An MPEG-2 decoder case study as a driver for a system level design methodology

• Published in: Hardware/Software Codesign 1999: Proceedings of the IEEE 7th International Conference pp. 33 - 37
• Main Authors: van der Wolf, Pieter, Lieverse, Paul, Goel, Mudit, La Hei, David, Vissers, Kees
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY, USA ACM 01.03.1999; IEEE
• Series: ACM Conferences
• Subjects: Analytical models; Computer aided software engineering; Decoding; Feedback; Hardware > Electronic design automation > High-level and register-transfer level synthesis; Hardware > Hardware validation; Laboratories; Libraries; Performance analysis; Prototypes; Space exploration; System-level design
• ISBN: 9781581131321; 1581131321
• ISSN: 1092-6100
• DOI: 10.1145/301177.301196

We present a case study on the design of a heterogeneous architecture for MPEG-2 video decoding. The primary objective of the case study is the validation of the SPADE methodology for architecture exploration. The case study demonstrates that this methodology provides a structured approach to the efficient evaluation of the performance of candidate architectures for selected benchmark applications. We learned that the MPEG-2 decoder can conveniently be modeled as a Kahn process network using a simple API. Abstract models of architectures can be constructed efficiently using a library of generic building blocks. A trace driven simulation technique enables the use of these abstract models for performance analysis with correct handling of data dependent behavior. We performed a design space exploration to derive how the performance of the decoder depends on the busload and the frame rate.