CEVA MM2000 Multimedia Solution Powers Solomon Systech MagusCore High Performance Portable Multimedia Processor

MagusCore SSD1933 dual-core multimedia processor leverages MM2000 to deliver superior multimedia performance at ultra-low power consumption for portable devices

TAIPEI, Taiwan — IIC Taiwan — CEVA, Inc. [Nasdaq: CEVA; LSE: CVA], a leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores, today announced that Solomon Systech Limited has licensed and deployed the fully programmable MM2000 portable multimedia solution for their MagusCore™ multimedia processor platform family. Solomon recently introduced the first processor platform based on the MagusCore™ dual-core ARM® + CEVA DSP architecture, the SSD1933 multimedia processor.

Targeting applications such as mobile digital TV (MDTV), portable media players (PMP), personal navigation devices (PND), smart mobile phones and mobile internet devices (MID), the dual-core distributed architecture of SSD1933 leverages the power-efficient CEVA-X DSP core at the heart of MM2000 to handle all multimedia-related tasks including multi-standard video and audio, and recorder functions. MM2000 delivers complete flexibility and superior performance for multimedia acceleration as compared to the traditional architecture approach of using a CPU combined with hardware multimedia accelerators.

By utilizing MM2000, the SSD1933 is capable of encoding and decoding video in multiple standards, including H.264 standard up to D1 (720×576) resolution at 30fps. Combined with the MPEG-2 Transport Stream Interface (TSI), the SSD1933 offers the ideal solution for multi-standard mobile digital TV. The fully programmable architecture of MM2000 allows SSD1933 to support a wide range of video formats including H.264, MPEG-4, WMV/VC-1, RMVB and H.263 up to D1 resolution to provide a rich multimedia entertainment experience.

“Deploying CEVA’s MM2000 multi-standard and fully programmable multimedia solution in our dual-core distributed MagusCore™ SSD1933 processor platform has given us great flexibility and the capability to differentiate each end product design,” said Jose Lau, VP, Marketing of Solomon Systech. “The ability to encode and decode video and audio on a single DSP engine supporting multiple multimedia codec standards in software enables our MagusCore™ processor platform to reduce design costs while addressing a wide range of end markets. Utilizing a DSP for these functions offloads the CPU from all multimedia-related tasks guaranteeing optimal performance, which are deemed critical success factors for such products.”

“Solomon Systech is a recognized market leader in ICs for a range of portable applications and we are pleased to partner with them as they diversify into the portable multimedia processor arena with their MagusCore™ processor platform family,” said Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA. “Their wealth of industry knowledge and understanding of what is required to develop a successful chip for handheld applications is a strong endorsement of our “all-in-software” multimedia solution.”

The CEVA MM2000™ portable multimedia solution is designed around a single CEVA-X DSP core without requiring any accelerators or dedicated engines for video and audio processing, and is supported by an advanced set of development tools. These two factors dramatically simplify the application development process and minimize development time for multimedia products. In addition, the general-purpose open CEVA-X DSP at the heart of the MM2000 enables designers to integrate extra functionality in addition to video on the same solution. For example, audio, voice, Bluetooth, GPS, image enhancement, cellular baseband functionality or any proprietary algorithms that require signal processing capabilities can utilize the DSP core engine, thereby reducing costs and increasing differentiation for video-enabled products.