Nethra Imaging Unveils Visual and Computing Platform SoC

Nethra Imaging Inc recently announced that launch of a new family of visual platform System-on-Chip or SoC for action/sports/activity camcorders, network IP security and surveillance cameras and IP encoders. The first member of this family, the NI-5035 has set a new benchmark with very low power and excellent imaging quality and video compression. System designers designing these high in demand, challenging applications can now avail the NI-5035’s flexibility of bill of materials.

A sophisticated Image Signal Processor (News - Alert) capable of capturing multi-Mega-Pixel still images has been included in the NI-5035. Several encoding streams up to 1080p60 can be supported by the NI-5035’s High Definition H.264 Codec and Video Processor. The best quality of images and video are therefore delivered by the NI-5035 even in low-light and bright-light.

In a release, Ramesh Singh, CEO of Nethra Imaging, said, "Unlike DSP based solutions available today, the NI-5035's unique true hardware-accelerated architecture enables a much lower power profile and far greater control over the visual pipeline with the lowest-possible latency possible. Nethra's approach contrasts with other SoCs that utilize more power-hungry embedded DSP cores for the imaging and video 'heavy-lifting', thereby limiting user control and application power optimization. Nethra's new SoC delivers outstanding image quality along with fast, smooth High Definition 1080p60 resolution and ultra-low-power consumption. We will see this chip enable innovative, new form factor, super compact HD video cameras with long battery life, video electronic image stabilization and excellent image and video quality."

The NI-5035 with its wide-ranging connectivity features can support rich secondary devices like built-in Ethernet and USB 2.0 connectivity. Gyro-less designs are also facilitated by the NI-5035 as it stabilizes the video and image electronic images. The applications can be further optimized with the NI-5035 using the correction results obtained after identifying defects in the sophisticated lens and image sensor, thereby ensuring a more resilient BOM.

High Definition video up to 1920x1080 at 60fps is supported by NI-5035’s H.264 Codec. Different capture and distribution settings are provided to users by NI-5035 as it can support multiple HD H.264 encoding streams. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G/4G streaming are also permitted as the NI5035 can directly connect to wireless radios.