Renesas launches Full HD mobile chip

Japanese chip supplier Renesas Technology has launched an application processor for mobile phones that gives Full High-Definition (1,920 × 1,080 pixels) video recording and playback support and uses the HDMI interface, the first time in a mobile chip.
The video processing unit of the SH-MobileHD1 (the SH7370)delivers approximately six times the performance of comparable earlier products from Renesas, enabling support for Full HD video on a single chip. In addition to the low power consumption essential for mobile phones, the new application processor also features more robust multimedia functionality. It is available in a small package designed to facilitate more compact video and audio processing systems for mobile phones.
HD multimedia support
The device supports the AVC video with a playback/recording frame rate of 30 frames per second (fps) at 500MHz, twice the operating frequency earlier devices. It also incorporates two 24-bit dedicated audio DSPs to lighten the audio processing load on the CPU and reduce power consumption. This enables one DSP to handle (stereo) audio processing such as the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) high-quality audio compression standard and Dolby Digital codec, with power to spare, while the other DSP handles sonic enhancement such as equalization and sample rate conversion (SRC). In addition, heavy-load processing tasks such as 5.1-channel audio can be assigned to the dual DSPs. Support for Dolby Digital and 5.1-channel audio allow interoperation with applications designed for consumer audio components.
Home multimedia

Interestingly, the IC includes the HDMI high-speed multimedia interface to a transmitter.This allows connection and output of Full HD resolution video to digital home electronics components such as LCD TVs or Blu-ray Disc recorders.

In addition, the SH-MobileHD1 can connect to an SD memory card and wireless LAN (WLAN), and it supports multiplexing of the MPEG2-TS (transport system) and MP4 formats. Since MPEG2-TS is rapidly gaining popularity as a multiplexing format for HD and Full HD video in the digital home electronics field, support by the SH-MobileHD1 enables easy sharing of content between digital home electronics products and mobile phones. When content is stored as MP4 files, it can be shared easily over a network such as a WLAN. This helps increase the usability of video applications.
The processor and 512 megabits of synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) are integrated into a single 407-pin 10mm x 11mm BGA package as a system-in-package (SiP) device.
15Mpixel camera support
The SH-MobileHD1 also has a camera interface that supports direct connection to a 15-megapixel camera module. This allows high-speed importing of voluminous data from a high-resolution camera and makes possible a variety of display functions, including electronic zoom and superimposed effects such as an on-screen display (OCD) function or hardware cursor (HWC) function. There is also compatibility with BT.709 format YUV data as part the support for One-Seg TV broadcasts. This makes it possible to convert snippets of TV broadcast data to JPEG format with no degradation in image quality. The on-chip peripherals include an LCD controller with support for 24-bit TFT color LCD panels and a sound interface.
Future
While Renesas is well established in Asia in mobile phones, particularly in Japan (as seen by the One Seg support), it has yet to make significant inroads into Europe. Coupled with the global downturn and the pending merger of Renesas with NEC, there is perhaps doubt on the commitment to the mobile market, although this is one of the areas where there is little if any overlap between the two companies.