Wouldn't adding an H.264 add possibly unnecessary hardware to a CPU? I am thinking that it might not be a good idea to proceed adding specific pieces to CPUs like this. It makes sense for videos as they are common but for other purposes it might not be cost effective.
adilets
Given how common people watch videos on mobile phones I'm sure that it is a very reasonable tradeoff.
ferozenaina
Could you give an example of other tasks which can use a specialized hardware decoder on a mobile phone/tablet? (Edit - found on previous slide - touchscreen controller)
If a device is commonly used for a task and this task can be performed more power efficiently using hardware (ASIC/IP cores) instead of software, it would be feasible to use the hardware. This will cost extra. The tradeoff comes to cost vs. power.
Since cell-phones chipsets are manufactured in high volume, the cost of the decoder would be pretty low.
kevinle1
By adding dedicated hardware elements for specific tasks, it also increases the amount of space that the hardware takes, and since technology is all about building thinner and thinner devices, this could be a real issue.
Wouldn't adding an H.264 add possibly unnecessary hardware to a CPU? I am thinking that it might not be a good idea to proceed adding specific pieces to CPUs like this. It makes sense for videos as they are common but for other purposes it might not be cost effective.
Given how common people watch videos on mobile phones I'm sure that it is a very reasonable tradeoff.
Could you give an example of other tasks which can use a specialized hardware decoder on a mobile phone/tablet? (Edit - found on previous slide - touchscreen controller)
If a device is commonly used for a task and this task can be performed more power efficiently using hardware (ASIC/IP cores) instead of software, it would be feasible to use the hardware. This will cost extra. The tradeoff comes to cost vs. power.
Since cell-phones chipsets are manufactured in high volume, the cost of the decoder would be pretty low.
By adding dedicated hardware elements for specific tasks, it also increases the amount of space that the hardware takes, and since technology is all about building thinner and thinner devices, this could be a real issue.