Centauri, a digital video (DV) IEEE1394 hardware reference design based on the Xilinx Spartan FPGA and the Divio NW701 DV CODEC was announced this week by Xilinx and Convergent Designs. The companies say that the new reference design gives OEM manufacturers a low-cost solution for integrating DV over IEEE1394 into a variety of consumer digital video products like DVD R/Ws, digital VHS recorders, set-top boxes, residential gateways, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), Digital TVs (DTVs), video projectors, video editors, and professional digital audio and video equipment. The 60mm x 60mm Centauri is available now and is priced at $450. It's based on a Spartan FPGA and the Divio NW701 single chip DV CODEC. Features include DV conversion over 1394; support for CCIR656 digital video, I2S audio I/O, and compressed DV data ports; an I2C command and control interface; audio support for 32KHz, 44.1KHz and 48KHz; audio error correction to eliminate pops and crackles; auto recovery on 1394 cable disconnect; full audio-video sync via onboard clock dithering; and auto-detection of NTSC and PAL.