Contents

• Features
• Benefits
• Audio Codec Support
• Description
• Frequency, area and power specs
• Block diagram

Features

• Based on standard 32-bit RISC architecture with integrated 24-bit audio processing instructions including Variable Length Decode (VLD)
• Dual-issue VLIW DSP with 24-bit data path and instructions customized for audio codecs
• Industry-leading low-power consumption coupled with high-fidelity 24-bit audio
• Popular digital audio software pre-ported (MP-3, AAC, WMA, AC-3, MIDI)
• Modeless switching between 16-, 24-, and 64-bit dual-issue instructions
• Dual MACs can operate as 32X16-bit/24X24-bit
• 4 Kbyte Instruction and 8 Kbyte data 2-way set associative caches, programmable write-through or write-back
• 32-bit input/output FIFO interfaces
• 64/32-bit system interface with AHB-lite bridge

Benefits

• High quality (24-bit) audio DSP supporting the widest range of audio codecs
• Fast TTM for applications requiring digital audio support
• Ultra-low power consumption increases battery life in portable applications
• Single audio engine supports many codecs, reduces hardware overhead compared to separate hard-wired hardware blocks for each codec
• Programmable engine can support new future codec implementations
• Audio engine has performance headroom to perform functions other than digital audio processing

Audio Codec Support

The following audio packages are part of the Xtensa HiFi 2 Audio and Diamond 330HiFi solution:

• Xtensa HiFi 2 AM3D
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital AC-3 Decoder, 5.1 channel
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital AC-3 Consumer Encoder 2, 5.1 ch
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital Compatible Output Encoder, 5.1 ch
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 ch Decoder/Converter
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 ch Decoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Dolby Digital TrueHD Decoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 DTS
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MP3 Decoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MP3 Encoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-4 aacPlus v2 Decoder,2, 7.1 ch
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-4 aacPlus v2 Encoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-4 aacPlus v1 Decoder 2, 7.1 ch
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-4 aacPlus v1 Encoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-2/4 AAC LC Decoder 2, 7.1 ch
• Xtensa HiFi 2 MPEG-4 AAC LC Encoder
• MPEG-4 BSAC Encoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 Ogg Vorbis Decoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 QSound MicroQ
• Xtensa HiFi 2 SONiVOX Sound that Rocks (see Success Story)
• Xtensa HiFi 2 SRS WOW XT, Xspace 3D and TruSound HD
• Xtensa HiFi 2 WMA Decoder
• Xtensa HiFi 2 WMA Encoder

The following voice packages are available for the HiFi 2 Audio and Diamond 330HiFi Engine:

• Xtensa HiFi 2 AMR Narrowband Speech Codec
• Xtensa HiFi 2 AMR Wideband Speech Codec
• Xtensa HiFi 2 G.729AB Speech Codec

Because the Xtensa HiFi 2 Audio Engine is programmable, multiple standards can run on the same hardware, allowing the same device to play or record digital audio in different standards.

Turnkey 24-bit Audio for SOC Designs

The Diamond 330HiFi core is optimized for digital audio processing. All popular audio codecs have been pre-ported to the Diamond 330HiFi core, which makes it a “drop-in” block for any SOC application requiring high quality, 24-bit audio capability. The alternatives to the Diamond 330HiFi include running codecs on a standard RISC core, or designing custom hardware to the specification of the codec itself. A standard RISC core is the most flexible and provides the best TTM, but it consumes the most power of the alternatives. Conversely, the custom hardware approach would consume the least power, but is very inflexible and will incur a long design cycle. The Diamond 330HiFi core is the best compromise, since the performance level approaches the hard-wired codec, while keeping the flexibility and post-silicon programmability of a standard RISC core.

Specialized audio instructions designed into the Diamond 330HiFi by Tensilica increase code density (reducing memory requirements) and reduce Mhz requirements (lowering power). Techniques used to define these custom instructions include Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD - parallelization), VLIW (multiple operations per cycle), and flexible data path widths (optimum data widths to reduce power). All of these advanced processor techniques are pre-built into the Diamond 330HiFi hardware, and the codecs supplied by Tensilica utilize this hardware to produce the most efficient programmable audio engine available for licensing.

Get the 2-page Diamond Standard 330HiFi product brief.

Get the HiFi 2 Audio Engine product brief for information on all of the codecs available.

Frequency, Area and Power Specs

All EDA numbers are for Sage-X libraries. Frequency and power are at worst corner. All area, power, and frequency numbers are representative only, and subject to variation based on each user's chosen process technology, cell library, and design tools. See white paper: Processor Core Power Specs: A Cautionary Tale. Includes VLD (variable length decode).

Block Diagram of the Diamond Standard Series 330HiFi

Check out our Diamond FREE software evaluation.