TOKYO, Japan, November 10, 2011 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, and its subsidiary, Renesas Mobile Corporation, an innovative supplier of advanced cellular semiconductor solutions and platforms, today announced the R-Mobile A1 series of application processor for PND (personal navigation device) and other portable devices. The R-Mobile A1 series of devices integrate Renesas' SH-Mobile R series and EMMA Mobile™ series, which have proven track records as application processors for PND and portable media players, and contribute to increased functionality, improved performance, and lower power consumption, while achieving significantly reduced total system costs.
Although equipment that includes ISDB-T one-segment broadcast reception functionality has become mainstream in portable equipment such as PNDs and portable media players, there are now increasing needs for higher image quality and higher functionality due to the widespread adoption of ISDB-T full-segment terrestrial digital TV broadcasting. Furthermore, there are increasing demands for functionality such as: GUI displays to achieve improved operability; diverse and realistic 3-D graphics display for high-level human machine interfaces (HMIs); and high-performance multimedia support for video and audio. At the same time as responding to these needs, by integrating these functions in a single chip, the R-Mobile A1 devices enable reduced system costs, more compact package size and shorter development time.
Key features of the R-Mobile A1 series:
(1) Support for full HD (high definition) video recording and playback and reception of high image quality, high-resolution terrestrial digital TV broadcasts
In addition to the conventional VPU5F engine, the R-Mobile A1 devices also incorporate a VCP1 as a high-performance, low-power image-processing engine, making them possible to record and playback full-HD resolution video and receive and display full-segment terrestrial digital TV broadcasts.
- VCP1 engine is capable of recording and playback at 30 frames-per-second (fps), full HD video encoded in the MPEG2, MPEG4, and H.264/MPEG4 AVC video compression standards. The VCP1 engine also supports AVS video playback. Furthermore, it executes these operations at lower power than when processed in software (by programs) running on a CPU.
- VPU5F engine supports video recording and playback in SD format.
By incorporating both the VCP1 and the VPU5F engines, the R-Mobile A1 series devices can receive full-segment and one-segment broadcasts at the same time when receiving terrestrial digital TV broadcasts. The devices also provide seamless switching between strong field and weak field reception. The devices support ISDB-T as the broadcast standard. Renesas plans to add support for worldwide digital TV broadcast standards, including CMMB, CTTB (DTMB) and DVB-T.
(2) Diverse and realistic high-performance 3-D graphics engine included
The R-Mobile A1 series of devices include 3-D graphics functions with performance improved by approximately 30 percent from Renesas' existing products. In particular, Renesas adopted the PowerVR® SGX540 from Imagination Technologies Limited, which provides the performance of up to 20 million polygons per second. These new devices support the Open GLES 2.0, Open GLES 1.1, and Open VG 1.1 industry standard interfaces and can implement realistic 3-D graphics displays and a wide range of graphics user interfaces (GUIs).
(3) Support for open operating systems with the ARM Cortex-A9 and real-time control using the SH-4A as the media engine
The R-Mobile A1 devices incorporate both the SH-4A core and the ARM® Cortex™-A9 that operates at a maximum operating frequency of 800 megahertz (MHz), and thus achieve the industry-leading high performance of up to 3.7 GIPS (giga instructions per second), in a application processor for PND applications. The new devices support the Linux™, Android™, Windows® Embedded Compact 7.0, and Windows Embedded Automotive 7.0 operating systems to allow rapid development of embedded equipment and allow the use of a wide range of eco systems. The built-in SH-4A core allows real-time control of large amounts of data in applications such as terrestrial digital TV reception.
(4) Built-in DDR3 controller and extensive set of peripheral functions for significant reductions in total system costs
The R-Mobile A1 devices incorporate a 32-bit bus, a 400-MHz DDR3 (DDR800) controller and offers high-performance, low-cost memory. The devices also include USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI display controller functions as well as a rich set of other peripheral functions, thereby provide significant reductions of system costs.
Of the R-Mobile A1 series of products, a pin-compatible version without the 3-D graphics functions, the R-Mobile A1S device, is also available. The R-Mobile A1S device is optimal for embedded equipment such as mobile terrestrial digital receivers, set top boxes (STBs), and full-HD video IP network cameras. Additionally, Renesas plans to expand the R-Mobile A1 series with such devices as that with 1 gigahertz (GHz) CPU (ARM Cortex-A9) and that with a built-in LPDDR2 (DDR800) controller, which is equipped in a compact, low-power package for mobile terminals.
Refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the R-Mobile A1 series of application processors.
Pricing and Availability
Samples of the R-Mobile A1 and A1S series, a version without the 3D graphics functions, of application processors are available now, priced at US$60 and US$48 per unit, respectively. Mass production is scheduled to begin in March 2012 and is expected to reach a combined volume of 500,000 units per month in 2013. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)
(Remarks) SuperH and EMMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Renesas Electronics Corporation in Japan, the USA, and other countries. PowerVR and SGX are trademarks or registered trademark of Imagination Technologies Limited. ARM, Cortex are trademarks and registered trademarks of ARM Limited. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a trademark or registered trademark of Mr. Linus Torvalds in Japan and other countries. Android is a registered trademark or trademark of Google Inc. Other names, product names in this series, and service names used in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
About Renesas Electronics Corporation
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
About Renesas Mobile Corporation
Renesas Mobile Corporation (RMC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) and offers advanced and innovative products and services for mobile phones, car infotainment solutions, consumer electronics and industrial applications. Renesas Mobile's mission is to develop, productize and deliver communications centric semiconductor chipsets and complete hardware and software platforms built on these chipsets to meet the needs of our customers in these markets. Renesas Mobile provides complete cellular chipset platform solutions including powerful applications processors, leadership and industry reference cellular modems, highly integrated radio frequency devices and intelligent power management solutions. Renesas Mobile offers our customer complete system and software expertise to develop flagship devices more rapidly.
The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.