Woodcliff Lake, NJ — May 8, 2014 — A new decoder IP core for the 12-bit Extended JPEG image format is now available from semiconductor intellectual property provider CAST, Inc.

One of the few such cores available, the JPEG-D-X 12-bit Decoder Core is sourced from Alma Technologies and is intended for applications requiring images with a greater dynamic range—such as medical imaging and machine vision—or to provide significantly better graphic quality with easy system integration and modest resource use—as in advanced automotive control and display systems. It decodes static images or motion JPEG streams compressed in Baseline or Extended JPEG formats, with 8- or 12-bits per sample precision, in all popular chroma sampling formats.

The core’s hardware-based decoding enables smaller, faster, and lower power systems than are possible with software or software-assisted codecs requiring a host system processor. Standalone operation, simple input/output interfaces, self-programming and error-catching features, and complete deliverables make the JPEG-D-X easier to integrate and use than many less-capable 8-bit-only JPEG decoders.

“Beyond its starring role in medical imaging, forward-looking designers are now considering 12-bit JPEG as a potential solution for handling higher-quality images in more mainstream applications,” said Meredith Lucky, vice president of sales for CAST. “This new decoder complements the 12-bit JPEG encoder already available from CAST, providing efficient, low-latency decompression of deep color images and video with a tiny silicon footprint and very low power consumption.”

The 12-bit Extended JPEG Decoder IP Core is available now. It joins a compression core product line offering the most options available in the industry, including JPEG 2000, 8-bit JPEG, 12-bit JPEG, Lossless JPEG, JPEG-LS, and H.264.

Alma Technologies develops sophisticated, easy-to-use, high-quality IP products for integration in ASIC or FPGA designs and provides these to customers lacking the necessary know-how, time, or resources to develop them from scratch. Alma Technologies specializes in still image and video compression, cryptography, and serial flash memory controllers. Learn more at http://www.alma-tech.com.

Semiconductor intellectual property provider CAST, Inc. is a twenty-year-experienced IP developer and provider with a royalty-free product line featuring microcontrollers and processors, image and video compression, graphics processing, system interconnects, and more. Call CAST at +1 201.391.8300, visit www.cast-inc.com, or follow @castcores on Twitter for more information.