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Can anyone who has some hardware knowledge give us a rundown on what is currently being used to decode H.264 in hardware and this offering? We clearly can't kno
by macrael 16y ago
Can anyone who has some hardware knowledge give us a rundown on what is currently being used to decode H.264 in hardware and this offering? We clearly can't know that much before we test actual drives, but is there anything concrete one can gather from this announcement?
- TillE 16y agoI'll add, specifically: are FPGAs used? Commonly? That seems to be where they're going, since Google promises VHDL and Verilog code. http://www.webmproject.org/hardware/ http://www.webmproject.org/hardware/
- daeken 16y agoGenerally FPGAs aren't used, but there's nothing stopping you from going from HDL to an ASIC.
- bryanallen22 16y agoGoogle is really doing this to get people to put this in silicon for consumer devices. VHDL/Verilog aren't tied to FPGAs at all - they work equally well for custom silicon. FPGAs aren't appropriate for high volume - they cost far too much per unit. (Silicon has massive upfront cost, but very little per unit cost.) FPGAs are useful in low volume applications and places where the hardware may need to be modified. Cell towers were (are?) big users of them because 1) cell specs were changing frequently and the FPGA behavior could be modified and 2) there weren't enough cell towers to make the front loaded cost of silicon worth it.
- edderly 16y agoHere's an overview on TI's OMAP SoC, http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/Ducati_For_Dummies#Ducati_Subsystem_Overview http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/Ducati_For_Dummies#Ducati_Subs... Though as mentioned there is always the challenge of die space, making an rtl available is a smart step. You coul imagine synthesising this into the IVA/HD in OMAP.