Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Texas Instruments (April 2001-March 2006) | Subject: TMS320DM310
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 February 2002
SoC boasts DSP, RISC and more for
real-time video
A new DSP-based video and imaging solution is claimed to offer unparalleled performance and flexibility for portable multimedia products, such as digital cameras and handheld Internet appliances.
A new video and imaging DSP-based solution that offers unparalleled performance and flexibility for next-generation portable multimedia products, such as digital cameras and handheld Internet appliances, is now available from Texas Instruments The new SoC is the first in TI's DSP-based Digital Media family, which will offer a range of flexible, high-performance, power-saving choices for a broad spectrum of multimedia applications, including client and infrastructure
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 Nov 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The highly integrated TMS320DM310 DSP-based platform offers the industry's highest performance solution for portable multimedia devices, enabling OEMs to build feature rich next-generation portable applications at a lower overall system cost.
Based on the same hardware core as TI's successful TMS320DSC2x family, the DM310 offers more than 2,125 programmable MIPS, including a 125MHz TMS320C54x DSP core, on-chip programmable imaging coprocessors, including eight multiply and accumulate (MAC) units, and a 160MHz ARM9 RISC microprocessor with cache.
By integrating these powerful components, TI's DM310 enables more than four times the performance of the earlier-generation devices.
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The DM310 is the only fully programmable processor on the market that can achieve real-time decoding of 640 x 480 VGA resolution MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video data and real-time encoding of 352 x 288 CIF resolution MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video data at a competitive price.
The DM310 also supports digital camera still capture at resolutions of up to 6Mpixel in less than 1s, as well as enables digital imaging and audio applications such as MPEG-4 and JPEG portable players, webpads, snapshot photo printers and other portable multimedia appliances.
Additionally, the DM310 improves on the feature set of the DSC2x by adding a dedicated USB host, allowing cameras to bypass a PC and directly connect to a printer.
"The DM310 is a remarkable device, not only in its raw processing power, but also because of its flexible storage options and USB host capability", said Will Strauss, president of market research firm Forward Concepts.
"TI continues to expand its market-specific offerings and this one is especially attractive since we predict the video imaging market will grow by more than 50% in 2002".
The flexible DM310 solution, which is based on the industry's most power efficient DSP, TI's TMS320C5000 DSP architecture, and an ARM9 microprocessor with cache, allows OEMs to differentiate their products by implementing their own image processing innovations on the programmable DSP platform.
The DM310's DSP subsystem with imaging coprocessors performs all the video and imaging calculations, while the ARM9 handles the system control.
The DM310 also provides a dedicated preview engine that enables real-time preview at 30frame/s in LCD or TV monitors.
The DM310 supports storage interfaces such as Compact Flash (CF), Smart Media (SM), Multi-Media Card (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) and Memory Stick.
Available software support will include modules for all major audio, video and imaging compression and transmission standards, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, JPEG, M-JPEG, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA).
The DM310 provides programmable support for auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance and also enables limited DVD quality MPEG-2 video encoding, as well as real-time MPEG-2 video decode for DVD playback.
The DM310 SoC has the ability to run various operating systems, including Nucleus, Linux, ulTRON, VxWorks and Microsoft Windows CE, and is upwardly code compatible with TI's DSC2x platform.
"TI is committed to providing innovative Digital Media solutions to the video and imaging market", said Dr Raj Talluri, Imaging business unit manager at TI.
"TI's DSP-based DM310 solution delivers the performance needed to enable real-time, high-quality video and image processing in next generation portable multimedia applications".
The DM310 is the first product in the new family of DSP-based solutions designed specifically for the digital multimedia market.
The Digital Media family will offer a range of flexible, high-performance, power-saving choices for both portable and plugged-in multimedia applications.
The computational power and programmability provided by TI will enable the highest image quality, maximum functionality, highest video channel densities and easy adaptation to evolving multimedia standards and differentiating proprietary intellectual property.
Planned support for the Digital Media family of devices includes evaluation modules, online software module libraries, white papers and relevant documentation.
In addition, the solutions are supported by TI's eXpressDSP real-time software technology, which includes the Code Composer Studio integrated development environment, the DSP/BIOS real-time kernel, the TMS320 DSP algorithm standard for interoperability and reuse, and the industry's largest third-party network for software support.
Together with the video-imaging module libraries available for the Digital Media family, TI offers concept-to-completion support for advanced video-imaging applications.
Samples of the DM310 are available now, with volume production expected to be available in the first quarter of 2003.
The DM310 will be available in a 288-lead MicroStar BGA, with pricing planned at less than $20 each for quantities of 10,000 units.
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