Analog Devices' Blackfin Processor Recognized as Best-in-Class for Consumer Multimedia Applications.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers NORWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2004 EEMBC EEMBC EDN Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (Electronic Design News Magazine) Benchmarks Validate System Control and Signal Processing Prowess of New 750 MHz Blackfin Processor Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : ADI), a leader in semiconductors for signal processing applications, today announced benchmark scores for its Blackfin(R) Processor from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC), an independent organization dedicated to evaluating embedded processors. The Blackfin ADSP-BF533, operating at 750 MHz and delivering up to 1500 million multiply accumulate operations per second (MMACS MMACS Maintenance, Mechanical, Arm, and Crew Systems MMACS Million Multiply Accumulate Cycles per Second MMACS Michael Murdock & Associates Consulting Services (Burlingame, CA) ), received an out-of-the-box ConsumerMark(TM) score of 53.8, independently verified by the EEMBC Certification Labs. The Blackfin Processor's exceptional EEMBC benchmark scores validate its position as the highest-performance and most power-efficient embedded processor in its class for a range of applications requiring robust audio and video processing, such as digital cameras, portable media players, networked media adapters, data/media gateways, and Internet Protocol (IP) set-top boxes. "From the beginning, the Blackfin architecture was developed to merge the best signal processing platform with the best RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. engine," said John Croteau, General Manager, Media Platforms and Services Group, Analog Devices, Inc. "While it can certainly handle the most demanding signal processing loads, such as full-software encode and decode of D1 multimedia content, Blackfin also excels at microprocessor tasks. EEMBC benchmarks are among the most reliable and respected measures of processor capabilities in the industry and our high ConsumerMark scores directly translate into better end-use product performance, including higher quality digital images and video, as well as more efficient coding of compressed images." "Analog Devices' Blackfin ADSP-BF533 offers very high processing performance for a flexible, software-programmable processor at a low cost, which is a good fit for the requirements of consumer products," said Markus Levy, EEMBC president. "Based on its excellent performance in the ConsumerMark tests, Blackfin is poised to take advantage of the burgeoning digital electronics market." EEMBC Testing Process Analog Devices' Blackfin Processor was tested "out-of-the-box" -- meaning that the source code was not changed in any way to optimize the processor for the specific benchmark tasks. This further validates the media processing and system control capabilities built into the Blackfin architecture. The EEMBC ConsumerMark benchmark suite measures the expected performance of processors in consumer electronics and multimedia applications. Specific tests conducted on the 750 MHz Blackfin Processor include: Compress and Decompress JPEG JPEG in full Joint Photographic Experts Group Standard computer file format for storing graphic images in a compressed form for general use. JPEG images are compressed using a mathematical algorithm. to simulate still picture image coding; High Pass Grey-Scale Filter to simulate front-end processing of digital still cameras; RGB (Red Green Blue) The computer's native color space, which is the color system for capturing and displaying images. RGB was derived from our own perception of color because human eyes are sensitive to red, green and blue (see trichromaticity). to CYMK See CMYK. Conversion to simulate the performance of digital image processing Digital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. Digital image processing has the same advantages over analog image processing as digital signal processing has over analog signal processing — it allows a much wider in color printers and other digital imaging products; and RGB to YIQ The original color space used for encoding NTSC video in 1953, which was very similar to YUV. Only a small number of TV sets that decoded YIQ were ever manufactured, and it became obsolete. All NTSC encoding today is YUV. See YUV. Conversion to simulate digital video processing. In addition to the ConsumerMark scores, the ADSP-BF533 achieved excellent results in code density testing, further illustrating the benefits of the Blackfin instruction set architecture and its ability to efficiently compress multimedia algorithms. All tests were conducted using Analog Devices' VisualDSP++(R) compiler. Detailed EEMBC benchmark score reports for the Blackfin ADSP-BF533 Processor are available now at the EEMBC Web site at: http://www.eembc.org. Following is the direct link to the 750 MHz Blackfin ADSP-BF533 report: http://www.eembc.org/benchmark/score/ScoreReportWin.asp?BenchmarkSeq= 480&CertificationType=OUT. (Due to the length of this URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. , it may be necessary to copy and paste To copy files from one location to another or to copy text and images from one document to another. All modern operating systems and applications have a copy and paste capability that is typically selected from an Edit menu. See cut and paste and Win Copy between windows. this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.) About ADI's Blackfin Processor The Blackfin Processor is the first in a new class of embedded processors designed specifically to meet the computational demands and power constraints of today's embedded audio, video and communications applications. Based on the Micro Signal Architecture (MSA (Metropolitan Service Area) An urban area with at least 50,000 people plus surrounding counties. There are 306 MSAs and 428 RSAs (rural service areas) in the U.S. MSAs and RSAs are used to allocate cellular licenses. ) jointly developed with Intel Corporation, ADI's Blackfin Processor family combines a 32-bit RISC-like instruction set with 16-bit dual multiply accumulate (MAC) signal processing functionality and ease-of-use attributes found in general-purpose microcontrollers. Dynamic Power Management enables breakthrough power consumption by allowing the simultaneous adjustment of operating frequency and voltage under application control. Because they are code-compatible, all Blackfin Processors provide portability of design. In addition, Blackfin Processors are fully supported by ADI's integrated software development tool chain, the VisualDSP++(R) Integrated Development Environment See IDE. integrated development environment - interactive development environment (IDE), and by Green Hills' MULTI MULTI Multiple (R) IDE tool suite. Blackfin Processors are priced in the $5-$40 per-unit range in 10,000 unit quantities. For more information on Blackfin, please visit: http://www.analog.com/blackfin. About EEMBC EEMBC, the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium, develops and certifies real-world benchmarks and benchmark scores to help designers select the right embedded processors for their systems. Every processor submitted for EEMBC benchmarking can be tested for parameters representing different workloads and capabilities in communications, networking, consumer, office automation, automotive/industrial, embedded Java and microcontroller-related applications. With members including leading semiconductor, intellectual property and compiler companies, EEMBC establishes benchmark standards and provides certified benchmarking results through the EEMBC Certification Labs (ECL). About Analog Devices Analog Devices is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). applications. The company is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts and employs approximately 8,400 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Analog Devices' stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. and the company is included in the S&P 500 Index. Blackfin and VisualDSP++ are registered trademarks of Analog Devices, Inc. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners. |
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