Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Altera Europe | Subject: Cyclone II
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 April 2006
FPGAs cut video router down to size
Developed with FPGAs from Altera Corp, the NV8288 router delivers price-performance value in a small, power-saving package.
This week at the 2006 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference in Las Vegas, Nvision, the leading provider of high-reliability broadcast routing systems, unveiled the smallest big router in the world, the NV8288 digital video router Developed with FPGAs from Altera Corp, the NV8288 delivers price-performance value in a small, power-saving package
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 24 Dec 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Low-cost FPGA family available in production
Built on TSMC's 65nm low-power process, the Cyclone III family includes devices that are qualified for commercial, industrial and extended temperatures.
Low-cost FPGAs boost design density
Offering 30% lower cost and more than three times the logic density of its predecessor, Cyclone II FPGAs aim to expand on the industry-leading success set by the first-generation Cyclone family.
Altera's low-cost Cyclone II devices perform several data control functions in Nvision's NV8288 router.
By integrating functions into a single Altera device, Nvision significantly reduced the NV8288's form factor, weight and power consumption, while increasing its price-performance advantages compared with competing routers.
"Altera's technology let us rapidly implement industry-leading features and capabilities in the smallest physical area", said Chuck Meyer, President of Nvision.
Further reading
Software supports latest budget FPGA family
Leading EDA vendors have rolled out support for the new Cyclone II FPGA family - billed as the industry's lowest ever cost FPGAs.
Soft processor core runs on budget FPGAs
Altera has added Nios II embedded processor support to its new Cyclone II FPGA family, claiming a one-two punch in the embedded processor market.
"As a result, we're delivering ground-breaking digital video router products for mobile TV broadcast with superior functionality, performance and scalability in the smallest form factor".
Specifically designed for use in mobile video production trucks and other space-constrained applications, the NV8288 delivers the same high-level performance and reliability as Nvision's large-scale studio routers.
However, the NV8288 accomplishes this at half the size (10RU), half the depth (12in deep), half the weight (approximately 68kg) and half the power consumption (less than 2kW) of other large-scale routers on the market.
Nvision also uses Altera FPGAs in its machine control and audio routers, the NV5256 and NV7512.
In the NV5256 machine control router, Altera Cyclone series devices perform high-speed time-division multiplexing (TDM) on multiple data streams to enable the data to be quickly and efficiently routed throughout the system.
Integrating several data streams into a single device minimises board area and contributes to the notable compactness of the NV5256.
In the NV7512 audio router, Altera's transceiver-based Stratix GX FPGAs provide a reliable, error-free, integrated multi-gigabit data channel for the TDM crosspoint feature.
To accomplish reliable data transmission at the multi-gigabit-per-second datarates achieved by the crosspoint, Nvision requires the highest degree of signal integrity, which is provided by Stratix GX devices.
"By using Altera FPGAs, Nvision achieves unique product advantages with their broadcast routers", said Todd Scott, Senior Director of Altera's Broadcast Business Unit.
"Their new NV8288 router is clearly creating a broadcast industry benchmark.
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