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.