Andre Yoskowitz
22 May 2008 16:24
Panasonic has announced they have developed the world's first single-chip processor that can handle all of Blu-ray's latest Profile 2.0 standards.
By using this latest chip, dubbed the UniPhier3, Panasonic promises smaller sizes, lower power consumption, and cheaper prices for BD players using the chip.
According to the press release, the chip has full "support for the latest BD standards, and functions including dual-screen simultaneous video playback, high-quality audio playback, and network compatibility achieved on a single chip."
It will also allows for "50% reduction in mounting surface area and 25% reduction in power consumption, compared to current Panasonic products." That is a huge plus in my opinion as most current BD players are large and obtrusive, compared to many slimline DVD players.
The chip also supports "video playback for BD, DVD, and CD media, and standards including MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and VC-1; high-quality audio playback compatible with lossless coding".
Samples of the chip are set to be released to manufacturers beginning next month. Maybe one day, using this chip, there will be a player with a better value than the PlayStation 3.