Altima Releases Development Kit for Evaluation and Design of ALTERA Mid-Range Arria V GX FPGA Devices

Altima Corp. (1-5-5 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa prefecture, President: Akinobu Miyoshi, hereinafter Altima) announces the release of a development kit for the evaluation and design of ALTERA mid-range Arria^® V GX FPGA devices.

This kit is aimed at designers of broadcast and other video processing equipment, and will be available for purchase from mid-June 2013.

The development kit features powerful processing through the adoption of TSMC's 28nm LP process, and flexibility with ALTERA Arria V GX FPGA. It is also outfitted with a high-speed, large density external memory, invaluable for intensive video processing. It is implemented with a platform containing various interfaces commonly used in broadcasting equipment such as SD-SDI / HD-SDI / 3G-SDI and SATA.

Lately in the broadcasting equipment market, there is a growing need to offer high-performance solutions to create next-gen content and content delivery devices. The emergence of digital broadcasting both in Japan and on a global scale necessitates upgrading image quality, scaling up to 4K/8K resolutions, and converging broadcasts with other communication technologies. Using this development kit enables users to incorporate various interfaces as well as perform an assortment of processing tasks on 4K/8K resolution and uncompressed video transmissions. This development kit can reduce not only time-to-market, but by building a platform that tailors specs for different destinations, the component cost of the final product is also reduced.

In addition, our development kit contains high-performance analog ICs from Linear Technology Corp., and clock and timing ICs from IDT Inc., (both carried by Altima) which work in concert with ALTERA’s FPGA to provide a comprehensive technological and business solution to the customers.

Altima also plans to continue selling development kits for a diverse range of devices outside of the broadcasting category which require image processing, such as OA and industrial applications. This development kit will be rolled out globally through Macnica Group subsidiaries to North America, China, Taiwan, and ASEAN countries.

Altima will be exhibiting our development kit in Las Vegas from April 8, 2013 at "NAB 2013" at the ALTERA booth (Booth # SU12011).

http://www.altera.com/education/events/northamerica/evt-nab.html

Features of Altima's "Broadcast + (plus) development kit"

• By using our '3G/HD/SD compatible daughter card for evaluating 8ch SDI ' (sold separately - http://www.altima.jp/products/devkit/altima/sdi/sdi_board_eng.html), up to a 16ch SDI interface configuration is possible.
• Multi-SD/HD/3G compatible SDI interface.
• Extensive memory resources

Main Specifications

• FPGA: Arria V GX FPGA (5AGXFB3H4F40C4N)
• Memory: DDR3-1333 64bit x 2, Flash memory
• Expansion connectors: HSMC x 2
• Other interfaces: JTAG, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, SATA x 4, S/PDIF, RS-232C, DIP switch, Push switch, character LCD

Deliverables :

'Broadcast+ development kit' bundled with reference designs.

Product specs/details:

http://www.altima.jp/products/devkit/altima/arriav_broadcast_plus/av_bc_plus_board_eng.html

Release schedule:

• June 2013 (start taking orders)
• July 2013 (start shipping)

For original press release, please see the link below

http://www.altima.co.jp/press-release/altima_pressrelease_e130408.html

[Glossary]

• 28nm LP process: Lowest static power process
• 4K resolution: generic name for video formats with screen resolutions of +/- 4000 horizontal x 2000 vertical pixels.
• 8K resolution: generic name for video formats with screen resolutions of +/- 8000 horizontal x 4000 vertical pixels.
• HSMC: High-Speed Mezzanine Card. Expansion interface that enables high-speed transfer in ALTERA evaluation boards.

Source: http://www.altima.co.jp/