动态和鲁棒流之间的关连和消费电子设备

Consumer electronic (CE) devices are no longer the boxes, which

operate on their own for a given fixed applicaTIon (like TV watching).

Instead, CE devices are becoming more complex, incorporate more

funcTIonality, and have to operate in an environment that is constantly

changing. In addiTIon, the CE devices are interconnected.

Consequently, the possibility emerges to update them on the fly. Such

flexibility can only be supported by realizing a large part of the CE

funcTIonality in software.

On the other hand, the latest chip technologies like Network on Chip

(NoC) or Systems on Chip (SoC) incorporate more functionality on an

ever-decreasing surface and volume. The CE industry is clearly at a

crossroad: flexibility asks for software solutions, but performance asks

for hardware solutions. Currently there is no general rule that will tell

us whether a given functionality should be provided in software or

hardware. This open choice is clearly reflected in this book, where

both approaches are equally represented.

Within the context of ever-increasing complexity, one subject is

becoming more important over the years: communication media and

protocols. Gradually, homes now contain multiple PCs or digital

appliances, which drives the emergence of home networks. The

subject of streaming video between CE devices becomes important

given the arrival of (wireless) home networks. The chips that

constitute the CE devices are reaching such levels of complexity that

networks are also used on chips within CE devices. Therefore,

networks are used between CE devices as well as within the CE

devices themselves.

Traditionally, a network operator manages the network to adapt to

user wishes. In the home, no such operator is present and measures

must be taken in chips and network to auto-manage the network.