Virtex-5 FPGA powers universal multi-channel processor

The folks at Xilinx say that their partners at Miranda Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of high-performance hardware/software for the television broadcast industry, have launched a new 3G/HD/SD universal audio/video processor that incorporates Xilinx Virtex-5 field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to lower system costs and accelerate time to market.

This announcement builds on the history of success between the two companies, which was integral to accelerating development of the new processor, the first from Miranda Technologies with triple rate data input/output capabilities. The processor features dual triple-rate serializer and deserializer functions for real-time audio and video processing with automatic frame accurate Aspect Ratio Conversion (ARC), enabled by the ultra high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities of the Virtex-5 SXT platform. The new offering is targeted for high-end broadcast and television applications with the Miranda Technologies Densité Series of signal processing and distribution products.

Programmable logic in broadcast
With a dedicated team focused on the broadcast market, Xilinx offers a range of silicon platforms, design software, reference designs and intellectual property (IP) cores that provide broadcast equipment designers with a cost-effective, comprehensive development environment.

The Xilinx silicon portfolio includes the DSP-optimized Virtex-5 SXT platform, which integrates triple-rate SDI (3G/SD/HD) capabilities with a single multi-gigabit transceiver. The high-speed serial design supports dynamic switching, without reconfiguring the FPGA, between standards for transmit or receive with automatic standard detection. As in the case of Miranda Technologies, with the ability to implement multiple channels in a single Virtex-5 SXT device, product developers save board real estate and reduce overall system costs.