Virage Logic's ARC Sound AS221BD dual-core processor targets Blu-ray audio

SOC SUMMIT, TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Virage Logic Corp. has announced the new ARC Sound AS221BD dual-core processor for High Definition (HD) Audio System-on-Chips (SoCs) targeting Blu-ray Disc 7.1 channel 192kHz/24-bit output HD Audio processing applications.

This new product extends Virage Logic’s Sound-to-Silicon solution into HD and also includes a complete software stack with all required codecs, media streaming framework, and Blu-ray Disc use cases. The AS221BD dual-core processor, with all memories to run the full Blu-ray software stack, occupies 0.81mm2 in a 65-nanometer (nm) low power (LP) process which is as small as half the size of other alternatives.

The processor is one and a half to three times more power efficient than existing solutions. The high performance AS221BD delivers 3.5 GOPS at 350MHz. Combining both hardware and software, the HD Sound-to-Silicon solution is easy to integrate, significantly reducing time-to-market and development costs for users compared to partial licensing or fully developing solutions in-house.

"The dual-core AS221BD targeting Blu-ray Disc and HD Audio SoCs is an exciting new ARC processor offering from Virage Logic," said Dr. Yankin Tanurhan, vice president and general manager, Processor, SoC Infrastructure, Application Specific IP (ASIP) and NVM Solutions business units at Virage Logic.

"Blu-ray Discs and HD television broadcast are bringing HD Audio content to the consumer, and a whole new range of audio SoCs need to be built to support it. Virage Logic’s fully-integrated solution enables SoC designers to bring HD Audio to next-generation chips addressing the STB, DTV, Blu-ray players/recorders, networked media servers, networked attached storage and wired/wireless audio transmission markets. We are particularly proud of the AS221BD as it is the first core developed by Virage Logic since the ARC acquisition in November 2009."