Tensilica is using Coding Technologies’ aacPlus codec for its Xtensa HiFi 2 Audio Engine and Diamond Standard 330HiFi core. Coding Technologies’ codec has been ported and performance-optimized for the Tensilica's products, allowing designers to quickly add high-performance audio functionality to their new chip designs.

Already standardized by MPEG, 3GPP and DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) as the codec for high quality content delivery, aacPlus v2 is AAC coupled with Coding Technologies’ SBR (Spectral Band Replication) and Parametric Stereo technologies. Both SBR and Parametric Stereo are backward and forward compatible methods to enhance the efficiency of any audio codec. By using a unique bandwidth extension technique, SBR enables audio codecs to deliver the same quality at half the bit rate. Efficiency is further enhanced with Parametric Stereo for low-bit-rate stereo signals. Using these techniques, aacPlus delivers streaming and downloadable 5.1 multi-channel audio at 128 Kbps, near CD-quality stereo at 32 Kbps, excellent quality stereo at 24 Kbps, and great quality for mixed content down to 16 Kbps and below, enabling new mobile and digital broadcast applications.

The aacPlus v2 codec is a full superset of aacPlus v1 (includes support for SBR) and AAC-LC. Codec packages are also available for Tensilica's HiFi2 Audio engine for aacPlus v1 and AAC-LC.

Coding Technologies provides audio compression for mobile, broadcasting and Internet. SBRTM (Spectral Band Replication) from Coding Technologies is a backward and forward compatible method to enhance the efficiency of any audio codec; putting the “PRO” in mp3PRO and the “plus” in aacPlus. Parametric Stereo from Coding Technologies and Philips again significantly increases the efficiency of audio codecs for stereo signals at low bit rates. Products from Coding Technologies are fundamental enablers of open standards such as MPEG, Digital Radio Mondiale, HD Radio, and the DVD Forum.

Coding Technologies is a privately held company with offices in Sweden, Germany, and Silicon Valley. Founded in 1997 in Stockholm, the company later merged with a spin-off at the renowned Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, the inventor of MP3. Coding Technologies’ customers include America Online, iBiquity Digital, mm02, Nokia, RealNetworks, SK Telecom, Thomson, Texas Instruments, Vodafone, and XM Satellite Radio. For more information, visit www.codingtechnologies.com.