1999-08-30 , ESC-9975
Technology News From Philips Semiconductors

The Nexperia Digital Video Platform will dramatically shorten product design times for programmable System-on-Silicon ICs that support media processing, interactive services, communications, graphics and more

Philips Semiconductors has today announced the Nexperia™ DVP Digital Video Platform, a hardware and software architecture for system-on-silicon ICs designed for use in consumer digital convergence appliances. This innovative architecture incorporates both RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) and VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) processor cores and an extensive library of software components and on-chip hardware components. Nexperia DVP allows Philips Semiconductors to quickly design a family of solutions for the digital convergence consumer market that are compatible, highly programmable and cost-effective.

The digital revolution is driving forward the convergence of electronic products for the home. The digital TV and Set Top Box (STB) will become much more powerful with high definition pictures, multi-channel audio, digital video recording, DVD playback, a web browser, e-mail, video mail, video telephony, and interactive games, services and shopping to form the next generation of home entertainment products. However, designing a system solution that incorporates even some of these functions onto a single System-on-Silicon IC is an amazingly complex task involving millions of gates and lines of code.

"Creating system solutions is all about speed and managing complexity," explained Günther Dengel, Managing Director of Philips Semiconductors' Consumer Systems division. "The product life cycles of our customers are now measured in months rather than years and the products themselves are becoming more highly featured. On top of this, manufacturers have to contend with versioning and up-scaling issues, which means catering for the differences between high-end and low-end models and with the different TV standards such as PAL, SECAM, NTSC, ATSC, DVB, BS etc. In Set-Top Boxes, there are many different variants, including Chinese versions of DVB and ATSC. In recording and replay there is D-VHS, DVD, VCD etc. And in web-TV there is a seemingly endless list of variants - all requiring high-end and low-end versions. Digitalisation is just going to increase this complexity."

"The only way to solve this, without having to create individual solutions for every application IC, is to re-use proven hardware and software components in a mix and match fashion. Nexperia DVP is based on our Silicon System Platform (SSP) concept of hardware and software re-use with each component adhering to a set of rules, as defined by the appropriate SSP architecture, to guarantee interoperability and compatibility. Our modular methodology enables us to create flexible, multi-featured, system solutions in a fraction of the time that it would have previously taken so that our customers can be first to market with innovative products."

Nexperia DVP is based on the Philips Semiconductors' extensive digital video capabilities and position as one of the pioneers of single chip system solutions for TV and STB ICs which has resulted in a platform approach that is more extensive than anything devised by any other company. Nexperia DVP is the first of Philips Semiconductors' SSPs and more information on these can be found in the backgrounder BG9906 entitled: "Further information on Philips Semiconductors' Silicon Systems Platforms".

The Nexperia DVP ICs can use an embedded MIPS® RISC processor core and/or an embedded TriMedia™ VLIW processor. MIPS cores are used to implement the control functionality and Philips Semiconductors' wide range of MIPS-based® embedded cores ensures easy scalability by the utilisation of the appropriate core. TriMedia cores are used when real-time media processing in software (such as audio/video decoding and encoding, communications, and other tasks) is required. For higher-end solutions that require interactivity and high-performance media processing, a MIPS core and a TriMedia processor core are integrated on a single IC, implementing a powerful, multi-processor solution that is ideal for demanding video-centric applications. This solution is a more cost-effective approach than using more powerful and expensive versions of a single RISC processor.

The Nexperia DVP software architecture defines a set of API (Application Programmer Interface) that hide if the implementation of a certain function is done in hardware or in software. With this approach, Philips Semiconductors ensures that application software can be used on different DVP products.

Nexperia DVP's programmability is the key in allowing manufacturers to add features and adapt to changing standards without changing hardware so that fine tuning changes can be made right up to the last stages of production. In addition, manufacturers can use a single hardware design to support worldwide markets by simply changing software, as well as to create a range of low to high feature models. Products can even be upgraded after purchase by, for example, a service provider broadcasting the appropriate software for a new feature providing a significant degree of future-proofing.

Another benefit of programmability compared to the traditional fixed function silicon approach is that the overall system cost is reduced: the number of components is less, so inventory costs are lower, PCB size is smaller, and fewer PCB variants are required since differentiation is created in software. Also, models have a longer life as they can be upgraded with enhanced software.

Nexperia DVP is an open architecture so that manufacturers can easily create the software they need to provide their own feature sets. The MIPS architecture is very well supported by third parties who supply software, development tools, compilers, etc. so it is easy for manufacturers to write or buy software to run on it. Philips Semiconductors' TriMedia cores are based on VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) and the company provides a very mature, state-of-the-art set of development tools, the only commercially-available tool-set for VLIW processors. For designs using both MIPS and TriMedia processors, the Nexperia DVP architecture ensures that they can co-exist and run the appropriate software without conflicts.

"This new approach to system design opens up tremendous possibilities for manufacturers to make innovative devices that consumers want," explained Günther Dengel. "The flexibility that the programmable approach offers over fixed function solutions is amazing because they automatically use the appropriate software to do the required task. One moment you could be watching a high-definition TV program, the next taking a video call, while checking a stock price on the web, then reading customised newspapers and your e-mail. All these features and more are possible now but they are expensive to implement because each requires dedicated silicon and software. The power and flexibility of Nexperia DVP brings programmable power to digital video products, providing all these exciting new technologies to the consumer in an integrated package at a reasonable cost."

For further information on the first products that have been designed using Nexperia DVP, please see release "Philips Semiconductors debuts Nexperia DVP products for digital TV" dated 30 August 1999.

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.
MIPS is a registered trademark and MIPS-based is a trademark of MIPS Technologies Inc.
All other trademarks are recognised as belonging to the relevant companies.

Additional backgrounders:

• BG9905: Technical information on Philips Semiconductors' Nexperia™ Digital Video Platform
• BG9906: Further information on Philips Semiconductors' Silicon Systems Platforms