An efficient video decoder design for MPEG-2 MP@ML

In this paper, we present an efficient MPEG-2 video decoder architecture design to meet MP@ML real-time decoding requirement. The overall architecture, as well as the design of the major function-specific processing blocks, such as the variable-length decoder, the inverse 2-D discrete cosine transform unit, and the motion compensation unit, are discussed. A hierarchical and distributed controller approach is used and a bus-monitoring model for different bus arbitration schemes to control external DRAM accesses is developed and the system is simulated. Practical issues and buffer sizes are addressed. With a 27 MHz clock, our architecture uses much fewer than the 667 cycles, upper bond for the MP@ML decoding requirement, to decode each macroblock with a single external bus and DRAM.