Professional Video Camera
Professional digital video cameras capture analog video and audio content, convert the data from analog to digital, and output digital video streams in standard-definition (SD) or high-definition (HD) digital television (DTV) formats. The charge-coupled device (CCD) creates an analog representation of the original image and includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), providing a digital representation of the image for further processing. The digital audio and video are often compressed and sent separately from the camera. A programmable logic solution's flexibility allows any compression technique to be implemented, for example MPEG-2 or DV-50 for video, MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), or Dolby Digital for audio.
Figure 1 shows a typical Altera® programmable logic solution for a professional digital video camcorder. Wired and wireless cameras include similar function blocks; wired cameras do not implement recording circuitry, as the digital data is sent to separate recording equipment such as a videotape recorder (VTR) or video disk recorder (VDR).
Figure 1. Example of Altera Solution Usage for Professional Video Cameras
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Examples of Altera intellectual property (IP) from the IP MegaStoreTM used in video cameras include:
Feature-Rich Programmable Solutions for Professional Video Cameras
The feature-rich architectures of the Stratix® III and Stratix II GX FPGA families provide an excellent solution for developing digital video production and delivery equipment. The Stratix III architecture includes high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, up to 16 Mbits of embedded TriMatrix memory, up to 340K equivalent logic elements (LEs), and flexible I/O standards. The Stratix II GX and ArriaTM GX FPGA families have up to 20 full-duplex transceiver channels that can support HD serial digital interface (SDI) rates of 1.485 Gbps and 3G-SDI rates of 2.97 Gbps. Refer to the Using Stratix II GX in HDTV Video Production Applications (PDF) white paper for more information. The combined programmable logic and processor capabilities of Altera's embedded processors make them the right choice for implementing controllers in digital video cameras. The Nios® II family of embedded processors are configurable RISC processors implemented in programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as Stratix II, Stratix, Stratix II GX, Stratix GX, and Arria GX FPGAs.
Wireless Professional Video Cameras
Utilizing the latest wireless orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology, professional video cameras powered by Altera Stratix II devices are the ideal solution for live sports broadcasts. The powerful DSP features of Stratix II devices support fast Fourier transform (FFT) processing in an OFDM system. Cameras so equipped allow cameramen the mobility they need to capture the action—without the limitation of cables or saving to tape locally. Wireless broadcast-quality cameras give television broadcasters access to better action shots with fewer cameras—bringing the atmosphere of live-action right into the home.
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