Nuvation Introduces the Multichannel Video Front End Reference Design for Design-Acceleration of Video Security Encoder Products

Based on Texas Instruments' DaVinci(TM) Technology and Xilinx Spartan-3A Low-Cost FPGAs.

ATLANTA -- Sept. 15, 2008 -- At the ASIS International trade show today, Nuvation, a leading Electronics Design Services firm, introduces the Multichannel Video Front End (McVFE) reference design for accelerating new product development of video security multi-channel encoders. Nuvation's McVFE reference design is based on Texas Instruments' (TI) DaVinci(TM) technology and TVP quad-channel video decoder with complementary FPGA technology provided by Xilinx's Spartan 3A FPGA technology. McVFE is being demonstrated in the TI area inside the ObjectVideo Showcase, booth #3235.

Engineering evaluation units are available for purchase and the reference design source files can be licensed, free of charge, from Nuvation. Nuvation also offers design consulting, project-based, and China Offshore Development Center (CODC) electronic design services.

Nuvation's new McVFE reference design is geared for video security original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that need to aggregate multiple CCTV video streams for encoding in TI digital media processors based on DaVinci technology. The McVFE reference design supports 4, 8, or 16 analog video channel inputs from CIF to NTSC/PAL resolution. The video channels can be scaled through the McVFE's four TI TVP5154A quad-channel low power video decoders. The video streams are time-multiplexed in line, field, or frame mode in a Xilinx Spartan-3A FPGA. The video is streamed over BT-1120 from the McVFE board to a TMS320DM6467 digital video evaluation module (DVEVM) via a special adapter card and cable kit also available from Nuvation. Drivers based on TI's DaVinci technology are included with McVFE to receive the BT-1120 input and tile the streamed video to a 1080i component display.

The DM6467 processor, based on DaVinci technology, integrates a high-definition (HD)-capable TMS320C64x+(TM) digital signal processor (DSP) core, an HD multi format encode and decode coprocessor, an ARM926E microprocessor, PCI, USB 2.0, DDR2, and 10/100/1000 Ethernet MAC. Digital media processors based on DaVinci technology enable a wide range of programming options including audio/video encoding, transcoding, multi-stream, video transmission, video analytics, and custom imaging algorithm implementations.

"We are extremely impressed with the price-performance of Xilinx's Spartan 3A combined with TI's DaVinci and TVP decoder technology," said Chris Hallahan, Nuvation's VP of sales and marketing. "The video security market is undergoing rapid change and is always seeking greater time-to-market acceleration. Leveraging the McVFE reference design, we can shorten new product development cycles by 6 months or more."

Reference design source files can be licensed by OEMs for their in-house engineering departments to gain a head-start on product development. The McVFE reference design source files include board schematics and bill of material, PCB layout database and Gerber files, Verilog FPGA code, embedded Linux multichannel drivers for the DM6467 DVEVM, and a quick start guide. There is no fee for the basic licensing package. TI's digital media software, such as H.264-HD and multichannel encode/decode are available, can be licensed separately from Nuvation. Licensees will also receive special pricing from Xilinx for the Spartan 3A.

"Xilinx' Spartan-3A devices, combined with TI DaVinci and TI decoder processors, represents the optimal FPGA+DSP co-processing solution for video security encoder applications," commented Mark Jensen, Xilinx Senior Manager, Industrial, Scientific and Medical Business Development. "Nuvation's McVFE demonstrates this point and is a powerful enabler for our global OEMs' encoder product developments."

Engineering evaluation units are available for purchase now from Nuvation's website. Nuvation also offers design-support packages and custom product development services for OEMs that need additional engineering bandwidth or specialized skills.

"We have been extremely impressed with Nuvation's design capabilities and methodology," added Danny Petkevich, Video Surveillance and Digital Imaging business manager, TI. "This is one of the first production releases utilizing our most recent digital media processor based on DaVinci technology. Nuvation brought together system architecture, mixed-signal board design, FPGA logic development, embedded Linux driver development, DSP coding, and turnkey product realization services in a truly seamless fashion. Nuvation is a great design service partner and I encourage our OEMs to leverage Nuvation's design services capabilities to bring their ideas into fruition."

Nuvation's McVFE is available for license at http://www.nuvation.com. Pricing is $795 for the McVFE Engineering Evaluation Unit plus $249 for the cable kit. Information is available at http://www.nuvation.com/ip/eol/multichannel-video-front-end-mcvfe-dm6467. The TMS320DM6467 DVEVM is $1,995 and available for purchase at http://www.ti.com. For more information, contact sales@nuvation.com.

About Nuvation

Nuvation is a leading Engineering Design Services (EDS) firm that helps companies accelerate electronic product development roadmaps. Established since 1997, Nuvation's design centers in San Jose, CA, USA; Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and Shanghai, China are recognized for breadth and depth of talent, execution culture, and predictable, repeatable design methodologies. Nuvation's clients include industry leaders in Communications, Broadcast Video, Medical Devices, Defense/Security, Green Power, Consumer Electronics, Video Security, Test & Measurement, and Semiconductor markets. More information is available at http://www.nuvation.com

About the Texas Instruments Developer Network

Nuvation is a member of the TI Developer Network, a community of respected, well-established companies offering products and services based on TI analog and digital technology. The Network provides a broad range of end-equipment solutions, embedded software, engineering services and development tools that help customers accelerate innovation to make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun.