TI Leans on Digital Video, Wireless for 720MHz DSPs
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From: "doncheri" <doncheri@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:00 am
Subject: TI takes high-end DSPs to 720 MHz
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TI Leans on Digital Video, Wireless for 720MHz DSPs
By Suzanne Deffree -- Electronic News, 3/10/2003
Texas Instruments Inc. today announced three DSPs running at 720MHz,
breaking its own 600MHz speed record.
Following TI's code-compatible mantra, the chips, TMS320C6416,
TMS320C6415 and TMS320C6414, are based on TI's TMS320C64x DSP core
and produced on 130nm process technology.
"There's instant gratification with this chip," noted Will Strauss,
an analyst at Forward Concepts. "For example, it's exactly the same
pin out, exactly the same programming as the earlier 600MHz versions
and 300MHz versions. So in essence, it's a no brainer for [customers]
to just drop it in and improve the performance."
Still, while Leon Adams, manager of TI's worldwide DSP product
marketing, says the supped up DSPs easily out do TI competitors like
Analog Devices Inc. that have DSP clocking out in the 300MHz range,
he recognizes that acceptance will be determined by a customer's
production cycle.
TI won't hold the speed lead forever, though, noted Strauss. "They're
not yet at 720MHz. Certainly [ADI and others] have worthy products,
too, and are on a roadmap to get them there. The question is when."
Adams says the DSPs are designed to boost multi-channel density,
enhance multi-function flexibility and increase bandwidth for higher
frame rates and better resolution. The speed makes the DSPs prime for
four markets, according to Adams, who leaned more heavily on wireless
infrastructure and digital video than telecom infrastructure and
imaging customers when discussing the new chips.
"Especially as 3G starts to catch on, and you start to get these
video phones, the stuff you're starting to see advertised now. All of
this increased media content that is going through that
infrastructure, you'll have to deal with that, and that's what this
high performance DSP does," Adams said.
Meanwhile, digital video -- a young market that sends voice and
streaming video for the likes of network video surveillance and multi-
user video conferencing -- is what Adams calls the "most exciting new
area" for the 720MHz technology.
"It's an important area that we're focused on. In fact, the
architecture of these devices were kind of designed as an extension
to really be well-fitted to digital video processing," he said. "It
will be an increasing part of our digital signal processing
future."
Targeted to the growing market, the C6415 features 33MHz, 32-bit
peripheral component interconnect (PCI) and host port interface (HPI)
connectivity for interprocessor communications. In addition, the
processor supports 50MHz Utopia Level II ATM connectivity. For
digital video head-end infrastructure systems, HD MPEG-2 video
translating can be achieved on a single 720MHz C6415.
Meanwhile, the C6416, the most highly integrated of all three, also
features the on-board Viterbi and Turbo coprocessors to improve
channel capacity of 3G wireless basestations, TI said.
All of the DSPs include 1Mbyte of on-chip memory, peripherals that
accelerate applications and processing of real-time data, and a 64-
channel enhanced direct memory access (EDMA) controller to deliver
input/output efficiency that manages data transfer from system memory
at gigabytes per second. In addition, three multi-channel buffered
serial ports each support 128 time-division multiplex channels, as
well as AC97 and IIS audio interfaces, TI said.
Production quantities starting at $199 in units of 10,000 are
available today.
AI
