TI New DSP for H.264 at 1080p

Low-cost DaVinci does H.264 at 1080p

Kenton Williston
DSP DesignLine 
03/03/2009 1:00 PM

Dallas TX — Texas Instruments (TI) has announced the TMS320DM365, the first low-cost DaVinci processor to support H.264 encoding at 1080p. In addition to the increased encoding power, the DM365 features an image signal processing (ISP) engine with face recognition and other intelligent video processing capabilities. The DM365 also includes new peripherals that can drive system cost down by as much as 25%.

The DM365 is optimized for video security applications by supporting 1080p H.264 at 10 fps. This profile provides the high resolution and low bit rates need for camera applications. The device also supports MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MJPEG and VC1 codecs. For example, it supports 1080p MPEG-4 at 24 fps and 720p MPEG-4 at 30 fps. These profiles make the DM365 suitable for applications such as multi-channel DVRs, digital signage, and personal media players.

Figure 1. The DM365. Items in yellow are new compared to the DM355
The Image Signal Processor (ISP) offers a variety of pre-processing capabilities including face detection, noise filtering, video stabilization, auto white balance, auto focus, auto exposure and edge enhancement. The face detection capability is particularly notable, as it enables innovative applications. In a digital signage application, for example, face recognition can be used to detect viewers and display relevant content. The ISP is also notable for its ability to compensate for optics problems. This feature allows designers to use low-quality, inexpensive optics.

Other DM365 features include:

• ARM926EJ-S core running at either 270 MHz or 300 MHz
• Peripherals including EMAC, USB 2.0 Phy, 16-bit DDR2, voice codecs, real time clock and three 10-bit DACs
• Royalty-free, production-ready codec bundles (MP3, G.711, H.264, MPEG-4 and JPEG) and premium audio and video bundles (AAC, WMA and AEC, MPEG-2, VC1/WMV9)

The TMX320DM365 is sampling now and is priced at $37.85 (100 units). TI also offers the TMDXEVM365 evaluation module for $595. This board comes with a MontaVistaPro 5.0 Linux board support package (BSP). The board is scheduled to get Windows Embedded CE support and eSOL RTOS support in the second half of the year.

For more information, see www.ti.com/dm365processor.