High Definition Codecs on TI OMAP3

Overview

Ittiam Systems' High Definition (720p) Video Codecs for Texas Instruments' OMAP3 devices is a suite of video codecs, covering popular video decoders and encoders, at 720p resolution and up to 30 fps, for applications in the mobile connected market such as Wireless Handsets, Smartphones, Mobile Internet Devices, Portable Media Players and Netbooks.

These codecs are based on Ittiams' proven C reference models and have been specially architected to fully utilize the processing resources of the TI OMAP3 chipset and achieve 720p performance. The 720p OMAP3 codecs are multi-core implementations that employ the IVA 2+ subsystem of the OMAP3 family of processors along with support from the ARM Cortex A8 using Ittiam's Cortex A8 Video solutions.

Ittiam's multicore implementation of 720p video codecs on OMAP3 includes a highly optimized IVA only component. The IVA only components are capable of:

• MPEG-4 SP decode at 720p
• H.264 BP decode at 720p

Supported by an additional NEON assisted ARM Cortex A8 component, the resultant multicore codecs allow for enhanced video decode and encode performance beyond what can be achieved on the IVA subsystem alone.

Examples of codec performance enabled by the multicore architecture include:

• H.264 Main Profile (MP) and High Profile (HP) decoding at 720p, upto 30fps
• H.264 Base Profile (BP) encoding at 720p, upto 30fps
• MPEG-4 Simple Profile (SP) encoding at 720p, upto 30fps

Scalable Performance

The multicore architecture of Ittiam's 720p video codecs on TI OMAP3 incorporates designs that allow the performance of the video decoders and encoders to scale naturally with device frequency. The video codecs use correspondingly less MHz of the ARM Cortex A8 as the IVA operating frequency is increased. This allows the video encoders and decoders to achieve 720p performance across a wide range of devices within the TI OMAP3 family.

Easy Integration

The multicore implementations of Ittiam's 720p video codecs have been designed to integrate seamlessly into standard TI software frameworks, including the Texas Instruments Codec Engine on OMAP3530, OMAP3730 and available ports of Android, Gstreamer and WinMobile on OMAP3430, OMAP3440, OMAP3630 and OMAP3640.