DSP multi-channel audio decoding

Summary form only given. The multitude of audio coding schemes will continue to increase, as more and diverse ways are found to get closer to real 3D audio. The challenges in keeping up with new formats are best handled by programmable DSPs; however, standardization or pseudstandardization yields to more cost effective approaches. Programmable DSPs give a faster time to market and have lower engineering costs than patching or re-developing a custom VLSI design. Once the decoding algorithm has become an industry standard, custom or ASIC solutions usually yield a more cost effective approach. We discuss some of these approaches and their advantages and disadvantages and the reasons to choose one over the other. Special purpose hardware often consumes much less power, but other factors to be considered are the required interfaces and whether they are likely to change. Deciding which option to pursue and researching and understanding the objectives are also key factors to a successful solution. We must never underestimate the design time, effort, and cost to be incurred in completing the full custom, ASIC development, or programmable DSP. A robust solution is necessary to compete. The issues that surround audio decoding solution alternatives require to be discussed.