Repost: DSP helps digital-audio players rock on, and on...
Internet audio products are getting smaller and less expensive by the day. While storage concerns still dissuade some from opening up their wallets, the ability to get more than a mere few hours' of playing time might pull the rope in the other direction.
With this in mind, Texas Instruments has just released a fourth-generation DSP (digital signal processor) and analog-based solution, the TMS320DA250, for the mobile digital audio market. Among the improved features, the platform carries the ability to support a wide array of memory devices, including SD Cards, Memory Sticks, CompactFlash cards, MultiMedia Cards, hard disks, Dataplay discs, Clik! devices, and CD-ROMs.
And in order to enable smaller, more compact devices, TI has embedded a dual multiply-and-accumulate chip (MAC) and USB capabilities in the design, eliminating the need for separate chips, which can take up valuable space on the board and make end-user devices large and cumbersome.
The DSP's uniprocessor design, TI codec, power amplifier, and battery manager make up a package that reduces battery consumption by up to 70 percent, compared with most other devices on the market, according to TI spokesperson Chris Schairbaum. What's more, the technology is futureproof, thanks to an ability to learn new music formats through field upgrades. Users will be able to visit a Web site to download sample audio tracks in new formats. The DSP will be able to read the new formats and then integrate them into its knowledge bank. Though the initial download may take several minutes, future downloads of similarly formatted music will be seamless and quick.
But perhaps of greatest interest are the DA250's energy-saving characteristics. Based upon TI's TMS320C55x DSP core, the DA250 cuts off power to functions when they are not in use--such as volume control or fast forward/rewind buttons. This contributes to playing time of up to 70 hours from only 2 AA batteries, Schairbaum says. TI plans to start building the DA250 in 0.17-micron semiconductor process, but then move to 0.10 microns in late 2001, which should reduce power requirements by another 50 percent.
With its DSPs already finding wide use in products from RCA/Thomson, Sony, Sanyo, Toshiba, Samsung, and LG Electronics, TI hopes the DA250 will prove to be an inviting option for audio-device manufacturers. The company bills the processor as forward compatible, leaving the door wide open for future product development. "Moving forward, we can now start to design devices that use music videos, and download Web broadcasts and graphics," Shairbaum says. "[That's] one of the main things our customers are excited about when they talk about this chip."
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i figure we are in RCA; wonder if edig will ever make it in sony, sanyo, or LGE
