Video codec covers standard and high definitions

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Jan 16, 2002

Philips Semiconductors reckons it is the first manufacturer to ship a multistandard high-definition (HD) video codec to the mass market.

Philips Semiconductors reckons it is the first manufacturer to ship a multistandard high-definition (HD) video codec to the mass market.

Aimed at computer applications, the new SAA7108A/09A HD codec is the first video codec to incorporate HD and standard definition output capability on the same chip.

It offers both standard and HD-ready TVs a rich variety of low-cost, PC-generated content such as movies, 3D games, decoded TV broadcasts and high resolution graphics.

The chip also supports the widest range of VGA resolutions, from 320 x 200 to 1280 x 1024, allowing instant TV-out viewing without the annoyance of having to change graphics modes.

The codec combines video encoder and decoder capabilities into a small 156-pin BGA footprint and is fully pin-compatible with its predecessor, the popular SAA7108/09 PC codec.

It supports all Macrovision copy protection standards including revision 7.01, and it is the first HD video codec to support the new DVD 1.03 Macrovision Copy Protection Scheme (applicable to the SAA7108A only).

Targeted primarily at PC and notebook applications, the SAA7108A/09A can also be used in a variety of consumer electronic devices such as set top boxes, PVRs, DVDs, DVCRs, web boxes and video conferencing applications.

The SAA7108A/09A incorporates 9bit analogue-digital convertors and 10bit DACs, compared with the competition's 8bit ADCs and 9bit DACs.

The video decoder combines a two-channel analogue preprocessing circuit, automatic clamp and gain control, a clock generation circuit (CGC), and a digital multistandard decoder supporting Pal BGHI, PAL M, PAL N, combination Pal N, NTSC M, NTSC-Japan, NTSC N and Secam.

The decoder block also includes a brightness-, contrast- and saturation-control circuit, a multistandard VBI data slicer and a 27MHz, VBI-data bypass.

The video encoder operates fully independently using its own variable pixel clock to transport graphics input data or using the line-locked, single crystal-stable video encoding clock.

It encodes PC graphics data at maximum 1280 x 1024 resolution for display on any TV.

It incorporates a sync/clock generator and on-chip 10bit digital-analogue convertor, high-quality scaling, on-chip hot plug detection, programmable five-line antiflicker filtering, and an interlacer to ensure properly sized and flicker-free images on TV displays.

Philips Semiconductors' SAA7108A/09A HD video codec chip is currently shipping in 156-pin BGA packaging.