Consumables
Epson Develops Image Processing Application Processor Capable of Fast and Easy JPEG Data Handling
Tuesday 10. March 2009 - Automatic display of JPEG data, on-the-fly compression and saving of on-screen data
Seiko Epson Corporation (“Epson”, TSE: 6724) has developed the S1C33L19, an application processor that adds JPEG image processing to LCD display functionality, making it the ideal choice for display-equipped system devices such as operation panels on office equipment, as well as home electronics such as door video intercoms and compact imaging devices like photo viewers. The processor in a TQFP24-144 package is priced at ¥1,458 per unit. Volume production is scheduled to commence in July of this year with a monthly output of 500,000 units. The processor will be available as bare chips and in TQFP and BGA packages.
This product uses a built-in hardware accelerator to handle JPEG processing, achieving nearly double the processing performance of software alone (according to Epson research). In addition, Epson provides a simple JPEG codec API that can be embedded in user application programs. This allows JPEG image data to be quickly and easily compressed and decompressed, resulting in increased rendering capabilities and a smaller amount of data. A hardware picture-in-picture function allows users to superimpose decompressed image data at any location.
Despite these high-performance display capabilities, energy consumption is kept to a minimum during operation with clock-stop controls for each function block and detailed CPU clock frequency controls. In addition, Epson’s original low-leak process has been used to minimize leak current while in sleep mode.
This product is equipped with a 32-bit RISC CPU core, a JPEG decoder/encoder, a generic DMA controller, a USB-FS device controller, an LCD controller, a PWM control timer/counter, various interfaces (IrDA 1.0, SIO including ISO 7816-3 protocol, SPI, I2S), ADC, RAM, shared VRAM, RTC, a NAND flash interface and other components.
In addition, the internal circuits and pin layout are identical to the already mass-produced S1C33L17, a simple display-type application processor without JPEG functionality. With the introduction of the JPEG-enabled S1C33L19 to the market, customers can now choose the processor that meets their needs and provide improved display capabilities while using existing design assets.