Blu-ray players and recorders play back decompressed and record compressed high-quality digital video and audio. High-end Blu-ray player/recorder systems also include advanced audio and video processing capabilities for recording digital TV signals. When a Blu-ray player/recorder system includes a CD-RW drive, an integrated drive electronics (IDE) conversion is needed to interface with the video bus. The actual interface to the Blu-ray drive is the AT attachment package interface (ATAPI). ATAPI provides the additional commands needed for controlling a CD-ROM or Blu-ray player so that your computer can use the IDE interface and controllers to control these types of devices. The microcontroller of a Blu-ray player/recorder performs a number of system functions, including control panel management and post video/audio processing. Figure 1 shows an example Blu-ray player/recorder system using Altera® devices.
Figure 1. Example of an Altera PLD Solution for Blu-Ray Player/Recorder Systems
Low-Cost Programmable Solutions for Blu-Ray Player/Recorder Systems
Altera’s low-cost Cyclone® III and MAX® II, and MAX 3000A devices provide cost-effective programmable solutions for audio and video processing, making these devices ideal for digital video applications. Cyclone series FPGAs and MAX series CPLDs also contain system functions that complement available ASSPs, such as on-screen display (OSD) and timing display.
Cyclone III FPGAs are built on a 65-nm, low-power process technology. The Cyclone III family is comprised of eight devices ranging from 5K to 120K logic elements (LEs) and up to 534 user I/O pins. Cyclone III FPGAs offer up to 4 Mbits of embedded memory, 288 embedded 18x18 multipliers, dedicated external memory interface circuitry, and phase-locked loops (PLLs) making them ideal for high-end video and image processing functions. Cyclone III FPGAs and their solutions offer digital video designers unparalleled capability at extremely affordable pricing.
Altera’s MAX devices are the industry’s most successful and widely used CPLD solutions. MAX 3000A devices are optimized for high-volume, cost-sensitive applications. Altera’s latest CPLDs, MAX II devices, are designed for low cost and low power applications. The non-volatile and low-cost features of the MAX 3000A and MAX II devices make them ideal for Blu-ray player/recorder functions such as address decoding, system timing, and system bug fixes.
