ARM adds Dolby for STB

ARM and embedded media processing systems company, Ittiam, announced at IBC in Amsterdam the implementation of the Dolby MS10 Multistream Decoder on ARM Cortex-A Series of processors including optimization on NEON. This implementation includes Dolby Digital Plus (DD+), Dolby Digital (DD), Dolby Pulse decoder and Dolby Digital Encoder in a single package for next generation digital televisions (DTV) and set-top-boxes (STB).

As DTVs and STBs rapidly evolve into multipurpose digital media platforms for the home, there is an increased requirement for highly optimized platforms that can meet these demands, especially high performance audio. Such platforms enable consumers to receive and play content not only from traditional broadcast sources, but also from the Internet and other popular sources like portable storage and computers.

The companies claim that the combination of the ARM Cortex-A9 processor, leading audio standard from Dolby and the high level of software optimization from Ittiam have made this possible.

The processing bandwidth required for the decoding of a Dolby Digital stream at 48 kHz in 5.1 multi-channel mode is just 22 million cycles per second (MCPS) on the ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The bandwidth requirement for HE-AAC v2 (5.1) and DD+ decoders is lower than 50 MCPS each. For encoding, the average performance bandwidth required for the DD 5.1 encoder is less than 70 MCPS , making it very easy to perform both decode and encode on a readily available Cortex-A9 processor based platform.