A

A/D
Acronym for analog/digital.

ASIC
Acronym for application-specific integrated circuit.

Audio breakout cable
A cable provided by Precision Digital Images Corporation as part of the MVP Development Kit. The cable connects the development board to audio input and output peripherals. It contains standard RCA jacks for stereo line-out, line-in, and auxiliary-in.

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B

BGA
Acronym for Ball Grid Array. Type of integrated circuit package. The TMS320C82 DSP from Texas Instruments is an example of a BGA Package.

BOPS
Acronym for Billions of Operations Per Second.

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C

cached architecture
A computer system structure or subsystem that uses memory to preload and retain information from a disk.

CD
Acronym for Carrier Detect, a signal sent from a modem to the attached computer to indicate that the modem is on-line. Also an acronym for Compact Disc.

CCD
Acronym for Charge-Coupled Device.

CCITT H.261
Video compression standards for video conferencing.

CISC architecture
Uses a complex instruction set computer (CISC) processor.

clock frequency
The frequency or rate at which a clock in a computer or other electronic device generates timing signals. Usually measured in hertz (Hz), kilohertz (kHz), or megahertz (MHz). For instance, computers that use a 80486 processor may operate at 25, 33, 40, 50, or 66 MHz.

CODEC
An abbreviation for compression, decompression.

COFF
A common object file format. The file format used by MVP for compiler and linker output files. A COFF file is organized into different sections when the compiler and linker generate the output file.

composite video display
A display that receives all encoded video information in one signal. The encoded video information can include color, horizontal synchronization, vertical synchronization, or other information. A composite video signal is normally requiredby the NTSC for televisions and video tape recorders.

convolution
Spatial filtering based on a weighted sum of neighboring pixels.

coprocessor
A processor that is distinct and separate from the main processor in that it performs additional functions or assists the main processor. For instance, the Multimedia Video Processor (MVP) is a digital signal processor (DSP) that performs computer-intensive video, audio, and image processing functions that would otherwise need to be handled by the ost processor.

CRT
Acronym for Cathode Ray Tube.

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D

D/A
Acronym for Digital/Analog.

DCT
Acronym for discrete cosine transform.

debugger
Software program that allows the internal states of a processor and processor memory to be observed. Used during software development to trace and find errors. The Texas Instruments and White Mountain DSP (Vista-MP) C Source Debuggers for the TMS320C80 DSP runs TI's TMS320C80 SDB and PDI's Precision MX over the PCI bus interconnect.

decoder
A program or device used to convert data back into its original form, or a type of circuit that produces one or more selected output signals based on the combination of input signals it receives.

density (gate-arrays)
Number of gates available for a given die and process.

digital signal processor
A processor used for high speed data manipulations of audio, video, graphical, or image information.

DIN
Acronym for Deutsch Industrie Norm. Also see mini DIN.

DIP
Acronym for Dual In-line Package. Type of integrated circuit package.

display driver
A software program that allows the computer to interact with a monitor. The display driver acts as an interface between the computer and the graphical display device(s). It also regulates and controls the device.

DPRAM
Acronym for Dual-port Random Access Memory.

DRAM
Acronym for Dynamic Random Access Memory.

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E

emulator
Hardware that allows the actual on-board processor registers to be accessed. Used during software development. The TMS320C80 emulators from Texas Instruments and White Mountain DSP are examples.

Emulator Header Cable
A cable provided by Texas Instruments as part of the TI Software Development Tools. The cable connects the emulator header (P8) on the development board to the emulator box provided by Texas Instruments.

Emulator Header (P8)
The development board connector used with the Emulator Header Cable to join with the emulator box provided by Texas Instruments as part of the TI Software Development Tools.

endian
Ordering of bits and bytes in a data word. Big endian and little endian are common data formats.

EPLD
Acronym for Enhanced Programmable Logic Device.

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F

FIFO
Acronym for First-In First-Out memory.

FFT
Acronym for Fast Fourier Transform.

fibre channel
An ANSI standard which defines a high-bandwidth connection for networks and mass storage communication. The physical connection is intended to be over fibre optics, but coax and twist-pair are options for short-distance connections.

fourier transform
A mathematical function which when applied to a dataset generates a new dataset that identifies the frequencies contained in the data.

FPGA
Acronym for Field Programmable Gate Array.

frame buffer
The portion of memory that holds the contents of a single screen image.

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G

Graphics Output Monitor Cable
The cable provided by a monitor manufacturer that is used to connect the development board to the monitor.

GSP
Acronym for Graphics Signal Processing.

gspshell commands
Included as part of the MVP Development Kit software, these commands provide a command-line user interface that allows the user to read and write to any memory location on the development board as well as load and execute MVP programs.

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H

H.320
ITU recommendation for "Line Transmission of Non-Telephone Signals: Narrow Band-Visual Telephone Systems and Terminal Equipment." Videoconferencing over digital telephone lines.

histogram
In image processing, a representation of a frequency distribution of gray levels by means of rectangles whose widths represent class intervals and whose heights represent a corresponding number of pixels for a given gray level.

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I

ISDN
Acronym for integrated services digital network.

ITU
International Telecommunication Union.

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J

JPEG
Acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It specifies a standard for encoding, compressing, and decoding still images.

JTAG
Acronym for Joint Test Action Group. Defined IEEE-1149.1 boundary scan specification.

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K

kernel
The core portion of the operating system that manages memory, files, and peripheral devices. It also starts applications, allocates resources, and maintains time and date.

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L

lossless compression
A compression method in which the reconstructed data is identical to the original source.

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M

median filter
A method of compensating for speckle noise where the pixel of interest is replaced with the median value of a N X N window of neighboring pixels.

memory map
The mapping of memory addresses of one type to another. In computer systems using the MVP Development Board, devices are mapped to the host computer's address space, the MVP's address space, or both. The Gsp5 driver translates the host and MVP physical address space into a logical address space. The device driver translates the physical address space to a virtual address space.

MFLOPS
Acronym for Millions of Floating Point Operations Per Second. Refers only to floating point operations such as multiplication or addition. Relevant only if the algorithm running on the CPU requires floating point accuracy.

MIMD architecture
Acronym for Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data architecture. Refers to a parallel architecture or use of a parallel architecture where each processor executes a separate set of instructions, and where each processor operates on a separate set of data.

mini DIN connector
A connector using multiple pins according to the German national standard organization (Deutsch Industrie Norm - DIN). Two 8-pin mini DIN connectors are used on the development board to connect input/output peripherals.

MIPS
Acronym for Millions of Instructions Per Second. Used as a measure on which to compare performance. Example: "CPU X is rated at 100 MIPS and CPU Y is rated at 500 MIPS." Refers to full-instruction execution such as C = A + B.

MOPS
Acronym for Millions of Operations Per Second. Refers to any operation so that C = A + B involves 1) 2 load operations, 2) an addition operation (A + B), and 3) store operation.

motherboard
The main circuit board that contains the processor, main memory, circuitry, bus controller, connectors, and primary components of the computer. The MVP board is connected to the motherboard via the VESA local bus. Depending upon the computer system design and capabilities, daughter boards, expansion boards, input/output boards, other boards, or additional memory may also be connected to the motherboard using the bus controller.

MPC
Acronym for Memory and Peripheral Controller.

MPEG
Acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group. Specifies a standard for compressing, encoding, and decoding motion video and audio.

multi-sync monitor
A monitor that adjusts itself to the horizontal and vertical synchronization rate of the video signal. A multi-sync monitor can be used with a variety of video adapters.

Multimedia Video Processor (MVP)
Refers to the digital signal processor (DSP) created by Texas Instruments and used as the primary component (processor ÒchipÓ) of the development board.

MVP Development Board
The board that is shipped with the MVP Development Kit and is installed in your computer.

MVP Development Kit
Refers to the development board, peripheral cables, floppy diskettes, tape, documentation, registration card, and any other material sent to you by Precision Digital Images Corporation as a "kit" during the delivery of the MVP Development Board.

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P

PAL
Acronym for Phase Alternation Line. A European deviation of the standard U.S. television NTSC signal. Also, an acronym for Programmable Array Logic.

PCA
Acronym for printed circuit assembly.

PCM
Acronym for pulse code modulation. A method of sampling an analog signal.

peripheral
Device connected outside the core architecture of a processor. Examples include printers, disk drives and displays.

peripheral cable
Refers to a cable that is used to connect a peripheral to the development board. Peripheral cables include VGA Pass-through Cable, Graphics Output Monitor Cable, S-VHS to RCA Adapter Cable, Audio Breakout Cable and Emulator Header Cable.

PGA
Acronym for Pin Grid Array. Type of integrated circuit pacakge. The TMS320C80 DSP from Texas Instruments is an example of a PGA Package.

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R

RAMDAC
Acronym for Random Access Memory Digital Analog Converter.

register
A small area of high speed memory, located within a processor or electronic device, that is used for temporarily storing data or instructions. Each register is given a name, contains a few bytes of information, and is referenced by programs.

registry editor
Part of the Windows NT operating system. It is used to register device drivers. Drivers must be registered to run in kernel space.

RGB video display
A color monitor that receives its signal for red-green-blue (RGB) over separate lines. An RGB monitor usually provides clearer and more vivid images than those viewed on a composite video display.

RISC
Acronym for reduced instruction set computing.

RISC processor
A processor that uses a pipedlined architecture. New processor instructions are searched for and obtained while a current instruction is being executed.

RMA
Acronym for return merchandise authorization number.

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S

SAM
Acronym for serial access memory.

2nd order warping
The application of a 2nd order polynomial to an image in order to change the apparent x, y coordinates. Typically used when aligning images or to compensate for geometric distortion.

SRAM
Acronym for Static Random Access Memory. Retains data without refresh as long as power is applied.

SRT
Acronym for Split Register Transfer.

S-VHS
Acronym for super VHS (Vertical Helical Scan). Similar to the VHS video recording standard except that the chrominance and luminance data are treated as components that provides higher quality video.

S-VHS to RCA Adapter Cable
A cable provided by Precision Digital Images Corporation that is used to connect a video source to the development board.

sampling rate
The number of discrete (physical) samples of a continuous signal (such as sound or video) taken over a given period of time. The digitized result obtained matches the actual source of the sample when more samples are taken over the same period of time.

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T

TMS320C80
High-performance DSP from Texas Instruments comprised of four advanced parallel processors managed by a 32-bit RISC processor. The Precision MX Video Engine from Precision Digital Images harnesses its real-time computing power from the TMS320C80 DSP, which can achieve more than two billion operations per second.

TMS320C82
High-performance DSP from Texas Instruments comprised of two advanced parallel processors managed by a 32-bit RISC processor. The 'C82 PCI Card (development board included in the 'C82 Software Development Kit from Precision Digital Images) harnesses its real-time computing power from the TMS320C82 DSP, which can achieve more than 1.5 billion operations per second.

translated address space
The logical address generated by the Gsp5 driver when translating the physical address of either the host computer or the MVP.

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V

VCR
Acronym for video character recognition.

VESA
Acronym for Video Electronics Standard Association.

VGA
Acronym for Video Graphics Array.

VHS
Acronym for Vertical Helical Scan.

Video CODEC
A device that encodes and decodes video signals (for example, MPEG).

Video RAMDAC
A RAMDAC device that accepts and performs digital to analog conversion on both video and graphics as opposed to just graphics. The RAMDAC allows selection between the two inputs to support overlay capabilities.

virtual address
In a virtual memory system, the address the application uses to reference memory. The memory management unit (MMU) translates the virtual address into a physical address before the memory is actually written.

VRAM
Acronym for video random access memory. A type of dynamic read access memory that lets the video circuitry serially access the memory bit by bit. VRAM has separate pins for the processor and video circuitry and is used in high-speed video applications.

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W

window and level
A linear mapping of pixel luminance values. Widely used for medical images where pixel data is greater than 8 bits.

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Y

Y/C
Acronym for luminance/chrominance.

YCrCb
Acronym for Luminance, Chrominance Red, Chrominance Blue.

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