Host signal processing (HSP) is a term used in computing to describe hardware such as a

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more c ...

or printer which is emulated (to various degrees) in software.

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...

refers to the technology as native signal processing (NSP). HSP replaces dedicated DSP or

ASIC An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-effici ...

hardware by using the general purpose

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...

of the host computer. Modems using HSP are known as winmodems (a term trademarked by 3COM / USRobotics, but genericized) or softmodems. Printers using HSP are known as GDI printers (after the MS Windows GDI software interface), winprinters (named after winmodems) or softprinters. The

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mold ...

Disk II floppy drive used the host CPU to process drive control signals, instead of a

microcontroller A microcontroller (MCU for ''microcontroller unit'', often also MC, UC, or μC) is a small computer on a single VLSI integrated circuit (IC) chip. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs ( processor cores) along with memory and programma ...

. This instance of HSP predates the usage of the terms HSP and NSP. In the mid- to late-1990s, Intel pursued native signal processing technology to improve multimedia handling. According to testimony by Intel, Microsoft opposed development of NSP because the technology could reduce the necessity of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Intel claims to have terminated development of NSP because of threats from Microsoft.

References

Computing terminology Digital signal processing {{compu-stub