Texas Instruments Inc. has introduced a new microchip that it says processes and translates high definition video outputs 10 times faster than current offerings.

TI says its DaVinci technology is the first chip using digital signal processing and specifically tuned for real-time transcoding of high definition and standard definition video.

The chip is targeted for use in transcoding video formats for playback on devices other than televisions such as DVDs and iPods.

In addition to the chip, TI has introduced a development tool to go along with the DaVinci chip's transcoding capabilities.

Texas Instruments has made the chip available to some customers, and plans to begin shipping it broadly to customers in early 2008.

Web sites: www.ti.com

www.thedavincieffect.com

Published December 3, 2007 by the Dallas Business Journal