Hitachi announced the launch of the SuperENCIII, a single chip audio/video SDTV and HDTV MPEG-2 codec. Developed by NTT Electronics, this low power, low cost codec has been designed for use in advanced consumer product applications.

The SuperENCIII can provide half-duplex MPEG-2 encoding and decoding, achieving professional-quality 420 and 422 video and audio in a BGA package which is just 17x17mm, and power consumption of less than 1W. Versatility is the key to this new chip and the powerful 64bit RISC processor enables the incorporation of various kinds of middleware such as JPEG, MP3, MPEG-4 (decode) and video-graphics. The SuperENCIII chip processes high quality video with up/down conversion of SD and HD video formats 480i/576i/480p/720p/1080i. MPEG-4 encode (Simple Profile, Level 3) can also be carried out and there is an IEEE1394 “Firewire” interface.

The SuperENCIII can be embedded in home digital video cameras, interactive video communication terminals and mobile CODEC systems. Major manufacturers of HD digital video cameras have already recognised the exceptional flexibility and capability of SuperENCIII and there are new Consumer HD DVD Camcorders now being launched, based on SuperENCIII.

Hitachi sees these product launches as just the start and there will be many similar high-volume applications utilising SuperENCIII in the near future.