Imageon
Encyclopedia
The Imageon is a line of media processors developed by ATI
providing graphics acceleration and other multimedia features for handheld devices such as mobile phone
s and Personal Digital Assistant
s (PDA
).
Designed as system-on-a-chip
(SoC), the Imageon line of media processors was introduced in 2002 to bring integrated graphics (from 2D in 2002 to 3D in latest products) to handheld devices, cellphones and tablet PCs.
The system-on-a-chip design incorporates an embedded CPU
core, baseband sub-system CPU interface, memory controller
, power management (ATI PowerPlay
), internal RAM and stacked RAM with memory buffer, two display engines (for dual monitors on cellphones), imaging engine, image/video/audio capture engine, TV and audio output, dual digital signal processor
s for audio and video, and video acceleration engine.
The Imageon line was rebranded under AMD, after AMD acquired ATI in Q3 2006, as AMD Imageon, with official claims to have shipped nearly 250 million Imageon units to customers since 2003. However as a result of company restructuring, AMD divested the handheld chipset business starting from the second quarter of 2008, thus the line is deemed officially discontinued.
At the end of 2008, the handheld branch was sold off to Qualcomm
, following an earlier sale of the Xilleon
branch to Broadcom
. AMD retained the Imageon name and will provide support for existing customers, although no future Imageon products will be introduced.
Newest Brazilian Tectoy Console called Zeebo
uses the ATI Imageon Chip to deliver fast and reliable graphics plus 3G access to download updates and new games for the console.
Announced in 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, AMD renews the Imageon line with the following products:
In addition to the application processor and the mobile TV solution chip, AMD also licenses several technologies to other firms and partners, such technologies include audio and graphics processors, as listed below:
, OpenGL for Embedded Systems
2.1 with unified shaders (VS/PS 4.0/4.1), support for higher resolution of camera sensors (5 Megapixels for mainstream and more than 12 Megapixels for high-end products), display resolution support for WVGA (800×480), SVGA (800×600) and XVGA (1024×768) resolutions, H.264 encoding for video recording, AEC, voice recognition and 3D audio.
The Imageon TV will also feature support for ISDB-T and DMB
standards, and multi-mode support (likely to support DMB-T/H
, the dual standard implemented in PRC
).
SoC
:
ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
providing graphics acceleration and other multimedia features for handheld devices such as mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and Personal Digital Assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s (PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
).
Designed as system-on-a-chip
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
(SoC), the Imageon line of media processors was introduced in 2002 to bring integrated graphics (from 2D in 2002 to 3D in latest products) to handheld devices, cellphones and tablet PCs.
The system-on-a-chip design incorporates an embedded CPU
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
core, baseband sub-system CPU interface, memory controller
Memory controller
The memory controller is a digital circuit which manages the flow of data going to and from the main memory. It can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip, such as on the die of a microprocessor...
, power management (ATI PowerPlay
ATI PowerPlay
ATI PowerPlay is a collective name for a set of technologies implemented in a series of graphics adapters manufactured by ATI, including the Mobility Radeon, the Imageon handheld chipset, and the Radeon family of desktop GPUs...
), internal RAM and stacked RAM with memory buffer, two display engines (for dual monitors on cellphones), imaging engine, image/video/audio capture engine, TV and audio output, dual digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
s for audio and video, and video acceleration engine.
The Imageon line was rebranded under AMD, after AMD acquired ATI in Q3 2006, as AMD Imageon, with official claims to have shipped nearly 250 million Imageon units to customers since 2003. However as a result of company restructuring, AMD divested the handheld chipset business starting from the second quarter of 2008, thus the line is deemed officially discontinued.
At the end of 2008, the handheld branch was sold off to Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, following an earlier sale of the Xilleon
Xilleon
The Broadcom Xilleon video processor is a 32-bit system-on-a-chip MIPS processor, for use in set-top boxes and digital TVs, providing MPEG2 decoding and other functions for major worldwide broadcast networks .The Xilleon line consists of four products, models 210D/H, 226,...
branch to Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
. AMD retained the Imageon name and will provide support for existing customers, although no future Imageon products will be introduced.
Discontinued/Past generations
- Imageon 100, the first product of the Imageon line.
- Imageon 3200.
- Imageon 2200/2250. Integrated a 2D graphics engine, a MPEG decoder, JPEGJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
decoding and encoding capabilities, with embedded SRAM on-die as frame buffer. - Imageon 2240.
- Imageon 2260/2262.
- Imageon 2300. Included 2D and 3D graphics engine (3D S/W), MPEG-4 video decoder, JPEG encoding/decoding, and 2 Megapixel camera sub-system processing engine.
- Imageon 2182.
- Imageon 2282.
- Imageon 2388/2380. Featuring industry first OpenGLOpenGLOpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
for embedded systems (OpenGL ESOpenGL ESOpenGL for Embedded Systems is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics application programming interface designed for embedded systems such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.- Versions :Several...
) 1.1+ extensions support, for 3D acceleration. - Imageon 2192. For mainstream devices with support for 3.1-megapixel camera sensor.
Current generation
- Imageon 2294/2298, renamed as Imageon M100 series. Current top-of-line product, processor includes DVD quality recording and playback, HD TV output, and supports up to a 12-megapixel camera sensor. Products include Imageon M180.
- Imageon TV. Announced in February 2006, as the first Imageon product in the line featuring Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVB-HDVB-HDVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
) signal receiving support, allowing handhelds devices to receive digital broadcast TV (DVB-H) signals and enables watching TV programs on these devices, the chipset includes tunerTunerTuner may refer to someone or something which adjusts or configures a mechanical, electronic, or musical device.- Electronic :* Antenna tuner, a device to adjust the resonance frequency of an antenna or transmission line...
, demodulator, decoder, and a full software stack.
Newest Brazilian Tectoy Console called Zeebo
Zeebo
Zeebo is a 3G-enabled entertainment and education system from Zeebo Inc. It not only enables users to play video games, but also connect to the Internet, communicate online and run educational applications. The Zeebo is targeted at developing markets such as BRIC and Mexico. Zeebo Inc...
uses the ATI Imageon Chip to deliver fast and reliable graphics plus 3G access to download updates and new games for the console.
Announced in 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, AMD renews the Imageon line with the following products:
- Imageon A250 application processor
- Standalone multimedia and graphics subsystem
- D1D1 (Sony)D-1 is an SMPTE digital recording video standard, introduced in 1986 through efforts by SMPTE engineering committees. It started as a Sony and Bosch - BTS product and was the first major professional digital video format.- Format :...
resolution video (720×486) - Support for 8-megapixel camera sensor, JPEGJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
, dual display - USB, SD and NAND support
- Vector graphicsVector graphicsVector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
- Flash applications and UIUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
supported - Energy efficiency
- Imageon D160 mobile TV solution
- Free-to-air DVB-TDVB-TDVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
and DVB-HDVB-HDVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
reception - quality of serviceQuality of serviceThe quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
and Doppler compensation for DVB signals for high speed mobility - Complete DVB-T/H receiver module
- Multi-channel decode with PiPPicture-in-picturePicture in Picture is a feature of some television receivers and similar devices. One program is displayed on the full TV screen at the same time as one or more other programs are displayed in inset windows. Sound is usually from the main program only.Picture in Picture requires two independent...
, fast channel change, and video recordingDigital video recorderA digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device... - AMD software stack (including Middleware) and 3rd party support
- Energy efficiency
- Free-to-air DVB-T
In addition to the application processor and the mobile TV solution chip, AMD also licenses several technologies to other firms and partners, such technologies include audio and graphics processors, as listed below:
- Imageon M210 audio processor
- Multi-band equalizer
- Automatic gain controlAutomatic gain controlAutomatic gain control is an adaptive system found in many electronic devices. The average output signal level is fed back to adjust the gain to an appropriate level for a range of input signal levels...
- 99 db signal-to-noise ratioSignal-to-noise ratioSignal-to-noise ratio is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise...
- Supporting over 30 codecs including
- MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, AC3, DTS, MIDI with SMAF support, 3D audio, MPEG-4 SLS, FLAC
- support for 3rd party codecs and other codecs through downloading
- Standalone audio playback
- Energy efficiency of about 33 mWWattThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
allowing 100 hours of audio playback with integrated power management - Integrated memory
- Integrated analog audio codec
- USB 2.0, NAND, SDSecure Digital cardSecure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...
and BluetoothBluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
support
- Imageon Z460 3D graphics core
- OpenGL ES 2.0 support
- Unified shadersUnified shader modelUnified Shader Model term is used to describe two similar but separate concepts: Unified Shading Architecture and Unified Shader Model.- Unified Shader Model :...
- Programmable vertex shaders and pixel shaders
- Support for WVGA (800×480, 848×480, or 854×480) and QHD (640×360) resolutions
- Claimed on par with high-end portable game consoles in terms of performance
- Imageon Z180 vector graphics core
- Hardware OpenVGOpenVGOpenVG is a standard API designed for hardware-accelerated 2D vector graphics. It is aimed primarily at mobile phones, media and gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 3, and other consumer electronic devices. It will help manufacturers create flashier user interfaces that are less dependent on...
1.x rendering acceleration - Claimed 20-40x faster than software-based implementations
- Support for HD resolution
- 16X antialiasing for fonts and vector graphics
- Flash support for web application
- Energy efficiency
- Hardware OpenVG
Future development
Future developments to be present on or before 2009, including embedded x86 microprocessor, support for OpenVGOpenVG
OpenVG is a standard API designed for hardware-accelerated 2D vector graphics. It is aimed primarily at mobile phones, media and gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 3, and other consumer electronic devices. It will help manufacturers create flashier user interfaces that are less dependent on...
, OpenGL for Embedded Systems
OpenGL ES
OpenGL for Embedded Systems is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics application programming interface designed for embedded systems such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.- Versions :Several...
2.1 with unified shaders (VS/PS 4.0/4.1), support for higher resolution of camera sensors (5 Megapixels for mainstream and more than 12 Megapixels for high-end products), display resolution support for WVGA (800×480), SVGA (800×600) and XVGA (1024×768) resolutions, H.264 encoding for video recording, AEC, voice recognition and 3D audio.
The Imageon TV will also feature support for ISDB-T and DMB
DMB
DMB is an acronym that may stand for:*Digital Multimedia Broadcasting*DaMarcus Beasley*Dave Matthews Band*Del McCoury Band*Delaware Memorial Bridge*Diamond Mind Baseball*Dimethylbutane...
standards, and multi-mode support (likely to support DMB-T/H
DMB-T/H
DTMB is the TV standard for mobile and fixed terminals used in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau. Although at first this standard was called DMB-T/H , the official name is DTMB.DTT broadcasting systems...
, the dual standard implemented in PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
).
Renaming to Adreno
After the buyout, Qualcomm renamed the Imageon products to Adreno. The company offers the chip in various flavors as part of their SnapdragonSnapdragon (processor)
Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a "platform" for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.The Snapdragon application processor core, dubbed Scorpion, is Qualcomm's own design...
SoC
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
:
- Adreno 130 inside the MSM7x01 offers a fixed function pipeline and support for OpenGL ESOpenGL ESOpenGL for Embedded Systems is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics application programming interface designed for embedded systems such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.- Versions :Several...
1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2, Direct Draw and GDI. - Adreno 200 (AMD Z430) inside the QSD8x50 (1 GHz) and MSM7x27 (600 MHz A11+L2 cache). It offers a programmable function pipeline and streaming textures with support for OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2 and DirectDraw.
- Adreno 205 inside the QSD8x50A (1.3 GHz), MSM7x30 (800 MHz+L2 cache), MSM8x55 (1 GHz+L2 cache). Its improvements include Hardware-accelerated SVG and Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
and better shader-performance than the Adreno 200. It supports OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2, Direct Draw and GDI. - Adreno 220 inside the MSM8660 or MSM8260 (1.2 GHz-1.5 GHz) with single channel memory. It supports OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2, Direct Draw and GDI.
- Adreno 225 inside the MSM8960 (1.5 GHz-1.7 GHz+1MB L2 cache), with unified shader architecture and dual channel memory. It supports DirectX 9_3 in addition to OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.3, Direct3D Mobile, SVGT 1.2, Direct Draw and GDI.
See also
- NvidiaNVIDIANvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
GoForceGoForceThe Nvidia GoForce was a line of chipsets that was used mainly in handheld devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. It has been replaced by the Nvidia Tegra series of SoCs.-GoForce 2150:Featuring 1.3-megapixel camera support, JPEG support, and 2D acceleration....
media co-processor, a former competitor, and Nvidia Tegra, an entire SoC that uses GeForce derived graphics - BitBoys Gxx series media co-processors, previous competitor, acquired by ATIATI TechnologiesATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
- Falanx series media co-processors, previous competitor, now become ARM NorwayARM NorwayARM Norway is a Norwegian company located in Trondheim, owned by ARM Holdings. ARM Norway develops graphics accelerators for OpenGL three-dimensional rendering, with emphasis on low electric power consumption, suitable for use in portable devices like mobile phones...
- Imagination Technologies PowerVR MBX and SGX media co-processors, IPIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
license-based products, current competitor - MitsubishiMitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
Z3D family media co-processors - ToshibaToshibais a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
T4G media co-processor - Snapdragon (system on chip) is a family of mobile system on chips by QualcommQualcommQualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
.