Texas Instruments DaVinci
Encyclopedia
The Texas Instruments
DaVinci Technology combines TI's offering of digital signal processing chips, software, tools and support for developing a broad spectrum of optimized digital video end equipments. The DaVinci DSP
is part of the popular TMS320 DSP family.
The idea behind the DaVinci family of processors is that by using both a general-purpose processor and a DSP, the control and media portions can both be executed by processors that excel at their respective tasks. The integration of these two components into one chip simplifies the system design and allows for more efficient communication between the two components.
The DaVinci family of processors now scales from multiple core devices (e.g. DM644x) to single core DSP devices (e.g. DM643x) to single core ARM devices (e.g. DM355).
Dual-core models have both ARM and DSP:
There are DSP-only models:
There are ARM-only models:
RTOS. When multiple, heterogeneous cores are included in the device (e.g. DM644x), DSP/BIOS Link
drivers run on both the ARM processor and the DSP to provide communication between the two.
A number of operating systems for the DaVinci ARM and support DaVinci and the DSP/BIOS Link drivers:
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
DaVinci Technology combines TI's offering of digital signal processing chips, software, tools and support for developing a broad spectrum of optimized digital video end equipments. The DaVinci DSP
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
is part of the popular TMS320 DSP family.
The idea behind the DaVinci family of processors is that by using both a general-purpose processor and a DSP, the control and media portions can both be executed by processors that excel at their respective tasks. The integration of these two components into one chip simplifies the system design and allows for more efficient communication between the two components.
The DaVinci family of processors now scales from multiple core devices (e.g. DM644x) to single core DSP devices (e.g. DM643x) to single core ARM devices (e.g. DM355).
Peripherals
The DaVinci processor families include a number of on-chip peripherals. Depending on the particular device, these may include:- Support for memory cardMemory cardA memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
s such as CompactFlashCompactFlashCompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...
, SD CardSecure Digital cardSecure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...
and MMCMultiMediaCardThe MultiMediaCard is a flash memory memory card standard. Unveiled in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk, it is based on Toshiba's NAND-based flash memory, and is therefore much smaller than earlier systems based on Intel NOR-based memory such as CompactFlash. MMC is about the size of a postage...
(Although the Linux drivers for the latter two are currently rather impaired and unable to write at a reasonable speed) - ATA interface
- CCDCharge-coupled deviceA charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
Controller for digital camera/camcorder applications - Connectivity, including USB 2.0 Host and Client modes, VLYNQVLYNQVLYNQ is a proprietary interface developed by Texas Instruments and used for broadband products, such as WLAN and modems, VOIP processors and audio and digital media processor chips. The chip implements a full-duplex serial communications interface that enables the extension of an internal bus...
(interface for FPGAField-programmable gate arrayA field-programmable gate array is an integrated circuit designed to be configured by the customer or designer after manufacturing—hence "field-programmable"...
, Wireless LANLocal area networkA local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
, PCIPeripheral Component InterconnectConventional PCI is a computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer...
), EMAC (EthernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
MACMedia Access ControlThe media access control data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the medium access control, is a sublayer of the data link layer specified in the seven-layer OSI model , and in the four-layer TCP/IP model...
) with MDIOMDIOManagement Data Input/Output , or also Media Independent Interface Management , is a serial bus defined for the Ethernet family of IEEE 802.3 standards for Media Independent Interface, or MII.... - GPIOGPIOGeneral Purpose Input/Output is a generic pin on a chip whose behavior can be controlled through software....
- Enhanced DMADirect memory accessDirect memory access is a feature of modern computers that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory independently of the central processing unit ....
- InterruptInterruptIn computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....
controller - Digital LCDLiquid crystal displayA liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
controller - Serial interfaces, including SPISerial Peripheral Interface BusThe Serial Peripheral Interface Bus or SPI bus is a synchronous serial data link standard named by Motorola that operates in full duplex mode. Devices communicate in master/slave mode where the master device initiates the data frame. Multiple slave devices are allowed with individual slave select ...
, I²CI²CI²C is a multi-master serial single-ended computer bus invented by Philips that is used to attach low-speed peripherals to a motherboard, embedded system, cellphone, or other electronic device. Since the mid 1990s, several competitors I²C ("i-squared cee" or "i-two cee"; Inter-Integrated Circuit;...
, and I²SI²SI2S, also known as Inter-IC Sound, Integrated Interchip Sound, or IIS, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is most commonly used to carry PCM information between the CD transport and the DAC in a CD player...
, UARTUniversal asynchronous receiver/transmitterA universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter, abbreviated UART , is a type of "asynchronous receiver/transmitter", a piece of computer hardware that translates data between parallel and serial forms. UARTs are commonly used in conjunction with communication standards such as EIA RS-232, RS-422 or... - Histogram, autofocus, autoexposure, and auto-white-balance (H3A) acceleration
- Image resize acceleration
- A/DAnalog-to-digital converterAn analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...
and D/ADigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
converters for analog video input and output
Models
All these model numbers should, formally, be prefixed by TMS320; the prefix is usually omitted for brevity. So for example the full part number for the DM6446 begins with TMS320DM6446 and has a suffix indicating its packaging type (a BGA flavor) and temperature rating.Dual-core models have both ARM and DSP:
- DM6443 - ARM9ARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
+ TI C64x+ DSP + DaVinci Video (Decode) - Video Accelerator and Networking for display - DM6446 - ARM9ARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
+ TI C64x+ DSP + DaVinci Video (Encode and Decode) - Video Accelerator and Networking for capture and display - DM6467 - ARM9ARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
+ TI C64x+ DSP + DaVinci Video (Encode and Decode) - Video Accelerator and Networking for high def capture and display
There are DSP-only models:
- DM643x - TI C64x+ DSP
- DM64x - TI C64x+ DSP
There are ARM-only models:
- DM335 - a DM355 variant (pin compatible) without the MJCP
- DM355 - ARM9ARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
+ DaVinci Video (Encode and Decode) - MPEG4/JPEG coprocessor (MJCP) - DM357 - a DM6446 variant (pin-compatible) with the DSP replaced by a dedicated video coprocessor (HMJCP)
- DM365 - enhanced DM355, including addition of a high def second video coprocessor (HDVICP)
Libraries
- Most the TMS320 DSPs include a TMS320 Chip Support Library (CSL) which is an API used to control the peripherals. However, since the philosophy for the DaVinci was to allow the ARM/Linux side to control the peripherals via Linux drivers, support for the CSL on the DM644x (dual core ARM/DSP) is not currently available for the DSP.
Operating systems
The DSP included in many DaVinci-based devices generally runs TI's DSP/BIOSDSP/BIOS
SYS/BIOS is a real time operating system created and offered by Texas Instruments for use in a wide range of their embedded processors. SYS/BIOS is a component of TI’s Code Composer Studio integrated development environment....
RTOS. When multiple, heterogeneous cores are included in the device (e.g. DM644x), DSP/BIOS Link
DSP/BIOS Link
DSP/BIOS Link or DSPLINK is an IPC scheme for passing messages and data in multiprocessor systems. In the case of the DaVinci DSP family from Texas Instruments, this scheme would allow passing of messages and data between an ARM client and a DSP server...
drivers run on both the ARM processor and the DSP to provide communication between the two.
A number of operating systems for the DaVinci ARM and support DaVinci and the DSP/BIOS Link drivers:
- FreeBSDFreeBSDFreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
- MontavistaMontaVistaMontaVista Software is a software developer that develops embedded Linux system software, development tools, and related software. Its products are targeted at other corporations developing embedded systems such as automotive electronics, communications equipment, mobile phones, and other...
LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds... - Mentor GraphicsMentor GraphicsMentor Graphics, Inc is a US-based multinational corporation dealing in electronic design automation for electrical engineering and electronics, as of 2004, ranked third in the EDA industry it helped create...
Nucleus PLUS RTOS - Green Hills SoftwareGreen Hills SoftwareGreen Hills Software is a privately owned company that builds operating systems and development tools for embedded systems. The company was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg...
INTEGRITYIntegrity (operating system)INTEGRITY is a real-time operating system produced and marketed by Green Hills Software. It is royalty-free, POSIX-certified, and intended for use in embedded systems needing reliability, availability, and fault tolerance. It is built atop the velOSity microkernel and is intended mainly for modern...
RTOS - QNXQNXQNX is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market. The product was originally developed by Canadian company, QNX Software Systems, which was later acquired by Canadian BlackBerry-producer Research In Motion.-Description:As a microkernel-based...
Neutrino - Windows CEWindows CEMicrosoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...
- LEOs (RTOS)
- RidgeRun LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
- Ångström distributionÅngström distributionThe Ångström distribution is a Linux distribution for a variety of embedded devices. The distribution is the result of a unification of developers from the OpenZaurus, OpenEmbedded, and OpenSIMpad projects...
, Linux distribution for embedded devices - Ubuntu (Operating system)Ubuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...