A low cost application specific video codec for consumer videophone

We developed an application specific video codec IC, called SAM. It works with AT&T´s DSP1616 processor for performing all the digital video processing functions required by the videophone. Our implementation demonstrates that this approach provides a very cost-effective solution. SAM integrates a wide range of functions including video preprocessing on incoming pixels from the camera, motion estimation and compensation, reconstruction of video frames from compressed data, video post-processing, inserting picture-in-picture, graphics overlay, DRAM controller, and a host interface. The chip, fabricated using AT&T´s 0.9 μm double-level metal CMOS process, has been successfully tested in a prototype system. In this paper we first present the algorithm and system requirements followed by a description of the ASIC´s architecture