Meanwhile, ARM RealView Development Suite 3.1 Professional tools target use in ARM’s cores for mobile-phone multimedia products. ARM itself has demonstrated prototype mobile multimedia phones based on its processors with Google’s Android operating system. The OS may pave the way for Google’s Open Handset Alliance, a group of mobile and technology leaders who share the vision of changing the mobile experience for consumers.
The ARM core’s popularity is evidenced by the number of companies allying their products with it. Samsung, for example, sampled a mobile application processor that combines an ARM 667-MHz core in mobile-phone multimedia products.
Many IC chip manufacturers offer powerful supporting chips for multimedia processors. For instance, the STn8815 Nomadik multimedia processor engine from STMicroelectonics adds the Linux operating system to Trolltech’s WQtopia application environment.
FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY
Configuration flexibility and scalability are very important qualities in a processor, particularly in processors with a multicore architecture. The VRaptor multicore from ARC International scales to meet high-definition median processing requirements (Fig. 3). It supports multiple ARC-configurable CPUs with media extensions, multiple vectorized 128-bit single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) processors, high-performance streaming I/O, and domain-specific accelerators.
Choosing a software operating system certainly has a major impact on design considerations. It also affects the likelihood of third-party applications. And, it can influence the product’s overall cost in terms of software investment and the choice of a processor.
The right software development environment can go a long way toward making a designer’s job easier. Environments that integrate processors, development tools, software, and systems expertise enable designers to work at a high level of system abstraction. Linux and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform are the two primary players. Thanks to its iPod and iPhone, Apple is key as well, though it doesn’t allow third-party participation in its core IP technology.
Though it’s based on proprietary software, Microsoft’s Mobile platform brings a lot to the table. It is easy to use, supports many industry standards, and provides substantial support for multimedia content. On the flip side, it involves higher licensing costs and sacrifices flexibility for customization and differentiation.
Linux’s future looks bright because it is open-source software. The use of a commercial Linux operation system can streamline software development. Commercial Linux-based packages are available from companies like Monta Vista Software and Wind River Systems (Fig. 4).
The newest addition building on the Linux kernel is the aforementioned Android operating system from Google. Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and others have showed off early implementations of the Android operating system. The newest product manifestation of Android is Google’s Googlephone.
Digital rights management (DRM) is another major issue. DRM is a layer of security that protects the digital audio and video content from illegal use or infringement by others on copyrighted DRM schemes. It can limit how, when, and where a user can reproduce audio/video content media. DRM, which is generally implemented before the content is encoded when data rates are lower, is easier to use than after encoding.
Microsoft’s Vista operating system employs DRM software. Its protected-video- path (PVP) system can prevent DRMrestricted content from being used while unsigned software is running. It can also encrypt information transmitted to a display or a graphics card, making it more difficult to use unauthorized media content.
THE ALL-IMPORTANT CODEC
More high-performance video codecs are emerging for media-centric portable products. The latest, like the MPEG-4 codec, enables a range of new products and services. Scalable, portable video “jukeboxes” now on the market can handle broadcast-quality streaming video. And, as with anything else, backward-compatibility is very important. Does an MPEG-4 codec, for example, support MPEG-3 and MPEG-2 codecs?
The driving force behind high-definition streaming video is the Advanced Video Codec High Definition (AVCHD) standard. In 2006, Sony and Panasonic introduced this high-definition recording format, which uses an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video codec. It can take advantage of various storage media, including 8-cm recordable DVD discs, a hard disk, or flash-memory cards. The format competes with other handheld video-camerarecording formats, particularly HDV and MiniDV.
H.264 video codecs can provide more than twice the compression ratio of the older MPEG-2 codecs. They deliver MPEG- 2-quality video recording, but in less space. Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Algo Embedded Systems Pvt. Ltd., Silicon Hive B.V., W&W Communications, and Mobilygen all produce H.264 codecs.
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