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To: hjz who wrote (100450)	6/2/2000 8:11:00 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 120523

TI plans DSP entry into security, surveillance chip markets By Junko Yoshida EE Times (06/02/00, 08:02:01 AM EDT) DALLAS ( ChipWire) -- Texas Instruments Inc. here is making a foray into the commercial security and surveillance market with the programmable DSP-based Digital Recorder Engine (DRE). The security/surveillance platform, built around TI's TMS320C6000 digital signal processor, comes with a suite of homegrown advanced digital image analysis and video compression software. A digital recorder or a network camera built using the platform can be accessed over the Internet thanks to the DRE's network capabilities, which include TCP/IP networking over Ethernet and an HTTP server. The goal is a DSP-based digital surveillance platform "that brings all the smarts into a hard-disk drive or a camera that can be remotely accessed, literally from anywhere in the world," said Vincent McNeil, TI's worldwide network camera business manager. Conventional security systems, in contrast, depend on an analog VHS VCR hooked to surveillance cameras and monitors, and a separate, PC-controlled video motion detection box that captures and stores images. Typically, those images can be viewed only in a central security room. TI has already scored its first big design win for the DRE solution, from Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., an affiliate of Japanese consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Matsushita's WJ-HD100 hard-drive-based digital recorder, slated for launch in the third quarter, is capable of "event-driven recording," McNeil said. With a TI-designed video motion detection algorithm running on the DSP, the system can set an alarm and record only when motion is detected in the visual field, he explained. Traditional, tape-based time-lapse recorders provide "no way to mark the event," thus requiring users to search through a library of tapes. Also, image quality is often poor because tapes are normally erased and used repeatedly, McNeil said. TI's DRE platform fully takes advantage of the DSP's programmability. It supports all common digital image and video compression formats, including Motion JPEG, H.263 and MPEG-4, and such compressed audio formats as G.711, G.723 and G.726. Capabilities include people and object tracking, programmable event recognition and Web servicing. The platform features TI's proprietary embedded operating system. Hence, it can offer recording, storing, filing and networking capabilities independently of a personal computer. Although TI optimized its DRE solution for Matsushita's digital hard-disk recorder, TI this summer plans to launch a commercial version with a broad range of features and functionality, McNeil said. "Ultimately, we hope to integrate all the surveillance intelligence and networking capabilities into a camera, so that the platform can be also made available for residential use," he said. The global market for video cameras, digital recorders and networked digital video servers now stands at $1.092 billion at factory prices, according to J.P. Freeman Co. Inc. The security market research company says that the market is growing at a compound annual rate of 25%.