T.I.’s DaVinci Debuts

T.I.’s DaVinci Debuts

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Texas Instruments introduced the new DaVinci-based digital camera processor at Photokina this week along with associated software and hardware products that will allow manufacturers to design and build brand new up-to-date digital cameras for the low end market. While the chip itself was announced at PMA earlier this year, this is the first digital camera initiative involving DaVinci. T.I. tells us the processor will allow digicam manufacturers to build low cost cameras with robust feature sets. The company feels these new cameras hold the potential to transform the $99-$199 price category into a vibrant entry point for mass market consumers. T.I. also claims the cameras carrying DaVinci will offer easy-to-use GUI interfaces to make the film-to-digital conversion an easy one for those consumers left that have been hesitant to make the switch or ultimately disappointed when they did.

Texas Instruments explained that they evaluated the challenges faced by Asian ODMs in the $99-$199 digital camera market and found that the typical consumer development cycle, “is pushing its way to the digital camera segment as well; pressure is high to decrease the cost of system level components while the expectation for improved performance increases year over year in this market.”

Despite the fact that cost is clearly the ultimate driving force in the $99-$199 target market, T.I. felt strongly they couldn’t afford to ignore performance. They designed the new DaVinci-based camera processor,“to be powerful enough to provide ODMs with the ability to migrate from low-end to mid-range, even up to the $299+ range of high-end cameras without totally redesigning their platforms,” they explain.

In an effort to facilitate migration, the company also decided to offer multiple versions of the processor that enable more advanced features and performance at various nodes. “The models are priced to maximize profit opportunities for the ODMs, while still providing them enough flexibility to customize their applications and features,” they said in a statement released at the show.

T.I. claims the new processor has enough horsepower to process images at up to 75MP per second, support ISO settings of up to 3200, implement image and video stabilization algorithms, connect to standard wireless LAN solutions, and, “still have headroom to handle advanced features that you find on cameras today including red eye removal, panoramic stitching, and more.”

It addition to providing the digital “engine” to power low cost cameras, T.I. is also offering a complete turnkey reference design, including all the necessary hardware and software. T.I. claims this will enable ODMs to bring a camera from concept to final production in less than six months.

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