AfterDawn: News

New chip decodes HD-DVD and Blu-Ray

One of the problems facing consumers in the knock down grudge match between HD DVD and Blu-ray comes in the form of compatibility. Most consumers would just soon the industry settle for a format and let them revel in the majestic glow of next-generation media. A few companies have attempted to bring out media players capable of playing both formats, but none have really taken off due to the expense and difficulty of doing so. That soon could change.

The folks over at Horizon Semiconductors have unveiled a new chip that decodes full 1080p/60p video streams on the fly for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. This means easy hardware compatibility out of a single processor. They also claim that along with decoding next-gen optical disc formats, it is also capable of reading from the tried and true red laser of the DVD era.



Horizon's Hz7220 HD-DVD/Blu-Ray "System-on-a-Chip" supports wide range of features and capabilities including conformance to leading video compression standards such as high-definition 1080/60p profiles of AVC/H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 and DV/HDV, leading audio compression standards such as DTS-HD, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, as well as supporting HD-DVD and Blu-Ray HDi and BD-J (BD-Java) interactive technologies.

"Consumers today are demanding higher standards of digital entertainment experiences that enhance the very personal environments of their home. Today's current generation of advanced 60fps STB/DVD products decode 1920x1080 at 24fps/30fps and subsequently perform framerate conversion to reach 60fps. In contrast, Hz7220 natively supports true 1080/60p decoding and playback, and will thus accelerate the deployment of next generation players/recorders devices, featuring superb video quality & unparalleled viewer's visual experience," said Amir Morad, Horizon's President and CEO.

Source:
PR Newswire

Written by: Dave Horvath @ 2 Oct 2007 12:39

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• 10 comments

• b18bek9

  nice to see that we dont have to settle for one format why they battle it out the prices should fall.....

  2.10.2007 12:50 #1

• nonoitall

  I couldn't help but notice that "decodes" is only spelled with one 'e' in the title. :) (I hate to nitpick, but it's just my thing.)

  2.10.2007 12:58 #2

• Davedough

  Originally posted by nonoitall: I couldn't help but notice that "decodes" is only spelled with one 'e' in the title. :) (I hate to nitpick, but it's just my thing.)Whoops... Thanks for pointing that out. Glad to see some of us editors are not robots eh? =)

  2.10.2007 13:06 #3

• limelight

  ...and how much is this "chip" gonna cost us??????

  2.10.2007 16:22 #4

• mediabob

  anything would be cheaper than a blu-ray standalone player. so id take this chip considering its from red laser. Red laser is much easier to produce and would already be cheap when manufacturing. So that in conjunction with that fact that it plays HD-DVD and blu-ray is great. Just need to see the features of whatever player its packaged with.

  2.10.2007 18:08 #5

• chaos_zzz

  Originally posted by limelight: ...and how much is this "chip" gonna cost us??????
  how much?

  2.10.2007 18:13 #6

• EricCarr

  I am not buying any of these players till the prices fall dramatically. That would be sweet to have a player that would play all three formats though.

  3.10.2007 01:36 #7

• plazma247

  Full spec:
  
  http://www.horizonsemi.com/dvd_7220.html
  
  I cant find anyone whos said they are intending to use the chip as yet.
  
  The specs really impressive, its got 3d capabilities as well.
  
  Should make for some really cool user interfaces :)
  
  Doesnt say what the power requirements/heat specs are.....

  5.10.2007 12:30 #8

• pmshah

  Originally posted by plazma247: Full spec:
  
  http://www.horizonsemi.com/dvd_7220.html
  
  I cant find anyone whos said they are intending to use the chip as yet.
  
  The specs really impressive, its got 3d capabilities as well.
  
  Should make for some really cool user interfaces :)
  
  Doesnt say what the power requirements/heat specs are.....No one is going to adopt it just because it is announced. Most manufacturers will receive samples which they will test thoroughly in their labs before any final decision.

  5.10.2007 21:07 #9

• borhan9

  Quote:"Consumers today are demanding higher standards of digital entertainment experiences that enhance the very personal environments of their home. Today's current generation of advanced 60fps STB/DVD products decode 1920x1080 at 24fps/30fps and subsequently perform framerate conversion to reach 60fps. In contrast, Hz7220 natively supports true 1080/60p decoding and playback, and will thus accelerate the deployment of next generation players/recorders devices, featuring superb video quality & unparalleled viewer's visual experience," said Amir Morad, Horizon's President and CEO.We maybe demanding this as consumers however we want all these features at an affordable resonable price. Thats all we ask for nothing more :)

  9.10.2007 19:16 #10