Cortex-A8 based processor supports Blu-Ray resolution graphics
1 min read
In a move which sees one of the fastest implementations of the Cortex-A8 processor, ZiiLabs has unveiled an applications processor that is said to bring Blu-Ray quality graphics to low power consumer devices.
The device – the ZMS-08 – is ZiiLabs' third generation part, delivering three times the performance of its predecessor while reducing power consumption by up to 50%.
ZiiLabs president Hock Leow claimed the device was the result of 'UK ingenuity' – the design has largely been accomplished by the company's Egham based team.
While the Cortex-A8, which acts as the main cpu platform, runs at 1GHz, Leow said the 'heavy lifting' has been offloaded to Stemcell – ZiiLabs proprietary processing array. This features 64 fully programmable floating point processing elements and supports a wide range of media formats.
While much of the performance increase can be ascribed to this element – the previous device featured a 24 element array – additional performance boosts have come from a move to a 65nm process and from what Leow called 'better layout', allowing more features to be integrated onto the chip.
Leow noted: "The ARM core is not fast when it comes to bitstream decode. By merging this and doing the 'heavy lifting' on the processing array, we can support 1080p Blu-Ray quality H.264 decode."
The device is already sampling with selected customers and volume production is expected in Q1 2010. Lead customers in the video conferencing and connected tv sectors are expected to launch products towards the end of next year, with smartphone companies also interested in the technology.
