Renesas Technology Releases SH-MobileR2 Application Processor for Car Navigation Systems and PNDs Supporting One-Seg TV Broadcasts

Speed 1.5 times that of previous Renesas products and a variety of functions with superior processing performance

Tokyo — Renesas Technology Corp. today announced the SH-MobileR2 (product name: SH7723), the second offering in the SH-Mobile¹ Series of application processors for applications other than mobile phones. The new SH-MobileR2 is intended for use in portable and mobile devices with support for One-Seg² terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, such as car navigation systems and personal navigation devices (PNDs). Sample shipments will begin in January 2008 in Japan.

The features of the SH-MobileR2 are summarized below.

1. 400 MHz high-speed operation and 256 Kbytes secondary memory cache

   The earlier SH-MobileR (product name: SH7722) incorporates the SH4AL-DSP high-performance CPU core and operates at a maximum frequency of 266 MHz. The new SH-MobileR2 incorporates the SH-4A CPU core for higher-speed operation and a floating-point processing unit (FPU) that increases the efficiency of video and audio processing. The new application processor’s maximum operating frequency of 400 MHz makes it approximately 1.5 times as fast as its predecessor. Processing performance when operating at 400 MHz is 720 MIPS (million instructions per second), and the FPU achieves a performance of 2.8 GFLOPS (giga floating-point operations per second). The SH-MobileR2 thus has more than enough power to handle parallel processing of multiple applications or general-purpose operating systems, such as Windows® CE³ or Linux,⁴ which impose a greater processing load than a dedicated OS. In addition, the 64 Kbytes primary cache memory (32 Kbytes each for instructions and data) is supplemented by a new 256 Kbytes secondary cache memory (mixed instructions and data), contributing to faster software execution.

2. Multi-CODEC video processing IP for high performance and low power consumption

   The SH-MobileR2 employs VPU5F (Video Processing Unit 5F), a high-performance multi-CODEC video processing IP that supports H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), the video compression standard used by the Japanese terrestrial digital broadcasting format ISDB-T.⁵ This IP enables VGA size encoding and decoding at a rate of 30 frames per second (fps). It supports MPEG-4 encoding and decoding and VC-1 decoding, making it possible to implement a variety of video applications such as video e-mail, videophone, and video capture. In addition, this application processors can support digital broadcasting systems used outside Japan, such as DVB-H⁶ in Europe and DMB⁷ in South Korea.

3. A wide variety of high-performance on-chip peripheral functions for multimedia support

   The SH-MobileR2 incorporates a 2-D graphics accelerator for map rendering that provides better functionality and performance than that of the earlier SH-MobileR. This enables high-quality and high-speed map rendering. It also has an expanded edge emphasis function for high-quality display of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, ensuring that the picture does not appear fuzzy when enlarged from QVGA to VGA or WVGA size. Additional peripheral functions include USB 2.0 host/function support (high-speed), an ATAPI controller allowing connection to a hard disk or DVD drive, and an SD host controller with high-speed specification support. This array of high-performance peripheral functions makes it possible to reduce the total number of parts and reduce system cost while maintaining high-level performance. A wide variety of middleware is available for the SH-MobileR2, including video middleware supporting H.264, MPEG-4, and WMV and audio middleware supporting aacPlus (Advanced Audio Coding Plus).⁸ These software solutions assist in the development of a total system.

Product Background

In recent years an increasing number of multimedia terminals with support for terrestrial digital broadcasts have appeared on the market, with examples including mobile phones, car navigation systems, and portable media players. The proliferation of such products is particularly notable in the field of car navigation systems, with both dash-mounted models and simple navigation systems such as PNDs now providing TV receiver functionality. This trend is expected to expand still further in future.

Renesas Technology released the SH-Mobile Series of application processors supporting terrestrial digital broadcasts for mobile phone systems early on, and it has achieved widespread adoption in mobile phones. The company subsequently introduced the SH-MobileR, the first application processor in the series designed for systems other than mobile phones. It retained the many peripheral functions, structure, and ease of use of preceding models and received an enthusiastic reception. SH-MobileR2 is the second offering in the SH-Mobile Series of application processors for applications other than mobile phones, retaining the excellent performance and ease of use of the SH-MobileR while responding to strong demand for enhanced performance. The SH-MobileR2 operates about 1.5 times as fast as the SH-MobileR and delivers functions providing an even higher level of performance.

Product Details

The SH-MobileR2 incorporates the SH-4A CPU core and achieves processing performance of 720 MIPS at the maximum operating frequency of 400 MHz, for an excellent unit-frequency performance of 1.8 MIPS/MHz. In addition, the 64 Kbytes primary cache memory is supplemented by a new 256 Kbytes secondary cache memory, enabling faster execution of software.

Also provided is the VPU5F IP core for high-performance video processing. VPU5F supports the H.264 video compression standard used for terrestrial digital broadcasts; encoding and decoding of MPEG-4, which is widely used for video recording and playback; and decoding of VC-1, which is used on PCs, etc. This enables video processing with excellent picture quality, high speed, and superior performance.

The SH-MobileR2 has a wide range of on-chip peripheral functions such as multimedia functions. It employs a 2-D graphics accelerator for map rendering that delivers improved functionality and performance. The thick-line rendering function makes it easy to draw lines of a uniform thickness, regardless of the direction, when representing roads. The anti-aliasing function enables smooth rendering of polygons and diagonal lines. These functions contribute to high-quality, high-speed map rendering.

An expanded edge emphasis function delivers high-quality display of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts. It ensures that the picture does not appear fuzzy when enlarged from QVGA to VGA or WVGA size by enhancing the edges, performing inter-pixel correction, and filtering out noise. Other on-chip functions include a 24-bit compatible TFT color LCD controller, USB 2.0 host/function (high-speed), an ATAPI controller allowing connection to a high disk or DVD drive, and an SD host controller with high-speed specification support. The SD memory card⁹ interface supports an optional CPRM (Content Protection for Recordable Media Specification) function, making possible recording and later playback of terrestrial digital broadcasts.

A range of system solutions is also planned to help shorten system development times and reduce system cost. These include a reference platform with the SH-MobileR2 mounted on it and a graphics library supporting the functions of the 2-D graphics accelerator. The reference platform will be a useful tool for examining system functions, evaluating performance, and more efficient software development. The graphics library conforms to the GDI-Sub¹⁰ specification and supports Windows® Automotive 5.0¹¹ Service Pack 2 from Microsoft Corporation, making it possible to implement a variety of map rendering functions using the 2-D graphics accelerator. Scheduled third-party products that will support the SH-MobileR2 include middleware and a system development solution for One-Seg compatible applications from Hitachi ULSI Systems Co., Ltd., and, a BSP (Board Support Package) from Akita Electronics Systems Co., Ltd., with support for Windows® CE 5.0 and Windows® Automotive 5.0 Service Pack 2.

The package is a 449-pin BGA (21 mm x 21 mm, 0.8 mm pin pitch).