Tensilica Adds to Xtensa HiFi 2 Audio

“As consumers’ home entertainment quality expectations have increased with the broadening adoption of HDTV, they’ve become more interested in watching HD video and want to employ Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, an industry standard for many consumer electronic devices, for the best audio experience,” stated Larry Przywara, Tensilica’s director of mobile multimedia. “Manufacturers are responding to this demand, offering feature-rich capabilities in high-definition Blu-Ray Disc and HD DVD products and portable consumer video recording equipment. These encoders will let these manufacturers quickly design in additional capabilities to meet market demand.”

Tensilica’s highly efficient Dolby Digital 5.1-channel encoders are optimized for low power operation, requiring just 60 MHz to encode at 48 kHz, 640 kbps. This reduces the overall power demands of the audio SOC resulting in lower cooling costs through less expensive packaging, heatsinking and elimination of noisy fans.

“Hardware designers can bypass lengthy design and verification cycles by choosing Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio Engine and Tensilica’s Dolby Digital 5.1-channel encoders,” said Craig Eggers, Senior Partner Marketing Manager, Dolby Laboratories. “This important addition to Tensilica’s portfolio of audio codecs will help speed the creation of new surround-sound products.”