Dec 12 2007
Xilinx Inc., today announced that its Virtex(TM)-4 SX field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) chipsets have been approved for Dolby Laboratories, Inc.'s recent high dynamic range (HDR) innovations. Dolby joins a growing number of industry leaders leveraging the Xilinx high-performance XtremeDSP(TM) solutions to introduce innovative technologies.
"The Xilinx FPGA chipset enables the timely implementation of Dolby's complex high dynamic range algorithms for next generation LCD televisions with LED backlighting technology," said Guido Voltolina, director, Image Technology, Dolby Laboratories. "Working with Xilinx, Dolby now brings manufacturers one step closer to integrating our HDR technologies into LED-backlit LCD televisions."
"The inherent ability of FPGAs to implement highly parallel architectures enables astounding DSP performance -- up to two orders of magnitude higher than discrete DSP processors. Forward-thinking developers such as Dolby are leveraging the capabilities of our high-performance XtremeDSP solutions to deliver their innovative technology solutions efficiently and effectively," said Tim Erjavec, director of Embedded & DSP marketing at Xilinx.
Display technology preferences vary across geographies and end markets. By combining the flexibility of a programmable architecture with high-performance DSP capabilities, high-definition display developers can create tailored solutions based on the specific needs of each end customer or partner. At speeds of 500 MHz, Xilinx Virtex-4 SX DSP slices deliver an aggregate DSP bandwidth of 256 GigaMACs/second, while consuming a mere 57 micronW/MHz.
Dolby's HDR technologies provide improved contrast ratio and image quality by leveraging light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with local dimming. In addition it adds advanced high dynamic range capabilities to LED-backlit units, increasing both the brightness and contrast of an LCD display. Dolby HDR technologies offer a picture quality that virtually matches real-world perception of depth, detail and color, surpassing the picture quality of conventional LCD displays.