System Generator vs Synplify DSP vs Simulink HDL Coder

Hi,

I'm looking for thoughts, impressions, pros, cons, etc, on System Generator, Synplify DSP, and Simulink HDL Coder. We develop image processing algorithms and we are trying to shorten the design cycle and eliminate the errors caused by a hand conversion of C or Matlab code to VHDL.

It appears that System Generator and Synplify DSP are heavy on comms type functions. How useful are these tools if you need custom functions?

Are the tools easy to use?

Can System Generator be used with a Synplify Pro synthesis flow?

It looks like AccelDSP + System Generator may be a good solution for developing custom algorithms. Any IP not found in System Generator could be done with AccelDSP and exported to System Generator.

How well do these tools work/how mature are they? Is anyone using any of these tools for _real_ projects.

Thanks for any insights,

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew
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SysGen can be used with Synplify. The HDL it creates is highly structural so the choice of the synthesizer is not as important as it might be when writing more behavioral HDL. I think the most problematic part of image processing designs is the memory interface. Designing a convolver, for instance, is much easier than figuring out how to keep the convolver fed with data from the image RAM. I'd keep this foremost in mind when selecting a design flow. -Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Neilson

Thanks for the response. I agree, the image processing bits are usually fairly simple. Do you think System Generator is high-level enough for an algorithm guy to use competently or does it still require a fair amount of FPGA knowledge. (I'm an FPGA/VHDL guy btw) The algorithm guys would love to be able to come up with their algorithm and just run it on the hardware without us FPGA guys at all.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

I'm not necessarily saying the image processing is simple; it's just not going to be where you spend most of your design time, especially if external memory is involved.

You can use SysGen and, probably to a greater extent, AccelDSP, without hardware knowledge. But, as with most high-level design tools, having hardware knowledge is necessary to achieve the optimally fastest/smallest implementation.

Reply to
Kevin Neilson

Just to add some information about Synplify DSP, which provides very similar functionality to System Generator but allows you to target devices from several different vendors, which would be useful to you if you want to compare devices from different vendors before taking the plunge on their products...

Cheers, Jonathan

Reply to
Jon

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