The latest member of the SH-Mobile series of application processors for mobile devices from Renesas Technology, the SH-MobileUL2, offers approximately a 30% power reduction for video playback applications, compared to previous products. The SH7366 also features an enhanced cost-performance ratio, an improved design, and a high level of integration.

The device achieves 30-frame/s encoding and decoding with a D1-size (720- by 480-pixel) display. To help simplify designs and reduce overall system cost, the processor has more built-in peripheral functions, including a USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) interface and an on-chip digital-to-analog converter for TV output. Its small (8- by 10-mm), 284-pin ball-grid array (BGA) package includes a microprocessor and system memory, facilitating the design of smaller and more convenient phones.

The on-chip video processing unit (VPU) supports the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) moving-image compression standard used in mobile digital TV systems worldwide. The VPU also can handle other moving-image applications, such as video e-mail, videophone pictures, and camcorder-style video clips.

A dedicated on-chip video processing memory enhances performance. In a multimedia mobile phone, the processor is paired with a single system-in-package external memory containing either 128 Mbits or 256 Mbits of double-data-rate (DDR) mobile RAM. Operating frequency is 266 MHz.

The SH-MobileUL2 (SH7366) is available now, priced at $16 with the 128-Mbit external memory and $21 with the 256-Mbit memory.

Renesas Technology Corp.

www.renesas.com