Aspex launch Linedancer

Aspex Technology, a semiconductor company delivering high-performance, programmable imaging processors, officially launched their Linedancer product into the broadcast market at this year’s NAB.
Aspex, formed in 1999, utilise technology developed at Brunel University as the basis for its Linedancer chip. So far, 450 man-years of work have gone into the development of Linedancer, which is manufactured and distributed by Philips Semiconductors.
At the heart of Linedancer is a patented technology, ASProCore. This associative string processing architecture provides several advantages over high-end FPGAs, including increased processor speed, shorter design cycles and hence faster time-to-market, scalability and significantly decreased cost.
Core to these real world advantages are the fact that Linedancer is software programmable and multiple chips can be installed in a single system. Software programmability can eliminate costly hardware design cycles and also allows products to be redesigned or upgraded without having to start from the beginning again. For broadcast equipment manufacturers this will allow them to keep pace with market developments more cost-effectively and give them a competitive edge over manufacturers using older technology.
Having the ability to add further chips to products, or to activate already installed chips, allows additional product price points to be introduced to a range as required and/or to take advantage of other technological developments.
Because of Linedancer’s core architecture, all this is achievable at a cost that will cause design engineers to rapidly reconsider their approach to product design. Several key equipment manufacturers have already recognised the possibilities.
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