AMD launched the Alveo MA35D, an accelerator card product with 5nm process and ASIC architecture

In response to the growing prevalence of online streaming technology applications and services, AMD has announced the launch of the industry’s first 5nm TSMC-based, ASIC-architecture-designed accelerator card, the Alveo MA35D.

With the introduction of the Alveo MA35D accelerator card, AMD primarily targets the increasingly widespread online streaming technology applications and services, including those supporting real-time interactive streaming services such as live esports broadcasts, concerts, online collaborative work services, e-commerce, and online voting. The market size for these services is expected to double, accommodating online bidirectional interactions for millions of users.

Originating from AMD’s 2022 acquisition of Xilinx, the Alveo MA35D boasts significant improvements over its predecessor, the Alveo U30. These enhancements include a fourfold increase in channel transmission density, a twofold reduction in per-channel transmission costs, a 1.8-fold increase in compression efficiency, and up to a fourfold decrease in latency. Moreover, power consumption is reduced by up to threefold.

In terms of hardware specifications, the Alveo MA35D features two ASIC architecture computational components specifically designed for video processing. These components integrate processors that optimize visual perception through artificial intelligence and improve compression efficiency. The device supports the latest AV1 and mainstream encoding standards, as well as decoding standards such as AV1, HEVC, H.264, and VP9. Additionally, it offers automatic bitrate adjustment, hardware-level scaling, the VQ QoE engine, and VQ Look-Ahead to maintain image quality, all while utilizing a PCIe Gen5 port that is backward compatible with PCIe Gen4 specifications.

Performance-wise, the Alveo MA35D can handle 32 1080P 60fps transcoded outputs, with each channel consuming approximately 1W. The AI execution performance in INT8 half-precision floating-point operations reaches 22 TOPS. With 4K encoding, latency minimized to within 8 milliseconds, the device can support 8K 30fps video output. The accelerator card itself adopts a half-height, half-length (HHHL) design with a maximum operating power of 35W. When using eight cards in a single server, the system can accommodate up to 256 1080P 60fps transcoded outputs within 280W of power, with each channel’s operating cost controlled at $50.

By leveraging artificial intelligence for dynamic video processing adjustments and low-latency performance for maximizing channel transmission density, the Alveo MA35D can maintain video quality at reduced bitrates and lower bandwidth transmission costs through various encoding and decoding standards.

Furthermore, AMD emphasizes that the Alveo MA35D supports frameworks such as FFmpeg, GStreamer, and C/C++ APIs, reducing the difficulty of service application development and the time cost of actual service deployment.

Paired with EPYC server processors and Radeon Pro professional graphics cards, AMD highlights the Alveo MA35D’s ability to achieve a more comprehensive product performance.

The Alveo MA35D is currently undergoing sampling tests, with mass production slated for the third quarter of this year. The suggested retail price is $1,595.