Applications

DSP Application Trends

Historically, most DSP markets have been compute-bound – products and features improve as more processing power becomes economically available. This model shows no signs of changing. As DSP performance increases, more applications can be enabled by a software-driven model, as opposed to using hardware-centric ASICs or difficult-to-program FPGAs.

For most markets it's not a question of if, but when DSPs will become powerful and inexpensive enough to replace point solutions. A software-driven model offers compelling advantages and examples of markets that have gone through this change include graphics processors (GPUs) and audio processing where earlier ASSPs were displaced.

SPI products empower customers to leapfrog hardwired solutions and the ability to expand into new growth opportunities.  SPI's architecture preserves the software investment with a predictable and scalable platform helping customers to start their design at a higher level of abstraction.

Application Examples

In addition to other applications outlined (MFP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance), SPI's solutions are well-suited for a wide range of demanding signal and media processing applications. Such application areas include: 

• Wireless Infrastructure: Super 3G, HSPA, LTE and WiMax basestations
  
  
• Medical Imaging: 4D Ultrasound
  
  
• Search: Search acceleration, image/video recognition and indexing
  
  
• Broadcasting: Transcoding, encoding, preprocessing, ad insertion, H.264 SVC
  
  
• IP Media Servers (IMS): Transcoding/transrating, QoS
  
  
• Personal Video Recorders: Multi-standard HD and place-shifting
  
  
• Military: Radar, radio
  
  
• Bioinformatics: Smith-Waterman, Hidden Markov Models
  
  
• Digital Television: Image enhancements; MCRFC, upscaling, dynamic LED backlighting