Architecture and programming of two generations video signal processors

Programmable video signal processor ICs (VSPs) and dedicated programming tools have been developed for the real-time processing of digital video signals. A large number of applications have been developed with boards containing several of these processors. Currently two implementations of the general architecture exist: VSP1 and VSP2. A single VSP chip contains several arithmetic and logic elements (ALEs) and memory elements. A complete switch matrix implements the unconstrained communication between all elements in a single cycle. The programming of these processors is carried out with signal flow graphs. These signal flow graphs can conveniently express multi-rate algorithms. These algorithms are then mapped onto a network of processors. Mapping is decomposed into delay management, partitioning and scheduling. The solution strategies for the partitioning problem and the scheduling problem are illustrated. Applications with these processors have been made for a number of industrially relevant video algorithms, including the complete processing of next generation fully digital studio TV cameras and several image improvement algorithms in medical applications. Results of the mapping are presented for a number of algorithms in the field of TV processing.