduced; TI expects to announce specific DaVinci products before the end of the year.

On September 6, core licensor MIPS made two announcements that promise to make life easier for MIPS licensees. In the first of these announcements, MIPS revealed that it had acquired FS2, a company specializing in debugging technology. FS2 is best known for its "On-Chip Instrumentation" (OCI) embedded trace modules. FS2's embedded trace modules are included as part of some licensable cores; these trace modules are also available as a licensable option for some cores.

Technology company executives must be able to make sound business and technology decisions. To do so, they need a realistic picture of their company's strengths and weaknesses, and an accurate, comprehensive understanding of the existing and emerging competitive landscape. In short, they need an objective perspective.

In June DSP core licensor CEVA announced CEVA-Audio, a licensable audio platform targeting high-volume audio applications such as portable audio players and home entertainment equipment. The CEVA-Audio platform is based on CEVA’s recently announced CEVA-TeakLite-II core. For an overview of the CEVA-TeakLite-II, see the January 2005 edition of Inside DSP.

Today fabless chip startup Telairity introduced its first chip, the T1P2000. The chip targets high-definition H.264 video encoding in applications such as broadcast encoders, video servers, and video authoring systems.

When people talk about processor benchmarks, the conversation usually ends up being all about speed. Other metrics, such as energy efficiency, are often given less attention or are completely overlooked. The unspoken assumption driving these conversations is that a faster processor is better.

System developers often rely on processor benchmarks to gauge system performance. However, the processor is just one of many components that determines overall performance. Fully understanding system performance requires careful analysis of many other elements, such as code-generation tools and third-party software libraries.

Last month Freescale introduced its latest application processors, the i.MX31 and the i.MX31L. The chips primarily target portable consumer electronics products such as cell phones, portable media players, and portable gaming devices. The chips also target portable medical applications and automotive entertainment.

This month TI launched the “Platinum Edition” of its Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE).  The “Platinum Edition” offers a number of enhancements over previous versions.  Most notably, the IDE includes two new features intended to improve developer productivity: a “rewind” feature and a fast connect/disconnect capability.

The best way to ensure that a presentation is effective is to test it with a knowledgeable, critical, and responsive audience. A test audience can also help ensure that the content is correct, relevant, and appropriate for the intended audience. Just as important, a test audience can help presenters gauge the clarity, appeal, and impact of their pitch. After all, superb technical content serves no purpose if the audience loses interest a few minutes into the presentation.