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Educational Practice Board C5515 Workbook

Chapter 1
Introduction

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Educational Practice Board C5515 Workbook

Introduction:

What Is DSP?

Digital
Operating by the use of discrete signals to represent data in the form of numbers

Signal
A variable parameter by which information is conveyed through an electronic circuit

Processing
To perform operations on data according to programmed instructions

Digital Signal processing

DSPs are a high-speed single chip microprocessor or microcomputer designed to perform

DSP ADVANTAGES

Advantages
The big advantage of DSP lies in the programmability of the processor, allowing parameters to
be easily changed.

Versatility
Digital systems can be reprogrammed for other applications (at least where programmable DSP
chips are used).

Digital systems can be ported to different hardware (for example a different DSP chip or board
level product).

Repeatability
Digital systems can be easily duplicated.
Digital systems do not depend on strict component tolerances.
Digital system responses do not drift with temperature.

Simplicity
Some things can be done more easily digitally than with analogue systems.

Advantages of designing with DSP over other architectures

 Multiple multiply-accumulate operations per cycles.

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Educational Practice Board C5515 Workbook

Advantages related to current uses of the DSP

 When you talk on the cell phone, DSP noise cancellation eliminates the echo
effect. It also means the voice you hear is very clear - no hum or static in the
background.
 The Internet runs faster, as DSPs at both ends of the wire process information at
blistering speeds.
 Videoconference calls will have full-motion video, instead of people moving like puppets.
 The storage capacity of a hard disk drive has more than tripled in the last couple of
months. The capacity of a single 3.5" disk platter is now more than 2 Terabytes (TB)
compared to 540MB in 1996.
 Read/write electronics featuring TI DSPs, and DSPS solutions, enable hard disk drive
designers to store more information with higher levels of drive performance-greater bit
density/capacity, higher data rates and faster access times.
 Entertainment is just now starting to go digital and this will drive huge DSP demand in
the next decade.
 Motors controlled by DSP will be more efficient, reducing the number of mechanical
parts and lowering the energy consumption in a huge variety of applications - home
appliances, automobiles, and industrial and commercial motors. Only a small percentage
of motors today use electronic motor controls - this represents a huge market
opportunity for DSPs (an estimated 1.4 billion motors will be manufactured in the year
2001).
 In health care, DSP solutions can enhance sight and hearing capabilities for those with
disabilities.

Overview of DSPs
DSP stands for digital signal processing and it often involves taking an analog signal,
converting it to samples of digital values, processing the digital data, and converting it
back to analog for output. We often consider DSP along with the analog front and back-
ends since that is what we ultimately hear and see. Why do we process signals digitally
rather than working with the original signal in the analog domain? The answer is it
depends on the system and its requirements. For some systems, working with the
analog signals gives a better performance. For others, digital processing might be
better. It is up to you, the designer, to make the decision based on materials you learn
through this and other courses.

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Educational Practice Board C5515 Workbook

COMPARISION BETWEEN DSPS & MICROCONTROLLER

Microcontrollers vs. DSPs

 Microcontrollers and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) are the main engines of
the deeply embedded development world.
 A MICROCONTROLLER is a highly integrated chip which includes, on one chip, all or
most of the parts needed for a controller, is used to control some process or aspect of
the environment. The microcontroller could be called a "one-chip solution".
 DSPs are a high-speed single chip microprocessor or microcomputer designed to
perform computer intensive digital signal processing tasks.
 Microcontrollers are primarily used in control-oriented applications that are interrupt-
driven, sensing and controlling external events.
 DSPs, meanwhile, are traditionally found in systems that require the precision
processing of analog signals.
 Microcontrollers are inexpensive, small, and flexible.
 DSP is larger, more expensive, and more specialized.

DSP Processors vs. General-purpose Microprocessors

How do DSP processors differ from microprocessors? Both types of processors perform
computations on digital signal and have approximately same level of integration and the
same clock frequency. But on the signal processing tasks (like complex arithmetic
operations) DSPs overtake microprocessors by 2 to 3 times in speed. DSP processors are
also designed to consume less power under its target applications. Products that use
DSPs include DVD players, camcorders, cell phones, wireless base stations, modems,
karaoke players, etc. The gap between DSP processors and microprocessors is
narrowing since microprocessors are approaching, if not exceeding, throughput
capabilities of the DSP processors. In the personal computer industry, microprocessors
are taking over several computational tasks that used to be cost effective only when
implemented with DSPs. This results in a narrowing market segment for DSP processors
in the PC industry. However, DSP processors remain highly relevant in the embedded
system area where high throughput and low power computing are required.

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