Host signal processing (HSP) is a term used in computing to describe hardware such as a modem or printer which is emulated (to various degrees) in software. Intel 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-efficien ...

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, and ...

of the host computer. Modems using HSP are known as

winmodem A software modem, commonly referred to as a softmodem, is a modem with minimal hardware that uses software running on the host computer, and the computer's resources (especially the central processing unit, random access memory, and sometimes a ...

s (a term trademarked by 3COM / USRobotics, but genericized) or

softmodem A software modem, commonly referred to as a softmodem, is a modem with minimal hardware that uses software running on the host computer, and the computer's resources (especially the central processing unit, random access memory, and sometimes ...

s. Printers using HSP are known as

GDI printer The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) is a legacy component of Microsoft Windows responsible for representing graphical objects and transmitting them to output devices such as monitors and printers. Windows apps use Windows API to interact with GDI, ...

s (after the MS Windows GDI software interface),

winprinter The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) is a legacy component of Microsoft Windows responsible for representing graphical objects and transmitting them to output devices such as monitors and printers. Windows apps use Windows API to interact with G ...

s (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-m ...

Disk II The Disk II Floppy Disk Subsystem, often rendered as Disk ] '', is a -inch floppy disk drive designed by Apple Computer, Inc. It went on sale in June 1978 at a retail price of US$495 for pre-order; it was later sold for $595 () including the Di ...

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 programmable i ...

. 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 Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

operating system. Intel claims to have terminated development of NSP because of threats from Microsoft.

References

Computing terminology Digital signal processing {{compu-stub