Creating multi-standard, multi-resolution video engines using configurable processors

The explosive growth of consumer electronics and, specifically, handheld devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, and portable media players (PMPs) has drastically changed the requirements placed on the end-silicon providers. These silicon providers can no longer design ICs that are targeted at only one or two multimedia codecs or wireless standards. Consumers expect their devices to play media from different sources, coded using different standards, and downloaded using a variety of different wireless standards. Therefore, a new, more flexible design approach must be taken that provides for easy adoption of new media standards. In this article, we focus on the challenges and opportunities for video decoder and encoder engines.

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