*****For immediate use June 12th, 2002
NEC Develops World's Lowest-Power-Consumption MPEG2 AV Codec LSI
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| "µPD61151/52" |
TOKYO June 12, 2002 - NEC Corporation (NEC) (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) (TYSE: 6701) today announced that it has developed a new MPEG2 AV codec LSI that operates at the world's lowest power consumption rate for use in mobile applications, such as digital video camcorders and Notebook PCs.
The newly developed MPEG2 AV codec LSI (µPD61151/52) features a small package and super-low power consumption for audio and video compression of 330mW (typ.). This is less than 1/3 of the power consumption of NEC's current products and the world's lowest power consumption rate for a single-chip AV encoder. Able to operate at this break-through power consumption level, NEC's MPEG2 AV codec device is promising to accelerate development of new mobile products with high quality MPEG2 video compression and decompression technology.
Demand for MPEG2 codec devices, widely used in consumer digital AV products is growing rapidly. Since NEC developed the world's first MPEG2 encoder for use in D-VHS and DVD recorder products in 1999, MPEG2 codecs have spread into many application areas, including use in wireless AV transmission for the digital home network. MPEG2 compression technology has become the key factor for creating high-quality video images. However, due to the high power consumption, current applications have been restricted to set-top-box type products with only a small number of products suitable for mobile applications. To meet demand for the mobile application market, NEC developed today's new super-low power MPEG2 AV codec LSI that uses NEC's production-proven high-quality video compression LSI technology.
Main features of the µPD61151/52 include:
(1)World's lowest power consumption as a single chip MPEG2 codec.
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Power consumption: 330mW @1.5V, MPEG2 AV encode
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Package: 273pin PBGA, 15mm x 15mm
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Supports Low-power SDRAM with 2.5V I/O
(2)Programmable functionality suitable for actual mobile use.
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Encoder, transcoder functions compatible with µPD61051/52
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Audio video playback for mobile use
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Supports most audio compression algorithms including MP3*1 (see note), WMA*2, AAC*3 and Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital is only compatible with µPD61152).
(3)Flexible host bus interfaces.
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Compressed stream IF through host bus
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PCI (Rev. 2.1) bus interface
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Parallel/serial host interface compatible with µPD61051/52
NEC is now providing samples, and expects volume production to begin in September 2002 with plans to produce 200,000 units per month in 2003.
To meet the needs of this quickly developing market, NEC will strive to cover a wide application range with the µPD61151/52 and its extensive range of previous MPEG2 codec products.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of approximately $39 billion in fiscal year 2001-2002. For further information, visit the NEC home page at http://www.nec.com/.
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Note:
*1: MP3
MP3 (MPEG1 Audio Layer 3) is an audio coding system mainly used for compression of music content on the Internet.*2: WMA
WMA (Window Media Audio) is an audio coding system developed by Microsoft Corporation.*3: ACC
ACC (Advanced Audio Coding) is a MPEG2 audio coding system. Forgoing compatibility with MPEG1 audio, AAC holds the key feature of raised sound quality.
Windows Media is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation of America registered in the US and in other countries. Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. Other company names and product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of each company.
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