New and Notable Product Design 27990

Digital signal processing (DSP) technology is at the center of today's sights and sounds revolution in numerous audio and video products. Check out these five examples to find out why.

VIEW TV ANYWHERE

Sling Media Slingbox(http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-541). Connect the Slingbox to the back of a TV and redirect the signal to a cable box, satellite receiver, digital video recorder (DVR), computer, or PDA through the Internet. Texas Instrument 's TMS320DM64x DSP-based digital media processor technology provides the means to implement Sling Media 's proprietary streaming algorithms. The DSP-based approach allows for remote upgrades, including additional software and services. Operating at frequencies from 400 to 740 MHz, the TI processor is the first DSP certified by Microsoft as a Windows Media encoding solution. For more information on TI's TMS320DM64x Digital Media Processors go to:http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-542.

BLUETOOTH WIRELESS STEREO HEADSET

Airlogic icombi AH10(http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-543). This folding Bluetooth 1.2 stereo headset incorporates both volume up/down and next/previous track controls and has audio dongles for a wireless connection to an iPod, USB interface, and analog audio. Airlogic engineers chose CSR 's BlueCore IC DSP for its ability to run audio CODECs including the basic SBC (Sub Band CODEC). The DSP architecture has the throughput to support MP3, AAC, and other proprietary CODECs, while consuming only 95 mW—low enough for battery-powered applications. The BlueCore IC technology allows a wireless connection to a Bluetooth mobile phone and a music player simultaneously. For more information on CSR's BlueCore ICs, go to:http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-544.

LONG DISTANCE DIGITAL MEDIA

TransVideo Technology Co. Ltd. DMD2000 and DMD3000(http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-545).The Digital Media Device (DMD) 2000 and DMD3000 deliver digital movies and TV programs, including video-on-demand (VOD), from mainland China to the United States over the Internet. TransVideo engineers selected Analog Devices ' Blackfin processor to support the H.264 digital video algorithm needed for these set-top boxes. The H.264 digital video algorithm allows broadcast-quality video to be delivered over the Internet at data rates of less than 1 Mbit/sec. Analog Devices ' ADSP-BF533 with its 400 MHz clock speed and 800 million multiply accumulate operations per sec (MMACS) met the computational demands and power constraints of the application. For more information on Analog Devices' Blackfin processors, go to:http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-546.

PROFESSIONAL SURVEILLANCE

GE Storesafe SDVR-16PII Digital Video Recorder (DVR) (http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-547). Catch them in the act. This surveillance system records data from up to 16 cameras, and uses any networked PC to view live or recorded images. The DVR has a built-in CD-R drive and image printing for sharing video evidence. Using DSP technology for the advanced JPG2000 video compression and modified wavelet compression, the unit doubles the recording capacity of present standalone DVRs. The StoreSafe Pro II saves several weeks of high-quality video on hard drives with capacities up to 600 Gbytes. The DVR records up to 60 frames per sec and simultaneously provides other functions, such as viewing live video or playback images while recording.

CABLE QUALIFICATION TESTER

Fluke Networks CableIQ Tester (http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-548). Since more and more high performance audio and video travel over high bandwidth networks, the CableIQ Qualification tester becomes a critical infrastructure tool. With the CableIQ, a technician can determine if existing cabling has the bandwidth to support voice, 10/100, VoIP, or Gigabit Ethernet and obtain other troubleshooting information. Fluke engineers chose Microchip 's dsPIC30F6014 digital signal controller (DSC) to perform all the signal conditioning via digital filters, provide the control interface, and supply all character data to the LCD controller in the CableIQ. In addition, the DSC automatically senses the cable type and mathematically determines the length of the cable. For more information on Microchip 's dsPIC30F6014, go to: http://rbi.ims.ca/4397-549.