Panasonic UniPhier-3 single-chip

[Grubert]

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1309

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, has developed the world's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) player-specific single-chip signal processing LSI (product number: MN2WS006), in response to the latest BD standards*2. This LSI combines a front end to read the signal from the BD, and a back end to convert this into AV data. Samples of this LSI will begin shipping in June 2008.

By using this product, Panasonic will be able to realize smaller sizes and lower power consumption in BD players compatible with the latest BD standards*2.

This product features the following characteristics.

Complete support for the latest BD standards*2, and functions including dual-screen simultaneous video playback, high-quality audio playback, and network compatibility achieved on a single chip

Creation of a single chip for the signal processing system, through use of cutting-edge microprocessing, allows for 50% reduction in mounting surface area and 25% reduction in power consumption, compared to current Panasonic products

Application of the new-generation UniPhier®*3 platform developed originally by Panasonic enables customers to achieve higher-quality software improvement with shorter interval

This product has been created using the following technologies. (**: compared to current Panasonic products)

Multi-standard video decoding technology to enable video playback for BD, DVD, and CD media, and standards including MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and VC-1; high-quality audio playback compatible with lossless coding; and dual-screen simultaneous video playback including high definition video, and a high-performance and high-speed graphics engine technology which enables not only 2D graphic processing but also 3D graphic processing or curved surface drawing

Unified memory architecture technology reducing about 45% of major semiconductor parts** (including external memories) together with integration of LSIs into a single chip using 45-nanometer process technology
New-generation UniPhier®*3 platform technology making it possible to reuse the 75% of software assets of BD recorder, and enabling us to improve our development efficiency by three times** as a result of concentrated development for function improvement only

Up to now, in order to construct BD players with conventional BD LSI, separate front end and back end LSI were required, in addition to seven external memory chips. Since the BD market is now expected to grow rapidly, it was necessary to rationalize the signal processing components in order to realize better functionality and appeal to the hot-selling zone of LSIs.

If they begin shipping in June, we might be some players in CEDIA or more probably CES 08.

[moviefan]

What a dumb-ass announcement on the eve of the DMP-BD50 introduction!
Should we now forget about buying a BD50 and wait for the new chip?

[desmond]

BD50 uses the same chip as BD30 with some additional features (network access), they use the same BD transport. video performance and loading times are similar between the two.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by moviefan

What a dumb-ass announcement on the eve of the DMP-BD50 introduction!
Should we now forget about buying a BD50 and wait for the new chip?

You might be looking at a 6+ month wait.

This is a necessary step to achieve those "sub-$200 2.0 players" everybody is clamoring for.

Panasonic will use it first, and then it might appear later on other brands such as Funai/Magnavox (the BD30 shipped in November 2007; the Mag in May 2008).

[ryoohki]

It's just a chip... It will mean a slimmer player and cost should go down with a single chip solution too... I'am pretty sure other Blu-ray CE have the same thing going on to develop one (Sony/Pioneer for example)