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Appeared on: Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Texas Instruments Launches Low-cost AV Processor

Driving the market growth for next-generation, portable, high-definition (HD) video products, Texas Instruments today announced the availability of a new embedded DaVinci processor.

At a price of less than $10, the new TMS320DM355 digital media processor provides HD video performance and double the battery life of today's HD products.

Tuned for applications such as digital cameras, IP video cameras, digital photo frames and video baby monitors, the DM355 processor consists of an integrated video processing subsystem, an MPEG-4-JPEG co-processor (MJCP), an ARM926EJ-S core and peripherals. The corresponding development tool, the DM355 Digital Video Evaluation Module (DVEVM), will help developers create low-cost portable, digital video devices with HD video capability.

"With this DaVinci offering, developers can add HD video functionality at a low price point and execute a quick launch of their product into the fast-growing HD market," said John Dixon, DaVinci marketing manager, Texas Instruments. "The DM355 is tuned to provide the critical balance of price, performance and power for these aggressive markets in an effort to ensure our customers' success."

The processor is available in clock speeds of up to 216 MHz or 270 MHz, which allows for a scalable line of products. Other applications that would benefit from implementing the DM355 include commercial products, such as medical imaging, ultra low-cost digital video recorders and portable test equipment.

The MJCP provides HD MPEG-4 SP encode or decode at 720p and 30 frames per second and JPEG encode or decode at 50 MegaPixels per second. The DM355 video processing subsystem, similar to versions featured on other DaVinci devices, integrates a preview engine, histogram, resizer and on-screen display all in hardware. The MJCP provides the equivalent of 400 MHz of digital signal processing (DSP) to achieve HD video, while the video processing subsystem tasks equate to approximately 240 MHz of performance on a DSP. Combined, the MJCP and video processing subsystem provide the equivalent of up to 640 MHz of DSP processing performance, and up to 270MHz of ARM processing capabilities are still available for product differentiation. The DM355 also includes a suite of peripherals, such as high speed USB 2.0 On-The-Go. The integrated 10-bit D-A converter and video encoder also saves developers up to $2 in the bill of materials, as well as the associated manufacturing and design costs compared to the use of discrete parts. Priced at less than $10, the DM355 processor is an even greater value because it includes the production-qualified HD MPEG-4 and JPEG codecs without the need to pay licensing fees or royalties to TI.

Depending on the application, the DM355 consumes approximately 400mW during HD MPEG-4 encoding and only 1mW of stand-by power. This means that consumers using DM355-based digital cameras in video mode can expect to record 80 minutes of HD video while using just two AA batteries.

Support for other operating systems, such as Windows CE , and additional system development needs will be available from TI third parties.

The DaVinci TMX320DM355ZCE216 processor is now sampling from TI and TI authorized distributors. The 216MHz version will be priced in volume production at $9.75 in 50,000 unit volume and the 270MHz version will be $11.49 in 50,000 unit volume. The highly integrated device is packaged in a 13 x 13 mm, 329 pin, 0.65mm pitch BGA package. The TMDXEVM355 Digital Video Evaluation Module is now available for $495. For more information, visit http://www.ti.com/dm355pr.


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