TDA4VMXEVM: Confusion with TI Processor/SoC designations

Thomas Dorsch said:

1. Is TDA4VM the name of the SoC, which is used on SOM (System on Module) of TDA4VMXEVM?

In that EVM you have the superset of the J721E platform. So yes, you can think of that you have TDA4VM in there. Actually, you have all 3 DRA829/TDA4VM/AM752x devices in there.

Thomas Dorsch said:

2. When I skim through arago recipes/example code, the term "J721E" pops up often which points to TDA4VM. Whats the meaning of that (J721E)?

J721E is the common superset platform. The DRA829/TDA4VM/AM752x are the device families that are based on that superset.

Thomas Dorsch said:

3. I've read TDA4VM is based on the Jacinto 7 architecture. Is this related to Sitara architecture? Or are Jacinto and Sitara to complete different "things"?

Correct, Jacinto 7 is the architecture (based on Keystone 3(K3) which is even broader platform). That architecture covers the TDA4/DRA82 (automotive SoCs) and the AM752x  (Sitara/Catalog SoCs).

So basically they are all J7 devices, but if you refer to the data manuals of each family (TDA4 vs AM7 for example) you will see some integrate different features. 

TRM said:

This document describes the superset architecture, processors and peripherals of the
J721E DRA829/TDA4VM/AM752x SoCs, which are part of the K3 Multicore SoC architecture
platform. Not all features are available on each family of devices. The superset J721E device
is available for preproduction software development. Software should constrain the features
used to match the intended production device. For more information on the specific features,
processors and peripherals available on a particular device, refer to the Device Comparison
table in the corresponding device-specific Datasheet.

Thomas Dorsch said:

4. What's the difference between SoC (System on Chip) and Processor in TI's point of view?

Processors are the general understanding of these products. Well, they are more than just a processor, so to be more specific these chips are SoC based, which means they integrate many more sybsystems along the primary CPU/MCUs.

Hope it helps,

thanks,

Alex