Production-Ready TI Ref Design will mean Digital Still Cameras for just $99

This combination will offer an exceptional increase in the core and advanced features to design digital cameras priced as low as $99. The new digital media processor based on DaVinci technology offers the optimal combination of video and imaging functionality for the low-end digital camera market,
providing up to 75 megapixels (MP) per second of hardwired performance.

In addition, a flexible software pipeline to enable original design manufacturers (ODMs) to easily and efficiently incorporate differentiating features that truly set them apart in such a competitive
consumer market. "ODMs require more than just high-quality silicon and software to bring
competitive products to consumers quickly," said Chris Chute, research manager, IDC. "With this latest release, TI once again proves its commitment to the entire digital camera market by encapsulating years of engineering effort into a reference design and expanding their reach to satisfy the needs of the low-cost camera market."
Up to 75 MP per second performance translates to lower latency when taking pictures and the ability to provide advanced image processing to significantly improve image quality, enabling consumers to capture the perfect shot every time. For example, shot-to-shot delay for a 6 MP image is significantly reduced from several seconds, down to less than 0.8 second, with full noise filtering, red-eye removal and other image enhancements active. In burst mode, consumers will also be able to
capture twelve 6 MP images in one second, bringing SLR performance to low-cost point-and-shoot DSCs.

ODMs now have the ability to bring new levels of product differentiation to the low-end digital still camera market. Building from a firm foundation of enhancements available from TI and its third parties - including noise filtering (high ISO 3200) for low-light environments, video image stabilization, instant red-eye removal, in-camera editing functions, panoramic stitching and print from video, to name a few - ODMs can easily add their own proprietary processing, such as advanced white balance or auto focus algorithms, to give their products a sharp competitive edge.

TI's low-cost camera reference design includes all the hardware and software required to bring a digital still camera to production, including the digital media processor, LCD, imager subsystem, power
subsystem, support for DDR1/DDR2 memory, 8-16 bit NAND Flash and a rich set of peripherals. The new media processor based on DaVinci technology consists of an ARM core plus imaging accelerators, offering a highly optimized solution for the low-cost DSC market. The cost-optimized reference design has been designed from a modular perspective, enabling ODMs to easily spin off multiple designs using the same base platform.

DaVinci reference software from TI includes enhanced post-processing algorithms such as video stabilization and noise filtering, integrated peripheral drivers, chip support libraries, video and audio codecs, image tuning tools, camera-specific algorithms, application programming interfaces (APIs), graphical user interface (GUI) development tools and a development framework. The new reference design is also backed by an expansive suite of development tools, system software, technical support and TI's systems expertise, and includes TI's MSP430 microcontroller (MCU), the industry's lowest power MCU, audio codecs and power management components. With TI's production-ready digital media software and development tools, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have the
tested and proven tools they need to focus on product differentiation instead of the development and debugging of components.