The Teranex architecture has won so much business with broadcasters and post-production houses because it is fully programmable. With all the evolving formats and standards in different countries around the world, the Teranex video processor can adapt. Realta HQV is the first video processor to bring this programmability to the consumer market.
Rather than hard-coding the video-processing algorithms into silicon as in the past, the Realta HQV executes the algorithms entirely in software on one of the world´s most advanced array-processing engines. This is especially important when buying a television, which is an investment that should last at least 5 – 10 years. It just makes sense to have a video processor that can adapt to the confusing world of rapidly changing standards. The consumer can finally purchase a "future-proof" product that doesn’t become obsolete after a few months. Also, as new features are developed, the consumer can simply download them. As new formats and sources such as Blu-Ray and HD DVD become available, updated video processing algorithms may be downloaded from the web, instantly updating the product to accommodate the latest technology.
Also, rather than developing a chip that attempts to support all types of displays with fixed “average” values and that consequently delivers “average” picture quality for all of them, the HQV software algorithms, because of their real-time programmability, can be adapted and optimized for each individual display technology, providing uncompromised optimum performance for each and every one.
Finally, HQV does not suffer from another syndrome that plagues many other video processors, which are designed to do the absolute minimum work required. Once again, the extensive programmability of the HQV chip allows manufacturers to implement advanced features with ease, greatly extending the useful life of the product in which the chip is included.
According to Steve Sechrist of Insight Media, a leading digital-display market-research firm, “This product really is revolutionary for our industry. Not only do manufacturers who use the Realta HQV technology get a ‘$60K’ image today, but also Realta’s programmability enables TVs or DVD players to download new algorithms, patches or upgrades, thus ‘future proofing’ the display and quelling buyer resistance.”
Of course, one of the primary advantages of this programmability is the Teranex video-processing software, which has been refined through 100,000 hours of content verification over the past six years by hundreds of the most demanding customers worldwide – the “Golden Eyes” of Hollywood’s post-production and broadcast companies, including NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, WB, and Turner networks.
But before we discuss the features of that software, it´s important to understand the nature of video signals, especially interlaced signals, and how they must be processed for fixed-pixel displays. Once you understand these basic concepts, you can fully appreciate the power of HQV processing in today’s—and tomorrow’s—video devices.
