Process network modeling and system level performance evaluation for H.264/AVC encoder design

Given the substantially increasing complexity of embedded systems, the use of relatively detailed clock cycle-accurate simulators for the design-space exploration is impractical in the early design stages. Raising the abstraction level is nowadays widely seen as a solution to bridge the gap between the increasing system complexity and the low design productivity. For this, several system-level design tools and methodologies have been introduced to efficiently explore the design space of heterogeneous signal processing systems. In this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the SystemC methodology for efficient system modeling and rapid performance evaluation at high abstraction level of an increasing complexity embedded media system. For this purpose, we have selected a system level design of a very high complexity media application; a H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Codec) video encoder.