Home Networking Anyone? Networking multimedia content around the home got a boost earlier this year with SMSC’s PCI-based network multimedia co-processor, the LAN9132. It supports Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) guidelines.
The co-processor combines support of multiple high-definition audio/video (A/V) streams and software protocol stack management and security through SMSC’s RipStream technology. Thus, the LAN9132’s host of flexible design features addresses the interoperability and content protection challenges of consumer electronic devices. Applications include networkenabled HDTVs, set-top boxes, digital video recorders, home media servers, and wireless multimedia streaming applications.
The LAN9132 caters to the growing number of systems-ona- chip (SoCs) for consumer electronics that require a robust, flexible PCI interface. It’s also well-suited to adapt to future networking interfaces, such as 802.11n. The device itself provides designers with a 32-bit ARM926 core that balances flexibility with offload capabilities for TCP/IP and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) stacks, as well as Digital Rights Management technologies.
Because the LAN9132 is PCI-based, designers have a broader selection of host interfaces in support of DLNA guidelines. As a result, they can meet in-home networking requirements with higher bandwidth by distributing multiple HD streams simultaneously. Pricing is less than $10 for volume quantities.
Another home networking group, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), gained traction this year. Entropic Communications recently announced the industry’s first MoCA 1.1-enabled chip set, the c.LINK EN2210/EN1010 (Fig. 2). This announcement followed hot on the heels of the news that the MoCA 1.1 chip-set standard was ratified.
With Entropic’s c.LINK chipset, telco, cable, and satellite operators can cost-effectively transform a subscriber’s existing coax cable infrastructure into a 175-Mbit/s home-entertainment networking backbone. With it, users will be able to share digital entertainment content, such as standard-definition TV (SDTV) and HDTV video, music, games, and images.
Back in June, Entropic announced new feature sets for its c.LINK platform, including Parameterized Quality of Service (PQoS), packet aggregation for increased throughput, 16-node support, remote diagnostic capabilities, and preferred network coordination. These features are now part of the MoCA 1.1 specification. Getting these features requires just a software upgrade to the EN2210/1010 chip set.
Meanwhile, the IEEE P1901 Working Group took initial steps toward selecting a single proposal that could form the basis of a standard for broadband powerline communications. The Physical and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers of the proposal incorporate key powerline technology originally introduced by DS2 (Design of Systems on Silicon), such as data rates above 200 Mbits/s, dense multicarrier modulation, time-division multiple-access (TDMA) MAC, and advanced QoS for audio/video applications.
To further bolster powerline networking, DS2 recently announced a technology that will allow next-generation powerline products to operate at a peak data rate of 400 Mbits/s. This will enable the development of new HD-capable multimedia applications, such as multichannel HD IPTV delivery or multi-room personal video recording (PVR). DS2’s 400-Mbit/s technology will be compatible with the company’s existing 200-Mbit/s products, such as the Aitana chip set, ensuring a seamless migration path for existing users and designs. It will also comply with evolving standards. Look for the performance- doubling technology’s full arrival in 2009.
Transcoder Transforms Video The process of transcoding, which essentially changes multimedia content from one standard format to another, is a very important cog in the wheel of content delivery in the digital home. Transcoding got a big boost recently with the release of a new DaVinci digital media processor from Texas Instruments.
The TMS320DM6467 is a DSP-based SoC specifically tuned for real-time, multiformat, high-definition video transcoding. It’s expected to deliver a tenfold performance improvement over previous-generation processors. Designed to address the HD transcoding challenge in consumer as well as commercial markets, it will likely turn up in IP set-top boxes in the home.
Its multicore design includes an integrated ARM926EJ-S core, C64x+ DSP core, high-definition video/imaging co-processors (HD-VICPs), video data conversion engine, and targeted video port interfaces (Fig. 3). The HD-VICP offers more than 3 GHz of DSP processing power through dedicated accelerators for HD 1080i H.264 high-profile transcoding. Its video data-conversion engine manages video-processing tasks, including downscaling, chroma sampling, and menu overlay functionality.
Less than 300 MHz of the DSP core is used to manage the multiformat video transcoding, leaving the remaining DSP headroom for additional application performance. The device also includes an industry-standard PCI bus and gigabit Ethernet among the connectivity peripherals.
The DM6447 might be used, for example, to transcode a high-definition MPEG2 video stream coming into a set-top box to an H.264 HP@L4 stream in real-time. The transcoded stream could then be sent over a Wi-Fi link for viewing on a handheld device, such as an HP IPAQ PDA.
According to TI, the level of integration and optimization of the DM6467 delivers this performance at one-tenth the cost of previous application systems while maintaining the flexibility needed to address multiple video formats. And with the DM6467 handling the video transcoding, the system will require less power, less expensive DDR2 memory, a reduced flash count, and a smaller FPGA, generating additional bill-ofmaterials savings.
The processor fully exploits TI’s DaVinci development environment, including complete hardware, software, and development tools. Also on tap to speed development is the DM6467 digital video evaluation module (DVEVM), which includes MontaVista Linux, industry-standard and DaVinci application programming interfaces (APIs), the DaVinci Codec Engine, and a host of multimedia codecs for evaluation.
In addition to standard video, imaging, speech, and audio codecs, the system incorporates new transcoders, such as MPEG-2 to H.264. The DaVinci TMS320DM6467 costs $35.95 each in 50,000-unit lots. The DVEVM is scheduled to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2008.
For more information about home-networking standards, see “Digital Home Networks Need Some Discipline” at Drill Deeper 17708 at www.electronicdesign.com.
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