A Highly Integrated Decoder For The Set Top Box

Abstract

A highly integrated set top box decoder has been designed to meet the challenge of reducing cost while increasing functionality. This decoder is intended to be the heart of the DSS set top box. It incorporates a 32bit ARM CPU, a transport demultiplexer, a MPEG-2 video decoder, a MPEG-1 audio decoder, an NTSC/PAL encoder, an on screen display (OSD) controller to mix graphics and video, a host of U0 interfaces, and an extension bus to connect to other peripherals. This paper analyzes the integration of major functions and the consolidation of separate memories into a single 16 Mbits SDRAM.