RTOS platform accelerates multimedia device development

By C.C. Hung
June 16th, 2009

2Designing today’s multimedia products involves a great deal of complexity in terms of managing functionality without compromising performance. Using a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) platform with a media player reference framework, developers can create compelling multimedia device designs while reducing development time, effort, and risk.

Adding another level of flexibility, the platform includes a framework to allow application code to run in either user or system mode. The user mode provides public APIs to securely authorize and dynamically load applications. The system mode treats the media application reference design as a privileged code inherent to the OS, with access to system APIs. The framework can be extended by bringing new services specific to the media player device into the system mode; at the same time, custom system mode services can be added to the public API by extending the user mode API.

A unified development environment

Pivotal to commercial success, a modern OS framework must natively support every phase of the product development cycle, accelerating the process of going from reference design to the end product. Therefore, development teams are best served if the multimedia applications are created, tested, and modified within a unified development environment that includes an integrated development environment, simulator, compiler, profiler, JTAG probe, and on-target debugger to help reduce development time, effort, and risk.

With multimedia devices becoming increasingly connected, it is imperative that an embedded OS platform provide on-host development via a simulation environment that mirrors the target hardware’s capabilities and simulates interactions between multiple devices within the context of a network. This improves testing quality and enables application customization to begin immediately, even before porting to the desired target silicon.

A modern embedded OS platform is also increasingly tasked with minimizing a multimedia device’s power usage. By implementing a framework of policy management techniques, a power-aware embedded OS platform can contribute to extended battery life.

Speedy device delivery

A complete RTOS platform with a media player reference framework addresses the mundane complexities of multimedia product development. With this type of platform, developers can focus on creating innovative multimedia applications with reduced effort and risk, helping them quickly deliver the latest multimedia device into the hands of consumers.

C.C. Hung is the senior product marketing manager for mobile multimedia and phone solutions in the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics. C.C. has more than 15 years of experience in the field of semiconductors, embedded system software and tools, and silicon IP for mobile phone, consumer electronics, and telecommunication applications. Prior to joining Mentor Graphics, he served in a variety of senior positions in product marketing management and applications engineering with Freescale, and holds numerous patents and awards. C.C. has a BS from the National Central University in Taiwan, an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University, and an MBA from Purdue University.

Mentor Graphics Embedded Systems Division
408-487-7397
cc_hung@mentor.com
www.mentor.com

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