Texas Instruments - What is a DSP?

The incredible speed of digital signal processing with the real-world versatility of mixed-signal/analog gives you Digital Signal Processing Solutions.

What is DSPS?

Graph The secret is out on Digital Signal Processing Solutions. Digital signal processors and mixed-signal/analog combine to make DSPS a powerful solution for an increasing number of end-equipment applications.
The global market for digital signal processors has grown at a compounded rate of more than 30 percent per year since 1988. In fact,
A typical DSP Solution consists of the DSP itself, mixed signal/analog functions, memory and software.

TI supplied more than half of the DSPs used in digital cell phones in 1997.
We are moving toward a digital world, where a large part of electronic equipment will use DSP as the central controlling function.
The need for higher quality and precision is driving the conversion to digital in electronic equipment.
There will be tremendous DSPS market potential as the world goes digital.

At both ends of a data networking connection lies a DSP solution.

DSP Market

Mixed-Signal/ Analog Market
DSP is the fastest-growing segment of the semiconductor market. Mixed-signal is one of the fastest-growing segments of the total mixed-signal/ analog market.
DSP source:
Forward Concepts
Mixed-signal/ analog source:
Dataquest
Year 2002-TI
the market for these processors is actually developing along a faster track than the one the microprocessor followed in the 1980s and ‘90s.
In part, this fast-track growth is driven by the fact that digital signal processors target a broader range of diverse end-use markets than microprocessors: not just personal computers, but also telecom devices, consumer electronics, office equipment, industrial controls and automotive components.
Processing speed — the ability to crunch vast quantities of numbers, while racing against an incredibly demanding clock — is at the heart of the value that digital signal processors bring to the electronics marketplace.
Digital signal processors are much faster (often 10 times faster or more) than general-purpose microprocessors. And that makes digital signal processors particularly well-suited to handle the demands of processing information from different parts of our world by working in real time.
One way to understand how DSPS works is to think about how you experience the world. Every waking moment, your senses capture a multitude of signals from your surroundings — clues like heat, light, sound and pressure. You use that information to walk, talk, work, play.
The same thing is true of digital devices. They can use “real-world” signals to transmit pictures, record sounds, control heat, adjust pressure. But digital devices are precise. They can only process information that comes in the form of 1s and 0s. That’s what it means to be digital.
Of course, when digital devices become the brains of electronics and venture out into the world, they encounter the very same ambient information as you do: analog signals, such as heat, light, sound and pressure.
Before the device can do anything useful with those sensations, the signals have to be translated into a language the devices understand. A digital language. This analog-to-digital conversion is handled by companions of the digital signal processor, called mixed-signal/analog products. These products also translate digital signals back to real-world information.

DSP Show.

In DSPS, an analog signal such as your voice is digitized by an analog-to- digital converter (A/D). The DSP processes the digital signal, then a digital-to-analog converter (D/A) changes the signal back to analog. When you combine the incredible speed of the digital signal processor...with the real-world versatility of the mixed-signal/ analog...it creates some very interesting possibilities. At TI, we call those possibilities “Digital Signal Processing Solutions.”
The future of the digital world depends on DSPS. TI provides leading DSPS technology, products, and system-level solutions needed to cut development time, enhance product applications and speed the time to market.

The secret is out on Digital Signal Processing Solutions. Digital signal processors and mixed-signal/analog combine to make DSPS a powerful solution for an increasing number of end-equipment applications. The global market for digital signal processors has grown at a compounded rate of more than 30 percent per year since 1988. In fact,		A typical DSP Solution consists of the DSP itself, mixed signal/analog functions, memory and software. TI supplied more than half of the DSPs used in digital cell phones in 1997. We are moving toward a digital world, where a large part of electronic equipment will use DSP as the central controlling function. The need for higher quality and precision is driving the conversion to digital in electronic equipment. There will be tremendous DSPS market potential as the world goes digital. At both ends of a data networking connection lies a DSP solution.
DSP Market Mixed-Signal/ Analog Market DSP is the fastest-growing segment of the semiconductor market. Mixed-signal is one of the fastest-growing segments of the total mixed-signal/ analog market. DSP source: Forward Concepts Mixed-signal/ analog source: Dataquest Year 2002-TI	the market for these processors is actually developing along a faster track than the one the microprocessor followed in the 1980s and ‘90s. In part, this fast-track growth is driven by the fact that digital signal processors target a broader range of diverse end-use markets than microprocessors: not just personal computers, but also telecom devices, consumer electronics, office equipment, industrial controls and automotive components. Processing speed — the ability to crunch vast quantities of numbers, while racing against an incredibly demanding clock — is at the heart of the value that digital signal processors bring to the electronics marketplace. Digital signal processors are much faster (often 10 times faster or more) than general-purpose microprocessors. And that makes digital signal processors particularly well-suited to handle the demands of processing information from different parts of our world by working in real time. One way to understand how DSPS works is to think about how you experience the world. Every waking moment, your senses capture a multitude of signals from your surroundings — clues like heat, light, sound and pressure. You use that information to walk, talk, work, play. The same thing is true of digital devices. They can use “real-world” signals to transmit pictures, record sounds, control heat, adjust pressure. But digital devices are precise. They can only process information that comes in the form of 1s and 0s. That’s what it means to be digital. Of course, when digital devices become the brains of electronics and venture out into the world, they encounter the very same ambient information as you do: analog signals, such as heat, light, sound and pressure. Before the device can do anything useful with those sensations, the signals have to be translated into a language the devices understand. A digital language. This analog-to-digital conversion is handled by companions of the digital signal processor, called mixed-signal/analog products. These products also translate digital signals back to real-world information.

In DSPS, an analog signal such as your voice is digitized by an analog-to- digital converter (A/D). The DSP processes the digital signal, then a digital-to-analog converter (D/A) changes the signal back to analog.	When you combine the incredible speed of the digital signal processor...with the real-world versatility of the mixed-signal/ analog...it creates some very interesting possibilities. At TI, we call those possibilities “Digital Signal Processing Solutions.” The future of the digital world depends on DSPS. TI provides leading DSPS technology, products, and system-level solutions needed to cut development time, enhance product applications and speed the time to market.