Taiwanese companies MediaTek and TSMC have unveiled what they call the world's first flagship 8-nanometer 7K digital television system on a chip (SoC), the MediaTek Pentonic 2000. The world's first ultra-high-resolution 8K television chips will power TVs in the world. The next generation is expected to hit the world market in the second quarter of 2022.
The Pentonic 2000 chip is said to offer artificial intelligence engines, motion estimation and compensation, versatile video coding, and picture-in-picture technologies.
"Compared to TSMC's 16nm process technology used in consumer electronics applications, its N7 process offers a 30% speed improvement or 55% power reduction and more than three times the logic density" the company said in a press release.
Bright displays and clear sound
Equipped with the fastest processor and graphics processor in the television industry, the Pentonic 2000 features an ultra-wide memory bus, uses 3.1 universal flash storage, and supports wireless connectivity for Wi-Fi, Fi 6E or 5G modems.
The chip's built-in high-performance MediaTek APU (AI Processor) powers MediaTek's new 8K AI-Super Resolution technology that upscales lower resolution content to the display's native resolution, while improving picture quality by time real.
"The Pentonic 2000 places MediaTek at the forefront of smart TV design with its ability to provide consumers with rich, sharp images, brilliant screens and crystal-clear sound, as well as a smart and intuitive user experience," Dr. Mike Chang, vice president and general of the company. The director of MediaTek's Smart Home Business Group was quoted.
"By adopting TSMC's N7 process, MediaTek is bringing technology capable of supercomputing applications into the living room to bring the next generation of multimedia experiences to consumers," said Dr. Kevin Zhang, TSMC's senior vice president of business development.
Designed for the streaming age
Pentonic 2000 is the first commercial 8K TV chip with H.266 Versatile Video Coding (VVC) multimedia support, offering improved compression efficiency, which is essential in the broadcast age.
The Pentonic 2000 is also said to support the latest Dolby audio and picture technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Additionally, the chip supports AV1 for streaming services and all global TV streaming standards, including the latest ATSC 3.0.
MediaTek chips are used in nearly 2 billion TVs per year, including Oppo Mobile Telecommunications, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, and Vizio Inc in North America.
TV-related chips contributed about 14% to MediaTek's € 4.72 billion revenue last quarter, while cell phone chips accounted for 56%.