Application Note
Building a Digital Signage application around the
DM814x/AM387x SoC from TI
Overview
Digital Signage Application
This application note focuses on providing a paper design for
developing products using the DM814x/AM387x SoC.
The digital signage system combines video, graphics,
announcements and other information and presents this
information on the screen. The block diagram of a digital signage
application using TMDXEVM8148 is given below (Figure 1).
The TMDXEVM8148 Evaluation Module from Mistral forms
the base platform using which this solution has been provided.
This application note illustrates the use of the TMDXEVM8148
Evaluation Module from Mistral for implementing a digital
signage solution.
Digital signage is the fastest, most impactful method to display
information in a time critical manner. The digital content displayed
is received over a network controlled from a distribution station.
The multimedia / digital content is displayed in public areas for
providing information to people and also acts as a medium for
advertising.
LCD Display
TMDXEVM8148
Video Inputs
Camera Inputs
HD Video
Digital Signage data
over network
Figure 1. Digital Signage block diagram
Camera/imaging front-end
The TMDXEVM8148 supports interfacing to the both serial camera
image and parallel camera image sensors.
The parallel camera from Leopard Imaging (LI5M03, a 5 MP
camera) is controlled and configured through I/O expander signals
and the I2C bus. The Imaging Subsystem (ISS) and
BT.601/BT.656/BT.1120 interface ports of the EVM are connected
through the board-to-board connectors to interface the parallel
camera data and other video input data.
The TMDXEVM8148 has an LCD adaptor board that can support a
7.0 (16:9) inches transmissive type TFT-LCD panel with resolution
of 800x480 pixels to display up to 16.7M color. This is achieved
through the EVM's HD Video Processing Subsystem interface with
a HD Video Display Output.
This LCD display can be used to preview the actual image which
will be displayed on the main screen or sent for storage.
Storage option
The TMDXEVM8148 supports:
The Serial camera from Aptina (MT9T002, a 3 MP camera) is
configurable through I2C bus. The CSI2 serial connection port of
the EVM is connected through the board-to-board connectors to
interface the Serial camera data.
Processor
The TMDXEVM8148 receiving the video data can support the
following:
! Processing power for online Real time image/video
processing using the Image Pipe Interface
! Resizing the image along with generation of two different
resized images
! Hardware 3A Engine (H3A) to support Auto exposure, AutoWhite balance and Autofocus
! Improve the quality of the picture by using Image
Coprocessor for:
#
Spatial noise filtering
#
Lens distortion correction
#
Rotation
! Face detection engine
! High-Definition Video Image Coprocessor (HDVICP) for
encode/decode and transcode operations.
! USB which can be interfaced to a mass storage device
! Gigabit Ethernet which can be interfaced to a media storage
device
! SATA HDD - A Serial ATA (SATA) 3.0 Gbps controller with
Integrated PHY which can be directly interfaced to a Hard
Disk drive
! SD/MMC Card on the MMC/SD/SDIO Serial Interface.
Video Inputs
The TMDXEVM8148 supports the interfacing with video players or
Set Top Boxes through the following interfaces:
! Analog SD IN (S-Video & composite video) which can be
digitized using TVP5147M1 decoder on board
! Analog HD IN (RGB & VGA) using triple high-performance
analog-to-digital (A/D) converter TVP7002 on board
! Digital HD Video capture using DVI Receiver (SiI1161) on
board.
Digital signage application utilizes the following interfaces of
the DM814x/AM387x processor:
! LCD interface for local display
! HDMI display
Connectivity option
! Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity with external Ethernet
The TMDXEVM8148 supports the following interfaces with other
systems:
! Dual USB 2.0 Ports With Integrated PHYs
! Dual Gigabit Ethernet switch with external interface.
The TMDXEVM8148 offers connectivity through Bluetooth and
WiFi interface using the Murata Module (LBEE5ZSTNC) and
having WL1271L chipset and Bluetooth V3.
With these connectivity options, the TMDXEVM8148 can connect
to other systems like PC, other network systems, mobile devices/
gadgets, printers, etc.
Display
The TMDXEVM8148 supports the Digital HDMI 1.3 transmitter and
Composite or S-Video Analog output.
switch hub
! Multiple video In composite video and CMOS sensor
interface
! User interface via Touchscreen.
Figure 2 shows the typical application for Digital Signage.
Benefits
The DM814x/AM387x SoC is accompanied with both hardware
and software tools to assist in the development of the end
applications and building the product prototype.
The TMDXEVM8148 consists of a base board and the catalog
application board designed as plug-in daughter card.
Cameras
Network (Internet/
Intranet, etc.)
Media Servers
System Administrator
Media Players/STB
Digital Signage Data
Sources
Examples of Signage Boards
Figure 2. Typical applications of Digital Signage
The software infrastructure include:
!
!
!
Linux support based on 2.6.37+ kernel
Android Gingerbread support coming 3Q 2011
Audio/video codecs
! Application examples: preconfigured projects for
networked audio/video
! Matrix application launcher and unified installer for all
target and host applications
! Quick start development
! Supported by CCSv5.0 (Eclipse 5.0): Compile, build,
debug
! CodeSourcery Lite gcc tool chain
! Qt Graphics SDK plug-in
! OpenMax libraries and toolbox demos.
The Linux EZSDK is also available for TMDXEVM8148. It includes:
!
!
!
!
Linux Kernel 2.6.37
Bootloaders
File system
Qt/Webkit application framework
!
!
!
!
!
!
Graphical user interface (GUI)-based application launcher
3-D graphics support
Example applications
Host tools including Flash Tool and Pin MUX Utility
Software Developers Guide
DSP Software Components: BIOS6.3, MFP3.21 and
Syslink
! HDVICP2 accelerated codecs: H.264 Encode/Decode
(Additional codecs will be available in the future including
MPEG2, MPEG4, AAC and more)
! For ARM developers, DSP accelerated C6EZAccel libraries
with ARM APIs: DSP Lib, Image Lib, FastRTS Lib
! For ARM developers, tools for porting ARM software to
compile and run on the DSP: C6EZRun.
With all the above readily available for the platform, the product
developer can focus on the application without having to really
understand the intricacies of
! Driver development
! Media codec and its integration
! Video driver framework development and integration.
Summary
Mistral offers product developers easy-to-use development
platforms that leverage the capabilities of leading SoCs. Mistral's
development platforms help product developers prototype and
test their application well before their hardware is ready, thereby
giving them an edge over competition with respect to development
costs and time in bringing out feature-rich wireless and multimedia
devices to the market. Mistral has made available the
TMDXEVM8148 along with a range of application boards for video
conferencing, video vision, remote media displays and catalog
application board that help product developers build a variety of
next-generation video and imaging products.
Mistral offers custom product design services on TI's Sitara™ ARM
microprocessor, DaVinci™ digital media processor platforms
helping customers to build small form-factor, low-power hardware
based on our development platforms. These include:
! Custom form-factor design and development
! OS porting to custom hardware
! Custom device integration and related driver development
! Integration of codecs and third-party IP to a custom design
! Design integration, verification and validation
! Prototype production
! Production support.
About Mistral
Mistral's Product Engineering Services are delivered through a proven development process, designed for
embedded product development. Mistral's hardware and software team works together in a seamless manner
providing expert product designs covering board and FPGA Designs, BSP and Firmware developments, Embedded
Application developments, integration of 3rd party solutions, verification/validation, product prototyping, production
coordination and product sustenance services.
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