Sampling of 4K/p60 HEVC video encoder chip begins

Socionext has announced it has started sampling the world’s first HEVC/H.265 compatible encoder IC, the MB86M31, along with an evaluation board, the MB86M31-EVB, and the software development kit for drivers and applications. The new device is capable of real-time encoding of 4K/p60 video with the latest video compression technology. HEVC achieves the transmission of realistic 4K video at half the cost of the preceding H.264 technology without a loss of quality. This new format is being adopted rapidly worldwide, as 4K video is becoming more and more popular. Real-time encoding of 4K video used to require parallel processing using multiple CPUs. The device can perform the real-time encoding with a single chip, enabling dramatic reduction in size and power consumption of the equipment, with only 1/20 the volume and 1/50 the power of multiprocessor system, for a total of 1,000x performance enhancement. Mainly targeted at high-end equipment for professional use, Socionext plans to start volume production of the MB86M31 in August 2015. Socionext is a new company established by the consolidation of the system LSI businesses of Fujitsu Limited and Panasonic Corporation. The company's video encoder business has a track record of development and delivery of industry-leading encoder products for MPEG-2 and H.264, since the unit was with Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited. The MB86M31 incorporates the HEVC encoder core co-developed with Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and achieves world-class high data compression while maintaining the image quality. It enables the transmission of 4K high quality, high definition video through live broadcast or network distribution, with using about half the band width as compared with the conventional H.264. It is also compatible with YUV 4:2:2 10bit encoding, which is essential for professional use, says the company.