Review

Rare is the end-product today that doesn't contain audio, video or multimedia capabilities, whether the product is as small as a cell phone or as large as a teleconferencing system, or has a single purpose, such as a DVD player, or provides a multitude of functions, such as home entertainment centers. The driving force behind this huge expanse of applications is a raft of new ICs that range in performance from a relatively simple video or audio amplifier to specialized, multi-functional video system-on-a-chip. In fact, the diversity of devices available today opens the door to integration of audio, video and multimedia functions into just about every type of electronic product manufactured today. Further, the device diversity combined with the large number of manufacturers making the devices gives OEMs considerable flexibility in coming up with ways to differentiate their designs from those of their competitors. A sampling of audio, video and multimedia ICs that entered the marketplace over the past 12 months is presented below.

Handset makers wanting to embed cameras and color graphics into their products without having to redesign and re-qualify the entire set have a candidate for the job with MQ2100, a graphics controller chip with an interface that supports a variety of LCD panel technologies. Developed by Mediaq (mediaq.com), the IC packs a powerful hardware acceleration engine for processing and displaying data on handsets and to help generate sharp, colored 2-D graphics. The 64-bit graphics engine with double buffering yields a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels to accommodate game playing and similar applications. And the controller's video processing engine is coupled with a JPEG encoder capable of encoding still images with resolutions up to VGA.

Integrating a serial processor (eliminating the need for a microcontroller), the CW4511 visual signal processor (VSP) is said to be a programmable controller that can operate at the speeds and power levels to process full motion video on a digital still camera format. The 256-pin BGA device is produced by Chipwrights (chipwrights.com) and hosts a variety of video capabilities, including CIF MPEG4 encoding and decoding at 30 fps and VGA MPEG4 encoding at rates at up to 15 fps with decoding at 30 fps.

Portable consumer electronics are the targeted applications for a new digital media processor that integrates a TMS320C54x DSP, an ARM7TDMI RISC processor, and video and imaging coprocessors. The Texas Instruments (ti.com/dm_270) TMS320DM270 digital media processor boasts of software support for various video compression standards, as well as audio support for MP3, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), and Windows Media Audio (WMA) and voice support for G.711, G.723.1, and G.726 standards.

Digital set-top boxes and DVD+R/W applications are among the key uses for the MAX4399, a triple SCART audio/video switch with integrated 150Ω output buffers. The 68-pin QFN packaged switch provides audio and video routing from the digital encoder to TV, VCR and AUX SCART connectors. And its TV audio channel features click-less switching and programmable volume control from −56 to +6 dB in 2 dB steps. The IC, from Maxim Integrated Circuits (maxim-ic.com), operates from 5V and 12V supplies and supports both slow and fast switching.

Primed for portable multimedia device markets and based on the company's MAS DSP platform, the MAS 35x5G decoder/encoder family provides wavetable-based MIDI synthesis and MP3 decoding capabilities in a 40-pin BGA package. The MAS 3505G supports MIDIand ADPCM and the MAS 3515G supports MIDI, ADPCM and MP3. Developed by Micronas Semiconductors (micronas.com), the ICs can produce up to 40 voices of MIDI audio and feature a minimum supply voltage of 2.7V, an I/O voltage range down to 1.8V, and integrated power management and power-down functions.

Supporting up to ultra extended graphics array (UXGA) resolution, the AD9887A data converter from Analog Devices (analog.com) is designed to help state-of-the-art flat panel displays work with analog signals from legacy PCs while at the same time being compatible with the high-definition digital signals of newer computer and entertainment systems. The 160-lead MQFP chip bridges this analog/digital divide by packing an analog interface together with a digital visual interface (DVI) receiver on a single chip in support of resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 at 60 Hz. The digital interface meets DVI v1.0 specs, ensuring compatibility with LCDs, projectors and HDTVs.

—Joe DelGatto

Outlook

Small Screen, Big Screen
Over the next year, cell phones, PDAs and other miniature portable electronics will be asked to perform an array of additional functions, such as accessing the Internet. For these new, multi-function products to gain wide acceptance will depend in large measure on the quality of the visuals they present. ICs are at the heart of the success of these new products. At the same time, makers of electronic systems, such as HDTVs and medical instruments, will need new generations of ICs to permit the large displays and sound systems that go with them to reach ever higher levels of performance. The price tags on these systems will demand the performance. The next 12 months should be a highly active period in terms of new audio, video and multimedia ICs reaching the marketplace.

—JDG