DaVinci™ Technology

DaVinci™ Technology

Group 3

Casey Bauer, Mary Daniel, Will Hunter, Hannah McMahon, John Walls

Key Words: DSP, Digital Video, CODEC, API, SoC

DaVinci™ Technology is a collection of a digital signal processing (DSP) based system solution components designed for efficient and compelling digital video (biz.yahoo.com). DaVinci™ has combined software, hardware, and development tools to form a DSP system with the goal of enhancing digital multimedia. The integration of these technologies provides DaVinci™ with the foundation for the upcoming digital video revolution by creating an open-ended platform which digital video, digital audio, voice and speech technology can use to perform at a better rate for quicker time-to-market productions (DaVinci Faqs, 2005). Of all the areas which DaVinci™ Technology will affect, it has the ability to re-shape the way digital video is processed. DaVinci™ eliminates the need for the product users to learn proper CODEC definitions and allows for more time in actual production of digital video.

DaVinci™ Technology consists of four technological areas; optimized application software, development tools, integrated silicon hardware, and a DaVinci™ Technology support system. One of the problems that DaVinci™ has set out to solve was to eliminate CODEC errors between different processors. CODEC (compression and decompression) is the encoding of a signal for analog and digital transmission, then decoding it for viewing or editing on a different processor (wikipedia.org). In some instances, processors do not have the same CODEC definitions, but with DaVinci™’s application-programming interface (API) acts as a library, simplifying the specific low-level details of video CODEC and enabling developers to use the appropriate CODECs with no changes to their upper level layer application code (Frantz, 2005). The designer’s of DaVinci™ Technology wanted to create a software application that gave the users the ability to work only with the software without having to learn how to write CODEC definitions.

Texas Instruments designed a dual-core architecture that includes an ARM® core and a high performance open-ended DSP platform (DaVinci™ Products Simplify Digital Video Innovation). The open-ended DSP platform allows for a more “user-friendly” system that brings together the hardware and software that digital video production requires. The accelerated availability of off-the-shelf CODEC increases performance speed as well as reducing cost for developers. An open-ended DSP also means that developers do not need to be an expert on DSP formatting. Instead of optimizing DSP code, there will be production ready CODECs and application code available for better transfer.

In addition to easier access to CODECs, DaVinci™ also uses a systems-on-a-chip (SoC). A SoC functions as a transmission tool of digital and analog signal’s integrated into a single chip (wikipedia.org). Texas Instruments has already used SoCs in video telephones, portable media players, digital still cameras, and video security, and now for digital video. The basic format of SoCs is to act as a connector between the software and hardware of a processor. The API acts as a library to CODECs, while the hardware enables the CODEC to perform without an error. The support system for DaVinci™ is also an important aspect of the product, considering it is focused on the beginning stages of the product to the end. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) will, “benefit from the easy to use, integrated digital video platform that supports the development of virtually all digital video applications (DaVinci Faqs).” OEM’s will also benefit from the “standardized CODECS and APIs” since they will simplify future digital video developments.

In the digital video realm, DaVinci™ Technology has a world of possibilities that can give developers and businesses a new digital video product with the ability to decrease the time-to-market turnover of a new product. CODEC errors are one of the most common problems faced by digital video developers. DaVinci™ has created a solution to this production slow-down, by simplifying the API and making it more efficient to use. OEM’s will benefit from DaVinci™ Technology since CODECs will have an API that will prevent CODEC errors between two processors. The open-ended platform in the DaVinci™ architecture could very well attract many of its potential customers. With digital video technology changing every day, CODECs can change and improve as well. Developers will be able to treat DSP as a resource, and not be required to write a line of DSP code unless they want to for their specific application. It also allows OEMs to focus their attention on what they are giving to their consumers and not internal production errors. (TI.com)

The multimedia capabilities are further driven by the combination of a comprehensive layer of software, both system-level software and middleware, and support resources. This type of “family” of DaVinci™ Technology offers possibilities for digital video which have never been imagined before (DV Innovations). Texas Instruments already has two DaVinci™ processors on the market that are capable of performing encoding and decoding at speeds that are two to three times the normal processing speed. With CODEC compressions a major area of the digital video world, having a system that can solve these errors can only be shown through the amount of money saved by a company. In many occasions, having a smaller video file can save a company large amounts of money on storage space.

DaVinci™ Technology has the ability to re-shape the digital world like never before. Digital video companies value what CODEC means to the success in a business. With the proper CODEC, a company has the advantage of not facing production slow-downs that occur due to improper CODEC definitions. DaVinci™ prevents these errors by using an API that acts as a library to prevent these slow-downs. New CODECs will be added as technology progresses, but being able to handle that change is what can “make or break” a company. In a world that is based on various forms of multimedia, digital video is one that has the ability to change everything as we know it. By eliminating CODEC errors and allowing developers to work with the actual video, saving time and money are the main effects of the digital video world. And because of DaVinci™ saving that time and money, the realm of possibilities is endless for future digital video products.

References

Texas Instruments Announces DaVinci™, The World’s Most Advanced Semiconductor Technology for Next Generation Digital Video. (September 8, 2005) Retrieved March 2, 2006 from

http://focus.ti.com/docs/pr/pressrelease.jhtml?prelId=sc05187

Frantz, Gene. The Future of Digital Video by Gene Frantz. (September, 2005) Retrieved March 1, 2006 from

http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/landing/davinci/files/dvfuturewp.pdf

DaVanci™ Faqs. (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2006

http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/landing/davinci/faqs.html

DaVinci™ Products Simplify Digital Video Innovation. (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2006 from

http://focus.ti.com/lit/ml/sprt378a/sprt378a.pdf

Manufacturers Using TI's DaVinci(TM) Technology Can Easily Embed Wi-Fi in Consumer Electronics. (February 20, 2006) Retrieved March 3, 2006 from

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060220/dam007.html?.v=36

Digital Signal Processing. (n.d.) Retrieved March 3, 2006 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signal_processing

Application Programming Interface. (n.d.) March 3, 2006 from