14 DAY TRIAL // Application processors don't often make the news on their own, but Genesis Logic just built one that deserves a special mention.
Webcams aren't exactly famous for the quality of the photos and video streams they can capture.
This doesn't mean that camera sensors with genuinely high capabilities don't exist, though.
In fact, Genesis Logic reveled this very sort of product, the GL3620.
Right off the bat, the newcomer stands out through its utilization of the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface standard.
The chip draws on the USB 3.0 isochronous transfer mode and, thus, secures sufficient bandwidth to stream uncompressed 1080p video at 30 frames per second.
That means lossless rendering of video at a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which is no small feat.
For those who like numbers, the theoretical bandwidth limit is of roughly 380 MB/s between the chip and the USB 3.0 host.
The company made a point of mentioning that GL3620 complies with USB-IF Compliance Workshop and can pass USB 3.0 CV test suite while working well with major USB 3.0 host controllers.
That said, GL3620 comes with a native MJPEG encoder, which streams to IM clients and doesn't make it necessary for the CPU to bother with the conversion process.
Another capability that Genesis Logic incorporated in the application chip is HISP, for encoding RGB RAW data from CMOS sensors to interpolated YUV format.
Other features include image scaling, bad pixel correction, image quality enhancement, gamma correction and backwards compatibility with USB 2.0.
At CES 2012, Genesis Logic will demonstrate the GL3620 alongside the GL3520 USB 3.0 hub controller, the GL3321 USB 3.0 to SATA bridge chip and the GL3220 USB 3.0 flash card reader controller.
For those who don't know, CES stands for Consumer Electronics Show, the annual gathering of IT companies in Las Vegas. In 2012, it will take place between January 10 and 13.