Consumer electronics turns to PC world again
ATI, whose graphics hardware drives Microsoft's hotly awaited High-Definition-capable Xbox 360 games console, today announced another big win – the adoption by JVC of key ATI digital-reception technology in a range of new HD TV sets
For those familiar with power-politics of consumer electronics, the deal with JVC may at first seem rather perverse given that the company, the inventor of VHS, is part of Matsushita. This massive Japanese conglomerate - also parent to Panasonic - is rightly regarded as one of the leading innovators in CE, and might be thought of as more than capable of producing what ever HD-related technologies JVC requires.
But ATI is far from being a new kid on the block in HDTV – reckoning to have powered a majority of new HD TV sets shipped in 2004 and shifted over five million chips for HDTV and set-top boxes during the year.
Those claims, along with ATI's JVC and Xbox wins, show just how much the world of consumer electronics is coming to rely on affordable state-of-the-art technologies derived from the personal computer industry. This in turn underlines a coming together that lays strong foundations for the tight integration of all aspects of digital media in the future digital home.
The central technology that JVC has bought into is the Xilleon 226. This is what ATI calls a CARD, a Customer Application Ready Design, and puts onto one chip much of the functionality needed in a digital TV set or set-top box.
That includes processing, graphics, video, audio and input/output functions. The chip has a 300MHz CPU, a dual-HD capable MPEG decoder (plus a dual-display engine), an audio decoder, a 2D and 3D graphics engine and even USB and hard disk drive interfaces.
ATI says that JVC will be using its technology to provide high-quality display signals and "exceptional signal reception" in two HD TV product ranges - high-end plasma display panels and rear-projection systems – that are able to receive HD and other digital programming without using set-top boxes.
What's not clear, though, is whether, like the Xilleon solution used for some set-top boxes, each JVC TV set will be able to feed a second set - with the same or different content.
Commenting on the deal, Dr. Kazuyuki Ebihara, general manager of JVC's Digital TV Department of Technology Development Division said, “ATI’s latest technology brings JVC tremendous value and ensures that our DTV products will be successful in the market".
Daniel Eiref, director of marketing of ATI's DTV group, added, “Industry leaders, such as JVC, can take advantage of our mature CARD software technology to deliver flexible HD solutions. Together our Xilleon, demodulation and CARD technologies offer ‘one-stop-shopping’ for HDTV manufacturers.”
Dive over here to check out ATI's press release on the JVC deal, and also to have your say about the news.
