Philips TriMedia does not have a full MPEG-2 hardware implementation.......
New TriMedia ICs Coming To Market
Application-specific versions of Philips flagship processor arrive
From the Semiconductor pages of Electronic News: November 30, 1998 Issue
By Jim DeTar
Sunnyvale, Calif.--Philips is preparing to introduce the first application-specific version of its
TriMedia high-end digital signal processor. The newest version of the TriMedia is the TM2, an
application specific version for digital television (DTV) that will begin sampling in 1Q99, Electronic
News has learned.
"We think DTV will be the biggest market for TriMedia," said Ron Baker, multimedia marketing
program manager, TriMedia Product Group, Philips Semiconductors. He added that "It is also
applicable for video telephony," applications such as videoconferencing. For example, Philips is in the
process of adding another algorithm to TriMedia that will enable video telephony and DTV to come
together in a single bus.
"The TM2 incorporates a high defnition block and runs at 133MHz and is 33 percent higher in
performance than the original TriMedia, the 1100. It will be introduced in 1Q99.
Although the TM2 will be the first application-specific TriMedia processor, it will quickly be followed
by others.
ADSL Version To Follow
"In the future we will do an ADSL specific version," Baker revealed. Whether the company will do it
as a complementary function in an integrated environment or as a standalone product has yet to be
determined, he noted.
He also provided a roadmap for future implementations of the TriMedia processor. "The next general
purpose version of TriMedia will be the 1300. That will use a 64-bit CPU and will be introduced in
mid-2000. The 1300 will provide a performance increase as we move to 0.25-micron production."
The current generation TriMedia 1100 is manufactured on an 0.35-micron manufacturing process
technology. In the year 2000, Baker said, the 1100 will also be migrated to the company's
0.25-micron process.
In the near term, he said to look for additional application-specific announcements at the upcoming
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
Meanwhile, the TM2 will include high definition video out, a hardware-specific algorithm, and
MPEG-2 acceleration. However, Baker said, it doesn't implement the entire MPEG-2 pipeline, but
rather a slice level decoder.
"We will have engineering samples in the first quarter of 1999. The TM2 will have video ports that
can, for example, provide picture-in-picture capability."
Baker said that Philips is currently working with six DTV OEMs who are designing in the original
TriMedia 1100, and will be candidates for the TM2. The only announced users of TriMedia are
Philips and Samsung.
One of the emerging applications for TriMedia, Baker said, it datacasting--simultaneously
broadcasting text and graphics over a high definition line.
NTSC Sets Obsolete
"People are going to realize their NTSC (National Television System Committee standard) TV sets
are obsolete," Baker said. "This and other factors could accelerate the transition to digital TV.
Philips demonstrated its TriMedia processor running in a DTV at the recent Comdex conference in
Las Vegas. The company ambitiously said it plans to take 30 analog chips and shrink them into one
or two chips. Among the applications that can be incorporated into DTVs are Internet browsers. To
that end, Philips has partnered with Spyglass which is porting its software technology to Philips
TriMedia platforms.
"The ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) is still setting the standards, which are
mostly HTML, or Internet-based, Baker noted.
Although Philips is concentrating heavily in the digital TV arena, he admitted that analog is going to
be part of the DTV scene as well. "You have to have analog in the TV as well." TriMedia's TM2
will enable running DTV programs on analog TVs. "The resolution for an analog TV is one-fourth
that of DTV, 640x480 versus, 1920x1080 pixels. Actually it is closer to six times the resolution. We
use line doubling to make DTV take up the entire screen," on an analog TV.
Baker said that in the HDTV market Philips supports multiple video formats including NTSC/PAL
and the ATSC version that will provide the ability to take signals from multiple sources. "The most
significant thing is the standard's ability to support datacasting and high data rates--a minimum 500
kilobits per second, average multi-megabits per second. Other features of the standard include
interactivity and support for peripherals such as printers."
Because DTV protocols are not set yet "and because it's a programmable software solution, we can
adapt easily," when the ATSC settles on a standard, Baker predicted. "The ATSC said 'Let the
market decide' "
Philips, in addition to developing chips for DTV, is participating in the standard development process
as well. For example, a Philips executive, Aninda Dasgupta, chairs the DASE (Digital TV
Application Software Environment) committee of ATSC, a committee that is looking at ways to
incorporate DTV functionality set-top boxes.
The company has a strong base to build on. Currently, Baker said, 40- to 60 percent of current
analog TVs use the Philips One-Chip solution. |
