MediaBench II video: Expediting the next generation of video systems research

The first step towards the design of video processors and systems is to achieve an understanding of the major applications, including not only the theory, but also the workload characteristics of the many image and video compression standards. Introduced in 1997, the MediaBench benchmark suite provided the first set of full application-level benchmarks for multimedia, and has consequently enabled significant research in computer architecture and compiler research for media systems. To expedite the next generation of multimedia systems research, we are developing the MediaBench II benchmark suite, incorporating benchmarks from the latest multimedia technologies, and providing both a single composite benchmark suite (MB2"c"o"m"p) as well as separate sub-suites for each area of multimedia. For video, MediaBench II Video (MB2"v"i"d"e"o) includes both the popular mainstream video compression standards, such as JPEG, H.263, and MPEG-2, and the more recent and emerging standards, including MPEG-4, JPEG-2000, and H.264. This paper first discusses the goals for MediaBench II and the design of the MB2"v"i"d"e"o sub-suite. The paper then presents the results of a comprehensive workload evaluation of MB2"v"i"d"e"o. In particular, while the workload evaluation demonstrates the high processing regularity of video workloads, as compared with general-purpose workloads, it also illustrates how the growing complexity of the emerging video standards is beginning to negatively impact video workload characteristics.