1999-08-30 , S/IC-2080/31
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

Programmable NX-2000 processor family supports high-definition TV and interactive services

In conjunction with the company's unveiling of its Nexperia™ Digital Video Platform (DVP) strategy, Philips Semiconductors today announced the first DVP-based products designed for high-definition TV (HDTV) receivers and set-top boxes. The NX-2600 and NX-2700 are system-on-silicon ICs based on an embedded TriMedia™ VLIW processor core.

In a DTV receiver or set-top box, the NX-2600 and NX-2700 handle transport stream demultiplexing, audio and video decoding (including MPEG2 MP@HL) as well as support a reverse communications channel, datacasting, Java™, and Internet browser applications. The highly programmable processors can support multiple digital broadcast standards, including all 18 ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) DTV formats and DSS (Digital Satellite System).

The NX-2700 supports high-definition output, and two simultaneous video streams allowing the viewer to watch digital and analog broadcasts simultaneously, or two standard-definition digital broadcasts. The NX-2600 is a subset of the NX-2700 and decodes high-definition video signals, while supporting standard definition output and one video stream.

"The Philips NX-2000 architecture is impressive," said Richard Doherty, President of The Envisioneering Group. "Of all the digital TV solutions announced to date, only the NX-2000 processors are flexible enough to dedicate processing power to enhancing regular analog TV picture quality from TV, cable, VHS and DVD sources when not decoding a full HDTV picture."

"The NX-2000 processors are the first in a broad family of software-compatible Nexperia DVP system-on-silicon solutions for multifunction digital video appliances," said Dirk Logie, general manager, DTV Group for Philips Semiconductors. "TV manufacturers can now build high-definition DTV products that support datacasting and Internet services. With its programmable TriMedia core, the processors can easily be updated with software to support new DTV services and industry standards as they evolve."

The NX-2000 processors are powered by a 32-bit TriMedia VLIW processor core running the pSOS real-time operating system, and powerful on-chip peripheral devices interconnected by two system buses. The Nexperia's TriMedia processor core handles up to five instructions per clock cycle and operates at frequencies up to 166 MHz, achieving a peak performance of 6.5 billion operations per second. The TriMedia core is programmable entirely in C/C++, offering flexibility for designers to incorporate new features and services.

Two transport stream video input units on the NX-2700 support simultaneous input from a variety of sources including an ATSC channel plus an NTSC channel. This functionality allows the consumer to view an ATSC program and an NTSC program simultaneously in two different windows.

A unique feature of NX-2000 processors is their ability to improve the picture quality of lower resolution analog programs by running a software algorithm developed by Philips Research. The algorithm improves video quality with sophisticated motion estimation and line doubling techniques. With the appropriate software, NX-2000 processors can also support video email and telephony.

To simplify product design and development, Philips Semiconductors offers a DTV Developer's Kit complete with reference board, ATSC software modules and the TriMedia Software Development Environment 2.0 (SDE). The SDE supports application development, porting and optimization entirely in C or C++. The reference design and ATSC software included in the DTV Developer's Kit are a foundation for a complete ATSC digital receiver.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://cdrom.semiconductors.com/.

Nexperia and Trimedia are trademarks of Philips Electronics NV.