SoCs handle HD content, 3D graphics

From NEC Electronics comes the EMMA Mobile EV SoCs designed for full HD portable audio-visual devices delivering 3D graphics processing capability.

The EMMA Mobile/EV is capable of processing high-definition (HD) content and 3D graphics with very low power consumption.

It is optimized for the portable device market including portable multimedia players and mobile tablets, integrate ARM's high-end Cortex-A9 CPU core and a high-performance HD-capable audio-visual (A/V) engine for decoding a multitude of digital video and audio formats.

Two versions of the device are available: EMMA Mobile/EV1 with one embedded Cortex-A9 CPU core and EMMA Mobile/EV2 with two embedded Cortex-A9 CPU cores.

Through a dedicated A/V engine, the EMMA Mobile/EV can decode H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC-1 content up to Full-HD (1920x1080 pixels) on portable devices.

The EMMA Mobile/EV2 chip integrates a high-performance POWERVR SGX 3D graphics core from Imagination Technologies, realizing 3D processing at 14.7 megapolygons per second and pixel-filtrate performance of 500MPixel/s sustained under realistic operating conditions.

This feature brings advanced effects that enable more realistic and compelling images to be created. The new products incorporate various technologies such as automatic clock control, on-chip power-switch and quick-recovery. Using those features, EMMA Mobile/EV is reducing power consumption by up to 30 percent compared to EMMA Mobile 1, thereby contributing to longer battery life.

The SoC supports mobile DDR and DDR2 as the main memory. System designers can choose either mobile DDR with low power consumption, or apply DDR2 to develop non-portable devices at low cost.

Samples of the new EMMA Mobile/EV chips are scheduled to be available in July 2010. Mass production is scheduled for December 2010 and expected to reach one million units per month by 2011.

- Julien Happich
EE Times Europe