TI DaVinci DM365 Cuts the Cost of Video Compression

Over the last two years, Texas Instruments has rolled out a series of DaVinci Digital Media System on Chip (DMSoC) processors that offer strong video processing performance at low cost. The new DM365, announced in March, takes the series to the next level, boasting 1080p encode capabilities and offering a vast array of configurable audio/video codecs.

Despite the DM365's high performance, its power requirements are only ~500mW (Nuvation measured 479mW on a pre-beta H.264 encoder at 30fps), allowing it to be used in consumer electronics and other products such as video surveillance cameras. The DM365 also keeps costs down. Although the chip itself is more expensive than some of its DM35x predecessors, the DM365 integrates several new peripherals that can cut system costs by up to about 25%. The DM365 also outperforms its predecessors with the exception of the DM646x.

The DM365 maintains compatible software environments with the rest of the DaVinci family, making it easy to migrate to the new device. The DM365 can also be used as a lower-cost/lower power replacement for the DM6446 in cases where straight video encoding or decoding is being done. The DM365 and DM6446 use different hardware configurations (see Table 1), but both chips use the DaVinci codec APIs, ensuring code portability between the two processors.

Table 1 shows how the DM365 fits into the DaVinci lineup. In many respects, the DM365 fills the gap between the low-end DM35x processors and the high-end DM64x processors, offering high performance at a relatively low cost point.

	ARM9	DSP	Video Codecs	Encode Performance	Starting Price (100u)
DM335	270 MHz	None	None	N/A	$10
DM355	270 MHz	Hard coded	MPEG4, MJPEG	MPEG4 SP: 720p, 30fps	$14
DM357	270 MHz	none	H.264 BP, MPEG4, MJPEG	H.264 BP: D1, 30fps	$20
DM365	300 MHz	Hard coded	H.264, VC1, MPEG2/4, MJPEG	H.264 BP: 1080p, 12fps*	$38
DM6446	300 MHz	600 MHz C64x+	H.264 BP/MP, VC1, MPEG2/4, MJPEG	H.264 BP: D1, 30fps	$40
DM6467	365 MHz	730 MHz C64x+	H.264 BP/MP, VC1, MPEG2/4, MJPEG	H.264 HP@L4: 1080p, 30fps	$75

*The DM365 also supports 1080p MPEG4 encoding at 24 fps, and 30 fps encoding at lower resolutions.
Table 1. A sampling of DaVinci processors.

Figure 1 highlights the new features in the DM365. Perhaps the most notable new feature is the H.264 HD capability. Until now your options were to use the DM355, which is low power/low cost but lacks H.264 support, or go with DM6467, which supports HD H.264 but has significantly higher power and BOM price.

Also notable is the Image Signal Processor (ISP) coprocessor which provides intelligent video processing functions such as face detection, noise filtering, video stabilization, and edge enhancement. In addition to enabling advanced processing, the ISP helps lower system costs by allowing the use of inexpensive optics.


Figure 1. The DM365. Items in yellow are new compared to the DM355

Nuvation was chosen by TI to be an Early Adopter on the DM365. As such, we have had the special privilege of working with TI to facilitate rapid time-to-market for customers globally on this new platform. The DM365 is available now in Nuvation reference designs including the IPCam PoE-WDR DM365 surveillance camera reference design. Nuvation’s IVS DM365 video encoder/decoder reference design is coming soon. For more information, contact sales@nuvation.com.