VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA VX855 Media System Processor (MSP) – an ultra power efficient, all-in-one chipset that addresses the key performance and entertainment requirements of today’s small form factor and mobile PC systems.
VIA VX855 MSP offers hardware H.264 video acceleration in a tiny, highly integrated single chip package with an ultra low TDP of 2.3 watts
Increasingly, content is being filmed in high-definition (HD), with movies, TV shows and sporting events taking advantage of the smooth playback, extraordinary picture clarity, and brilliant colors that HD video offers. However, until now the high bit-rates associated with quality HD video have posed a real challenge to the processing capabilities of power efficient PC systems such as those found in small form factor and mobile devices.
Set to be Microsoft® Windows® 7-ready, the VIA VX855 MSP solves the problem by offering support for full hardware acceleration of the widest variety of leading video standards including H.264, MPEG-2/4, VC-1 and WMV9, greatly reducing the workload and thus the power consumption of the processor.
“For the first time, system developers have an ultra low power media system processor that delivers high bit-rate HD video to small form factor and mobile devices,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “The VIA VX855 opens up exciting opportunities for several PC segments, particularly the mini-notebook category that will now be able to offer true 1080p HD video playback.”
Compatible with the ultra compact VIA Nano™, VIA C7® and VIA Eden™ processor families, the VIA VX855 MSP integrates all the cutting-edge features of a modern chipset’s North and South bridges into a 27mm x 27mm single chip package that saves over 46% of silicon real estate compared with competing twin-chip core logic implementations. This miniaturization, combined with extensive power management technologies and the ability to run fanlessly within a tiny 2.3 watt power envelope, enables system builders to design ever smaller, lighter, and more portable systems.
About the VIA VX855 Media System Processor
The VIA VX855 MSP integrates a high performance DDR2 memory controller, a 400/800MHz FSB processor interface, and extensive I/O capabilities (such as 6 x USB 2.0, SDIO, UART, SPI, LPC and SMBus) in a single chip. Support for the integrated VIA Chrome9™ HCM Graphics Processor, HD audio controller, and a host of display interfaces in its in-built LVDS transmitter, CMOS LCD and CRT interfaces, allows for more flexible multimedia playback options.
An advanced graphics experience is powered by a high frequency 2D/3D graphic engine, while the high performance image processing features include support for hardware decode acceleration of leading video standards as well as up to three audio streams of up to eight channels each, with 32-bit sample depth and sample rates up to 192kHz.
Key Specifications of the VIA VX855 MSP
Supported Processors
- VIA Nano™ / C7® / Eden™ processor
- 400 – 800MHz FSB speed
Memory Controller
- Up to DDR2 800
- Supports up to two 64-bit DDR2 DIMM slots (4 GB max)
- Supports 16-bit dedicated display frame buffer (optional)
Storage Interface Support
- UDMA IDE
- Support SD/MS/MMC/XD
Peripheral Interface
- Six USB2.0 ports
- One USB2.0 device port
- Supports LPC bus
- Supports SDIO, SPI and UART
Integrated 2D/3D/Video Processor
- VIA Chrome9 HCM DX9 3D engine
- 128-bit 2D engine with hardware rotation capability
- High Definition video processor with VMR capability
- Up to 512 MB frame buffer
Display Interface
- Three 10-bit 350 MHz RAMDACs
- Single – channel LVDS
- 18-bit TTL
Unified Video Decoding Processor
- MPEG-2/H.264 VLD hardware decoding acceleration
- MPEG-4, VC1 and DivX video decoding acceleration
High Definition Audio Interface
- Supports up to 32-bit sample depth at 192 kHz sampling rate
- Supports three codecs and eight streams
- Supports HD modem
Video Capture Port
- One 16-bit input or
- One 8-bit TS input + one Serial TS input or
- CCIR656/601 input + one Serial TS input
Supported Software Standards
- Microsoft® DirectX 9.0,
- Microsoft® Windows XP and Vista, Win CE and Linux
Power Management
- ACPI 3.0 and PCI Bus Power Management 1.1 compliant
- Snapshot extensive system power management
Package
- Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array (FCBGA)
- Package Size: 27 x 27mm/0.8mm
Core Voltage
- 1.2V
More information about the VIA VX855 MSP may be found on the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/v-series/vx855/index.jsp
Source: Press Release