In this paper, an H.264 video decoder based on the new TMS320DM6437 (DaVinci) DSP is described. In this work both, DMA and memory architecture of the processor are fully exploited to improve the decoder performance. Profiling tests have been carried out in simulation using digital TV streams and DVD transcoded sequences. Performance is 10% better than that of the same decoder based on a TMS320DM642 DSP.