TOSHIBA’S NEW MPEG-4 ENCODER AND DECODER LSI INTEGRATES HIGH PERFORMANCE 3D GRAPHICS ENGINE

TOSHIBA'S NEW MPEG-4 ENCODER AND DECODER LSI INTEGRATES HIGH PERFORMANCE 3D GRAPHICS ENGINE

Toshiba Corporation has announced the launch of a powerful MPEG-4 encoder and decoder LSI that brings video-game-grade 3D graphics to cellular phones. The latest addition to Toshiba's T series of MPEG-4 LSI, the T4G (part number: TC35285XBG) supports fast rendering of graphics, including advanced shading, texture mapping, special effects and other visualization functions, enabling mobile phones to offer high-resolution 3D graphics matching those of current game consoles.

Most of today's advanced mobile phones render 3D graphics by software, an approach that severely burdens the CPU and increases power consumption. The T4G instead integrates a dedicated circuit for high-grade 3D graphics. At a time when cellular phones are diversifying to become games platforms and personal GPS systems, the T4G delivers a timely solution that supports improved graphics and renders video sources with a drawing performance of 125-million pixels a second.

Alongside its 3D graphic processor, T4G integrates a JPEG codec for a 2-megapixel camera and an LCD control circuit for a QVGA panel. The need for external memory is eliminated by the provision of embedded-DRAM fabricated with 130-nanometer process technology. Power consumption (at 125 MHz operation) is between 170 to 230 milliwatts, and the chip is packaged in a 12 x 12mm ball gird array.