Ultra low-power multimedia processor for mobile multimedia applications

This paper deals with a set of technologies that allowed to achieve one of the most power efficient devices running Multimedia applications in portable devices. We will demonstrate that, if proper system solutions, methodology and power conscious design and architectures are taken into account since the early phase of the design, the trade-off between performances and power can be successfully solved, achieving leading edge performances. An integrated approach, allowing full multimedia Audio and Video processing as well as a complex operating system to run on a single VLSI die, with power dissipation confined in few milliwatt, will be thoroughly described in this paper. Optimization starts from algorithm definition down to low level HW implementation, giving to the system designers the best trade-off in terms of performances and flexibility.