BDTI Video Benchmarks™
The BDTI Video Benchmarks comprise two benchmark suites: the BDTI Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks™, and the BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks™.
Both of these benchmark suites:
- Are suitable for implementation on a wide range of processors, including general-purpose microprocessors, DSPs, configurable processors, and reconfigurable processors. The Video Encoder and Decoder benchmarks are also well suited for implementation on FPGAs.
- Provide processor and SoC designers with an independent, objective basis for judging the video performance and efficiency of competing processors and cores.
- Enable processor vendors to provide prospective customers with highly accurate and credible information on the speed, cost-efficiency, and energy efficiency of their processors and cores for video tasks.
- Help processor vendors gain a clear understanding of the competitive strengths and weaknesses of their products, which in turn can help guide positioning and target market selection.
The BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks are based on modern video compression standards, and are representative of the video encoding and decoding workloads found in a wide variety of mobile, home, and surveillance applications. They are designed to model the computationally demanding aspects of video encoding and decoding while limiting complexity in order to reduce implementation and optimization effort.
The BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks assess the performance of the processing engine and the effects of memory and caches, DMA, co-processors, and other on- and off-chip components.
To produce results that are relevant to real-world applications, BDTI has specified two “operating points” for measuring performance on the BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks. These operating points correspond to mobile video and home/surveillance video. Each operating point specifies a specific frame size, frame rate, and bit rate.
BDTI Video Decoder Benchmark Block Diagram
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The BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks include six key video-oriented
benchmarks:
- Deblocking filter
- 8x8 inverse discrete cosine transform
- 4x4 inverse integer transform
- Motion compensation,
- Motion estimation
- Image resize
These benchmarks are useful for predicting a processor's performance in a variety of video-oriented applications, such as set-top boxes, multimedia-enabled cell phones, surveillance cameras, and video conferencing systems.
The BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks are small enough to be relatively easy to implement, and are typically quick to simulate. As such, they are an ideal resource for companies developing next-generation video-oriented processors and cores.
The BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks are meant to measure the capabilities of a processor and its local memory, not the impact of external memory systems, DMA controllers, and other peripheral features. These benchmarks are useful in cases where the chip's external memory systems and other such features have not yet been defined, or when the processor is a licensable core. For implementers interested in measuring system-level video processing performance, BDTI recommends the BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks, described above.
Using the BDTI Video Benchmarks™
The BDTI Video Benchmark suites are available for licensing. Licensees can implement the benchmarks and obtain results using test data provided by BDTI.
Results for the BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks are obtained in terms of: minimum clock speed required for real-time operation; the on-chip and off-chip program and memory footprint; energy per frame; and the cost or silicon area of the processor and memory.
Results for the BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks are obtained in terms of cycle counts, execution times, and memory use.
Licensees may use their results internally and compare them to those published by BDTI. Licensees may also engage BDTI for certification of their implementations. Once certified, results may be disclosed in accordance with BDTI’s established guidelines.
There are several plans for engaging with BDTI, described below.
Options for Benchmarking and Analysis Using
the BDTI Video Benchmarks™
Plan A: Benchmark License Only
A license to one of the BDTI Video Benchmark suites includes:
- The BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks Specification or the BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks Specification
- C reference source code for the benchmarks
- Test vectors for use in verifying the functionality of implementations of the
benchmarks
- A one-year license to use the above items to benchmark one processor (or FPGA)
- Technical support
Licensees of one of the BDTI Video Benchmark suites can add a license for the other suite for a significantly reduced fee; contact BDTI for details.
Plan A does not include BDTI review and certification of the benchmark results. To maintain the credibility and objectivity of BDTI Video Benchmarks results, BDTI requires certification before any benchmark results can be disclosed. Therefore, Plan A is most appropriate if you intend to use the benchmark results for internal purposes only.
Plan B: Benchmark License and Certification of Results
In order to disclose BDTI Video Benchmark results, a vendor must obtain BDTI review and certification of benchmark implementations. Plan B provides:
- All items in Plan A
- BDTI review and certification of the benchmark results
Under Plan B, BDTI performs an audit of the licensee’s benchmark implementation to verify performance and ensure that it is compliant with the specification. BDTI requires either a cycle-accurate simulator or processor hardware to issue results certification. After BDTI has certified the benchmark results, you may release benchmark results in compliance with BDTI’s guidelines for benchmark results disclosure.
Optionally, a licensee may contract with BDTI for implementation of the benchmark.
Plan C: Benchmark License, Certification of Results, and Analysis
Plan C provides a vendor with a complete evaluation. It includes:
- All items in Plan B
- In-depth, written quantitative and/or qualitative analysis of the processor or FPGA
For processing devices benchmarked using the BDTI Video Benchmarks, BDTI’s written quantitative analysis provides detailed discussion of the factors influencing the benchmark results. Tables and graphs augment the analysis. For example, BDTI analyzes the functions in the benchmark implementation that dominate processing time, providing insight into how computational and memory requirements map to the device’s architecture. BDTI also examines the types and amount of memory used by the implementation and explains how memory capacity and performance affect benchmark performance.
In its qualitative analysis, BDTI considers important design issues that may not be reflected in the benchmark results, such as ease of programming and quality of development tools.
Benchmark Licensing and Analysis
To license one or both of the BDTI Video Benchmark suites, initiate an analysis engagement, or discuss your needs, please contact BDTI.
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