H.264 decoder runs on digital media processor

Ateme has produced a version of its H.264 decoder for embedded platforms, complementing the PC version released in June.

Ateme has produced a version of its H.264 decoder for embedded platforms, complementing the PC version released in June.

The company has considerable experience in the field of video and audio compression algorithms, including MPEG-4 Simple Profile and Advanced Simple Profile, MPEG-2, JPEG etc.

The new H.264 encoder/decoder extends Ateme's line of multimedia and broadcasting products, and can be included in the company's Thunder reference design for multimedia entertainment.

An H.264 full D1 real-time encoder will be ready in the first quarter of 2005.

This will extend the present Kompressor AMK4x0 line, which performs real-time full D1 MPEG-4 ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) encoding.

Ateme's H.264 decoder is available in Baseline Profile and Main Profile versions.

It can run on a single Texas Instruments (TI) TMS320DM642 digital media processor at 600MHz and complies fully with ISO14496 Part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC - Advanced Video Coding).

Parts of the encoder (such as the CABAC) are already available in VHDL, and FPGA hardware accelerators are currently under development.

Ateme will also shortly produce a new version of its H.264 encoder for PCs.

This very high quality encoder is a core component of the technology needed for new video server requirements.

It is designed to meet the demands of the broadcast/broadband market and can encode resolutions up to HD.

H.264 is the new video compression standard that will soon be dominant in the video sector.

Its strong points are improved compression and better image quality.

Video codecs have evolved rapidly, starting with the arrival of MPEG-1 (VideoCD), which was followed by MPEG-2 (DVD), and lastly MPEG-4 (DivX, 3ivX Apple QuickTime, and Nero Digital).

Nero Digital video, which is already interoperable with all the popular MPEG-4 applications, is evolving towards the H.264 format.

The compression rate of this standard is twice that of MPEG-2, which improves the quality of data flows on narrow-bandwidth media and reduces the space required for storage and digital recording (DVD).

Back to top