A reprogrammable video processor will provide significant advantages in the commercial market of high quality motion imaging. One prominent sector is the medical equipment market, where high quality and flexibility are both in demand based on the situation and location. A reprogrammable encoder that provides high quality and rate control makes it possible to use the equipment in remote locations, like disaster areas and make shift hospitals, while getting high quality images to specialists and physicians in central locations. Overall it is important to notice that a programmable processor is important for applications that support multiple coding standards, proprietary functions, or future changes to application requirements. Programmable video processor architectures achieve best performance through the use of parallelism at the data, instruction (VLIW), and multiprocessor level, and optimally sized ALU, multiplier, and load/store data paths.
The adoption of a radiation hardened software defined video processor, SDVP, meets several important needs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) by advancing the motion imaging technology in the space environments. One example is the use of HDTV camcorders on the Space Station. The deployment of a high definition television (HDTV) camcorder on the International Space Station is part of a public-private NASA partnership with Dreamtime Holdings Inc., Moffet Field, Calif., to upgrade NASA's equipment to next generation HDTV technology. Another application is the Live HDTV broadcast from Space. On October 2009, NASA transmitted the first live high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast from space (in this case the International Space Station) to earth. Designed to give curious minds a look at life aboard the 220-mile high space station, the broadcast aired on Discovery HD, a NASA partner on the program.
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