Charting a processor roadmap is a difficult task. To set a successful course for a processor family, a processor developer must predict trends in the processor’s target applications as well as developments in competing processor families. The developer must then determine how to evolve its offerings in order to respond to these expected changes. For example, remaining competitive may require a carefully balanced mix of lowering prices, raising clock speeds, and adding architectural features.

Last month the ISO officially adopted Embedded C, an extension to the C programming language that will ease signal processing software development. The ISO will publish the Embedded C specification as a “technical report.” An ISO technical report is similar to a standard, but carries somewhat less authority.

At first glance, measuring processor performance on multimedia applications can seem straightforward. Many multimedia applications are based on published standards and widely available software. For example, MPEG-4 video decompression software is available for most popular processors. Because such software is often readily available, measuring multimedia performance may seem to be a simple matter of checking the processor vendor’s published performance data for the relevant software modules.

Once upon a time, most signal processing applications were powered by single-processor chips. Today, though, there is an increasing trend towards using complex, heterogeneous multiprocessor chips. One such chip is Texas Instruments’ recently announced OMAP 2, which contains a microprocessor core, a DSP core, and multiple application-specific coprocessors.

Adam Lins contributed to this article.

Processor vendors offer a dizzying array of options for digital video applications. Selecting the right processor from the myriad options—and understanding the tradeoffs associated with each choice—is key to getting digital video products to market at the right time and at the right price.

A revolution in video technology is under way. The move from analog to digital is reshaping video applications and creating entirely new classes of products and services. The changes affect a broad range of video applications, from portable media players to newscasting to military equipment.

In this article, we focus on the video technology trends in consumer electronics markets, particularly developments in home entertainment gear.

Digital video compression/decompression algorithms (codecs) are at the heart of many modern video products, from DVD players to multimedia jukeboxes to video-capable cell phones. Understanding the operation of video compression algorithms is essential for developers of the systems, processors, and tools that target video applications. In this article, we explain the operation and characteristics of video codecs and the demands codecs make on processors. We also explain how codecs differ from one another and the significance of these differences.