NEC Electronics Introduces Super-Resolution ASSP with LVDS Interface for Digital TVs and PC Monitors
NEC Electronics announced its new super-resolution application-specific standard product (ASSP), the uPD9281GC. The ASSP addresses the dramatic divergence between yesterday’s image resolution and the high resolution of today’s audio-visual (AV) display systems, and supports the low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface, a technology extensively adopted in broad ranges of flat panel displays, projectors for digital TVs (DTVs) and PC monitors.
For recent models of flat panel displays and projectors, higher screen
resolution is essential to the specification of products with premium display
quality. However, the rapid development of today's high-performance digital
audio/visual (AV) devices has left consumers with the challenge of how to view
low-resolution images on their new high-definition (HD) electronic products. For
example, 1920 x 1080-pixel HD televisions have six times the resolution compared
to the 720 x 480-pixel standard definition (SD) image data, which results in
blurred images. Although many image-enhancement technologies have been developed
to process low-resolution image data into full HD images, designers, using
traditional solutions, require large-capacity external memory devices and high-performance
computational engines, as well as facing other challenges, to achieve real-time
processing for vivid moving images.
To solve these problems, NEC Electronics and NEC Central Research Laboratories
jointly developed a new technology that enables very high-resolution processing
with just one frame of image data. NEC Electronics has been releasing super-resolution
ASSPs based on this new technology since November 2008. The company has named
its super-resolution ASSP lineup the “NeoClearResolution™ (Bikaizo™)” and now
offers the new µPD9281GC NeoClearResolution ASSP with LVDS interface.
Three key features of the µPD9281GC NeoClearResolution ASSP are:
- Supports the LVDS flat panel display interface
With -an integrated LVDS-interface (Note) circuit that connects the flat panel
display and the image data processing circuits, NEC Electronics’ new ASSP
reduces external components and saves space on system boards.
- Reduces “mosquito noise” caused by JPEG and MPEG compressed images
The new ASSP integrates a noise-reduction feature to reduce mosquito noise
unique to compressed video images of MPEG2, widely used for digital media such
as DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and H.264 used for viewing digital satellite
broadcasting. The new ASSP also reduces mosquito noise for JPEG compressed
images used especially for digital still cameras. Reducing the mosquito noise
enables processing of images that are more natural.
- Can select area to apply super-resolution
Designers can select up to four specific sections of an image and apply NEC
Electronics’ super-resolution technology to enhance image quality of those
sections. This feature enables the application of the super-resolution
technology, such as applying the technology onto a specific area of the
picture–in–picture display, which is useful for picture-enhancement
demonstrations at consumer electronic stores.
NEC Electronics expects this new ASSP will enable better archiving of
valuable images in display devices, and plans to continue developing super-resolution
system-on-chips (SoCs) using the NEC Electronics Neo Clear Resolution (Bikaizo)
brand name.
More information about NEC Electronics super-resolution products can be found at
http://www.necel.com/superresolution/en/products/d9281gc.html.
A video of the super-resolution technology can be seen at
http://www.necel.com/video/en/vol_0012/vol_0012.html
Availability
Samples of NEC Electronics’ µPD9281GC super-resolution ASSP are available now.
Mass production is scheduled to begin in February 2010, starting at 100,000
units per month. Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.
201002211021.2.2010Audio-video-hifiNEC Electronics Corporation