Apple and media processors..............................
zdnet.com
Relevant excerpt from full article:
<<One of the most intriguing avenues that Apple is exploring concerns media processors, a
relatively new class of coprocessor chips designed specifically for multimedia functions. Media
processors, which promise to be available on PCI add-on cards, and eventually on Mac OS-
system logic boards, are essentially programmable successors to digital signal processors
(DSPs) like those built into the old Quadra 840AV and Centris 660AV. But whereas earlier
DSPs were designed for narrowly defined tasks, such as audio and video digitization, media
processors can load multiple instruction sets in order to perform a much wider variety of tasks.
Programming for DSPs is a fairly complex business and programming for media processors
won't be much different, but Apple says that it aims to simplify the process for Mac OS
developers by offering system-software-level support for media processors. Apple hopes to
make cross-platform media-processor support painless for software developers by designing future versions
of QuickTime so that any application written for the QuickTime Media Layer (QTML) will
automatically take advantage of media processors if they are present on the host computer.
QTML comprises video and audio compression, 3-D rendering via QuickDraw 3D,
QuickTime VR virtual-reality software, and MIDI support.
Apple says that it is examining several media processors, but it's not saying which one it will
definitely support. One certain candidate is Philips' TriMedia TM-1000 (formerly TM-1), a
chip that's expected to cost about $50 in bulk and that can be adapted to decode MPEG-1
and MPEG-2 video and AC-3 sound for DVD playback and compression of video and audio
for teleconferencing, voice-mail, software-modem applications, and audio synthesis.>> |
