Tensilica Becomes First Processor IP Company to Support MPEG-4 AAC-LC and aacPlus Multi-Channel Decoders for 7.1 Surround Sound

Tensilica®, Inc. has become the first processor IP (intellectual property) company to announce the approval and availability of MPEG-4 AAC-LC, aacPlus™ v1, and v2 multichannel decoder implementations from Dolby Laboratories, Inc (NYSE:DLB). These three multichannel decoders provide up to 7.1-channel surround sound for home entertainment devices. They are available now for the Tensilica HiFi 2 Audio Engine, the most popular audio architecture for system-on-chip (SOC) design.

“We’ve offered our customers stereo AAC-LC and aacPlus decoders for several years with great success in the handheld and portable device markets, and we’re now seeing strong demand for multi-channel versions in home entertainment multimedia products,” stated Larry Przywara, Tensilica’s marketing director for mobile/multimedia products. “In addition, we have further improved the memory requirements of the stereo decoders with reductions of up to 62 percent for data RAM and 25 percent for code size. Dolby’s aacPlus implementation sets the standard for quality and ensures that customers will enjoy an exceptional audio experience.”

“Multi-channel AAC-LC and aacPlus is now being deployed in the broadcast and consumer segments. We are delighted to be cooperating with Tensilica to hasten this process with certified implementations on their HiFi 2 Audio Engine,” stated Martin Dietz, vice president, Dolby Laboratories. “This will enable companies to accelerate the design of the next generation audio chips that include this audio standard as well as other system features, reducing cost and power in many applications.”

aacPlus v1 is a superset of AAC that adds Spectral Band Replication (SBR), a unique bandwidth extension technique that enables audio codecs to deliver the same quality at half the bit rate. aacPlus v2 adds Parametric Stereo (PS), which significantly increases the codec efficiency a second time for low-bit-rate stereo signals. aacPlus v2 is specified as the high-quality audio codec in the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), a collaboration for standards for third generation mobile phones.

These new decoders are just three of many Dolby products supported by Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio Engine. Tensilica also offers Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and 7.1-channel decoders, Dolby Digital Consumer Encoder 5.1, Dolby Digital Compatible Output 5.1, and AAC-LC, aacPlus v1 and v2 stereo decoders and encoders. The Tensilica HiFi2 Audio Engine is available to users of Tensilica’s patented, market-leading Xtensa configurable processors, and is also available in an off-the-shelf audio DSP IP core – the Diamond Standard 330HiFi processor.

Availability

The AAC-LC, aacPlus v1 and v2 multichannel decoder implementations from Dolby are available for shipment now to all licensees of Tensilica’s Diamond Standard 330HiFi processor or the Xtensa LX processor with the HiFi 2 Audio Engine.

About Tensilica

Tensilica, Inc., is the recognized leader in configurable processor technology and has leveraged that technology to become the leading supplier of licensable controllers and DSP cores for mobile audio and video applications. Tensilica offers the broadest line of controller, CPU, network, and specialty DSP processors on the market today – including full software toolchain and modeling support - in both an off-the-shelf format via the Diamond Standard Series cores and with full designer configurability with the Xtensa processor family. The modern design behind all of Tensilica’s processor cores provide semiconductor companies and system OEMs with the lowest power, smallest area solutions for high-volume products including mobile phones and other consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer peripherals. For more information on Tensilica’s patented, benchmark-proven processors, visit www.tensilica.com.

Editors’ Notes:

• Tensilica and Xtensa are registered trademarks belonging to Tensilica Inc. All other company and product names mentioned are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
• Tensilica’s announced licensees include Afa Technologies, ALPS, Aquantia, Astute Networks, Atheros, AMD (ATI), Avision, Bay Microsystems, Berkeley Wireless Research Center, Broadcom, Brocade, Chiplen, Cisco Systems, CMC Microsystems, Conexant Systems, DS2, EE Solutions, Epson, ETRI, FUJIFILM Microdevices, Fujitsu Ltd., Hudson Soft, iBiquity Digital, Ikanos Communications, Intel, Juniper Networks, LG Electronics, Lucid Information Technology, Marvell, MediaPhy, NEC Laboratories America, NEC Corporation, NetEffect, Neterion, Nethra Imaging, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT), NuFront, NVIDIA, Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., Penstar, Plato Networks, PnpNetwork Technologies, Samsung, SandForce, Server Engines, SiBEAM, Silicon Optix, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Stretch, TranSwitch Corporation, u-Nav Microelectronics, UpZide, Valens Semiconductor, Validity Sensors, Victor Company of Japan (JVC), WiLinx, and XM Radio.