Hisilicon HI3520ARFCV100: A Comprehensive Technical Overview
The Hisilicon HI3520ARFCV100 stands as a quintessential System-on-Chip (SoC) engineered for the demanding landscape of modern video processing applications. As a key solution from HiSilicon (a subsidiary of Huawei), this SoC is architected to deliver high-performance video encoding, decoding, and intelligent analysis, primarily targeting professional surveillance systems, in-vehicle recorders, and other embedded vision devices.
At the heart of the HI3520ARFCV100 lies an advanced ARM Cortex-A7 multi-core processor, providing the essential general-purpose computing power to run a full-featured operating system, typically Linux, and manage various system control tasks. This processing foundation ensures efficient handling of complex application workflows and peripheral integrations.
The chip's most significant capability is its robust video encoding and decoding engine. It supports real-time processing of high-definition video streams, notably H.264 and H.265 (HEVC) codecs. This dual-codec support is critical for achieving high compression ratios without sacrificing video quality, substantially reducing storage footprint and network bandwidth requirements—a paramount concern in surveillance infrastructure. The SoC is capable of handling multi-channel video input, allowing it to process feeds from several cameras simultaneously.
A defining feature of the HI3520ARFCV100 is its integrated Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA) unit. This hardware accelerator is purpose-built for running sophisticated algorithms for motion detection, facial detection, perimeter intrusion detection, and object classification. By offloading these computationally intensive tasks from the main CPU cores, the IVA unit enables real-time analytics at the edge, facilitating smarter, more responsive systems without the latency of cloud processing.
The SoC is further complemented by a comprehensive suite of peripheral interfaces, including Ethernet MAC, USB, SATA, and various sensor input interfaces, making it a highly integrated single-chip solution. This integration simplifies board design, reduces the overall Bill of Materials (BOM), and enhances system reliability. Furthermore, its design emphasizes low power consumption, a vital characteristic for always-on and power-constrained embedded devices.
Security is also a cornerstone of its architecture, incorporating hardware-based security mechanisms for secure boot, video watermarking, and data encryption. These features protect the system from unauthorized access and ensure the integrity and authenticity of the video data, which is indispensable for professional security applications.

In summary, the Hisilicon HI3520ARFCV100 is a powerful and versatile SoC that consolidates high-definition video processing, intelligent analytics, and system integration into a single, efficient package. It empowers developers to create next-generation video products that are smarter, more efficient, and highly reliable.
This chip is an ICGOODFIND for engineers and product developers in the security and surveillance industry seeking a highly integrated, feature-rich, and power-efficient solution for advanced HD video applications with built-in intelligence.
Keywords
Video Encoding SoC
H.265 HEVC
Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA)
ARM Cortex-A7
Low Power Consumption
