June 13, 2012 – Imagination Technologies ( www.imgtec.com ), a leading company in the field of multimedia and communications semiconductor technology, announced today the first products of its PowerVR Series 4 video cores. The newly announced PowerVR Series 4 D4500MP video decoder and E4500MP video encoder were developed based on Imagination's highly successful PowerVR VXD and VXE Series 3 multi-standard video codecs.
The newly announced Multipipe Video IP Core product enables advanced applications such as wireless display and video capture with HD and Ultra HD (H.264 L5.2 4Kx2K @ 60fps) quality through unprecedented color reproduction capabilities.
In particular, the new video processor core is ideal for consumer applications as it features not only best-in-class performance but also an ultra-compact size and low power performance. Additionally, since the core scales from one to four pipelines, it provides 1080P performance even in small design areas and can achieve industry-leading 4Kx2K performance while meeting low power requirements.
Tony King-Smith, Vice President of Marketing at Imagination, stated, “By leveraging the enhanced color reproduction capabilities of the PowerVR D4500MP and E4500MP, which can process over one billion colors at full resolution, users can achieve sharp and superior image quality even in modern video applications such as wireless displays and high-definition video capture.” He added, “With the rise of OLED displays and 10-bit monitors offering wider color gamuts, consumers are demanding even better image quality and color reproduction capabilities with greater clarity.” “This core, equipped with performance exceeding the real-time processing capabilities of HD video, is ideal for currently widely used displays and applications and provides sufficient performance for the latest Ultra HD 4Kx2K applications,” they stated.

Outstanding color reproduction processing over 1 billion colors at the highest resolution
PowerVR D4500MP and E4500MP provide enhanced color depth and 10-bit precision, offering over one billion colors compared to the 1.6 million colors provided by existing 8-bit systems. This increase in color depth allows the SoC to maintain internal processing precision from the source to the display, enabling lifelike color representation. Furthermore, the improved image quality provides the color depth required for the latest 10-bit and OLED displays. In particular, 10-bit technology helps reduce banding phenomena that occur in 8-bit systems.

The video processor core increases the color resolution to 4:4:4 (or 4:2:2), providing full resolution across all elements, to further enhance the provided color rendering. This makes the conversion between YCbCr and RGB much easier and eliminates the need for separate interpolation, making it ideal for wireless display subsystems. Additionally, while repetitive conversions between color formats (and resolutions) cause blurring due to interpolation errors, using 4:4:4 eliminates this.

The core's enhanced resolution and expressive capabilities further improve the performance of applications such as camcorders, DSCs, DSLRs, and mobile phones that use image sensors providing at least 10-bit resolution. Therefore, it is possible to provide outstanding image quality that has never been experienced before, enabling manufacturers to differentiate their products and provide enhanced customer value.

Encoding and decoding performance for future applications
PowerVR D4500MP and E4500MP enhance decoding and encoding performance for Full HD 1080P video applications, respectively, enabling support for high frame rates required for lifelike ultra-high quality, multi-stream HD channel browsing, and detailed slow-motion expression in sports broadcasts. Additionally, the new cores provide best-in-class performance for Ultra HD 4Kx2K video and future video application core technologies. In particular, they enable the implementation of modern information displays, such as "Information Walls," which combine TV, apps, social media, and channel browsing, as well as visual information that is four times greater than that of HDTV.

Inside the core
PowerVR D4500MP supports all major video standards including H.264 HP, H.264 MP, H.264 BP, H.264 MVC, VC-1, VP8/WebM, H.263, RMVB (Real Video), MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVS, VP6, and JPEG.
PowerVR E4500MP supports a number of standards including H.264 HP, H.264 MP, H.264 BP, H.264 MVC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and JPEG.
PowerVR video cores are industry-leading products with low power consumption and the ability to decode H.264HP 1080P30 video at 15mW (40LP) or less.
The PowerVR D4500MP multi-standard, multi-stream video decoder IP core enables performance that scales easily to high resolution or high frame rate applications up to full H.264 level 5.2 using ultra-low power mainstream silicon processes. This unprecedented performance enables decoding of 4K resolution content up to H.264 L5.2 4Kx2K @ 60fps.
PowerVR D4500MP can decode any format into an H.264 HP (High Profile) stream at a speed much faster than real-time, enabling numerous applications that enhance the user experience, including high-speed slow-motion playback, trick play mode, and 1920x1080 120fps decoding required for video editing.
The PowerVR E4500MP is a multi-standard, multi-stream video encoder capable of processing all major HD and still image standards, supporting resolutions up to 4Kx2K@30fps . The E4500MP's input scaler enables downscaling of incoming video data. This feature is useful for a variety of applications, including adaptive video and the simultaneous broadcasting of low-resolution and high-resolution video. Additionally, the E4500MP core supports H.264 lossless mode, making it useful for applications requiring the highest quality for video transmission.

The latest core announced this time is currently available for licensing and is scheduled to be provided to partner companies in the second half of this year.