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.
HSP replaces dedicated DSP or ASIC hardware by using the general purpose CPU of the host computer.
Modems using HSP are known as winmodems (a term trademarked by 3COM / USRobotics, but genericized) or softmodems.
In the mid- to late-1990s, Intel pursued native signal processing technology to improve multimedia handling.
[1] Intel claims to have terminated development of NSP because of threats from Microsoft.