Renesas aims to bring 1080p playback to your next cellphone

Believe it or not, this is far from the first we've heard of bringing high-def video to cellphones, and it's not even the first application to dabble in mobile 1080p. Still, we'll take all the innovation we can get in this space, and when the real Touch HD ever arrives, we'll be ready and waiting with Full HD capabilities. Announced at ISSCC 2009 in San Francisco, Renesas Technology is showing off an application processor that enables handsets to process 1,920 x 1,080 resolution video at 30 frames-per-second; the processor's core has a maximum operating frequency of 500MHz and supports MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video formats. There's no telling when the 6.4- x 6.5-millimeter chip will be available en masse, but we need the HTCs of the world to get us a 1080p phone and a retina implant or two to read 0.2-size fonts before it even matters.

[Ashwin @ Dec 1st 2008 7:41PM]

What good would 1080p be on a screen that is only like 3" max. It wouldn't make any difference at all until the screen you are working on is bigger than 15".

[required @ Dec 1st 2008 7:48PM]

Just think how much fun you could have pausing and zooming so that you could read the credits! Just joking, I think it would be used with video out, ie: hooked up to a TV

[Saad Rabia @ Dec 1st 2008 7:49PM]

I did some tests and found out that 14.37" is also a good size for watching 1080p video.

[Blastar @ Dec 1st 2008 10:08PM]

Actually it does make a difference and an obvious one but only when it the screen has a good resolution too.
It ll be something like an ultra smooth and sharp image I wonder about the energy cost when you try to switch 2M+ Pixels Screen.

[Wesley Burchnall @ Dec 1st 2008 8:34PM]

The good aspect of this feature comes down to not-having-to-convert or settle-for-less.

If you are going to legally buy a copy of a movie in 1080p or on a dvd format at 480p, one concern a customer might have is 'Gee, I want to watch some episodes on this lost tv series at home and some of the bus to work. My cellphone can't play 1080p, but, I'd prefer high-def video but converting to low-def takes so long! Like 5 hours per 1 hour of video. I wonder if I should choose high def for the better at home experience? or choose low-def cause my cellphone can play it easily once converted'.

In this case, the customer is either going to have to go through a length conversion processs or buy the low-def version. If her cellphone however did play 1080p videos, then the problem is resolved. She doesn't need to settle for low-def or go through the lengthy conversion process. Thus, you get the best of both worlds.

[RoboDan @ Dec 1st 2008 8:38PM]

Next they'll put a 4K screen into a 3" form factor...

and it'll be the ONLY reason you're buying a new cell phone

The system works

[Ashwin @ Dec 1st 2008 8:37PM]

@required
That would certainly make sense. Imagine how convenient it would be to store HD video on a cellphone and plug it into a TV.

[rock99rock @ Dec 1st 2008 9:42PM]

@Ashwin

For shame sir!!

The day i get a cellphone with a true HD display, is the day i can say

"I've finally made it."

Seriously.

[Ellianth @ Dec 1st 2008 10:51PM]

Yeah it'd be so much more convenient to walk around with your cell phone and a dongle than to just walk around with the actual dvd.

[cllemke @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:28AM]

Why would you want a 1080p movie on a phone anyway, unless pricing for memory comes WAY down. A Blu-Ray movie at 1080p is around 30GB.

[Johan S @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:07AM]

Ultra crisp 1080p on a cellphone size display does make sense. Sure you can't see the individual pixels from 3 feet away .. but try holding it up close say 8 inches from your eye .. if you have normal vision you will see the pixels. Up close the human eye can distinguish up to 2000 dots per inch and higher (that's why laser printers strive for it). Compare that to the iPhones 160 ppi .. if you hold the iPhone 12 inches away you can not only see individual pixels but the thin lines _between_ the pixels.

[telepheedian @ Dec 1st 2008 7:42PM]

They should target FLV playback and sell it to netbook manufacturers instead.

[Brent Summers @ Dec 1st 2008 7:43PM]

[insert witty commentary here]

[Saad Rabia @ Dec 1st 2008 7:50PM]

[Here?]

[Sean @ Dec 1st 2008 7:51PM]

Your pic/avatar sucks

[Brent Summers @ Dec 1st 2008 7:52PM]

thanks.

[Sean @ Dec 1st 2008 7:54PM]

you mean [thanks.]

[aanidaani @ Dec 1st 2008 7:45PM]

Wow, now you can pick out all those fine details with your magnifying glass!

[Gad Get @ Dec 1st 2008 7:47PM]

I don't think you'd need a magnifying glass. Maybe a microscope.

[Jamesy @ Dec 1st 2008 7:50PM]

Only helpful if your cellphone has a 14" or larger screen.

[Rekit @ Dec 1st 2008 7:51PM]

I don't need this, and neither do you.

[Sean @ Dec 1st 2008 7:53PM]

you mean [thanks.]

[EUPHOR1C @ Dec 1st 2008 8:05PM]

NICE! Now all I need is a phone wall mount for over the fireplace. What about 5.1 support.

[DarkLight @ Dec 1st 2008 8:28PM]

5.1 is old...

7.1 is where it's at now: http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/02/mysterious-smartphone-offers-up-integrated-7-1-surround-sound/

[EUPHOR1C @ Dec 1st 2008 10:42PM]

OMG, just when you thought you've seen it all. 7.1 surround smart phone, frickin priceless .........

[DssTrainer @ Dec 1st 2008 8:16PM]

first lets get 480p working properly.. then we can worry about improving it

[1234321 @ Dec 1st 2008 8:25PM]

that's the Touch HD
heck even my old Dell PDA from 2004 can run 480P avi videos
all you need is decent hardware and a good decoder (TCPMP still reigns for WinMo)

[Johannes @ Dec 1st 2008 8:18PM]

How about combining this with a HD-projector in the phone? (Not quite so HD yet projector in a phone: http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/20/hands-on-with-texas-instruments-cellphone-projector/)

[fuzzy kittens @ Dec 1st 2008 8:48PM]

great, another cellphone than can do something my air can't

[Samboini @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:36AM]

Let's be honest, the Air doesn't take much beating.

[Chris Riccio @ Dec 1st 2008 8:48PM]

Bahahahaha. My 1080p x264 rip of Cloverfield has scenes that hit 80Mbp/s, I would love to see it play that...

[John @ Dec 1st 2008 11:33PM]

Would you care to enthrall us with your other ill-gotten movies, you... badass, you?

[Evan @ Dec 1st 2008 8:54PM]

Anybody want to know the cost of storing a single 1080p movie on a media the phone can read?

[Leo M. @ Dec 1st 2008 9:14PM]

yet my 1-year old mac mini can't play most 1080p files without stuttering here and there....

[gm @ Dec 1st 2008 9:15PM]

Good can't wait until the G-1 has this. Battery life willing that is.

[Joshua Walters @ Dec 1st 2008 9:20PM]

The G1 Couldnt do this.

This is hardware. How are you supposing you get this feature onto your G1? Through a software update? Thats not going to do anything for the hardware that doesnt exist in your G1.

[jon @ Dec 1st 2008 9:18PM]

this is great! i've been waiting for this ever since cell phones started coming with blu-ray drives!

[Samboini @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:57AM]

Mine has HD-DVD.

:(

[Jack H @ Dec 1st 2008 9:23PM]

do they think people have 15 inch screens on their cell phones?

[Mike @ Dec 1st 2008 9:30PM]

Battery Life Fail.

[BerBar @ Dec 1st 2008 9:58PM]

What about bandwith?

[Samboini @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:59AM]

What about spell checkng?

[Luis @ Dec 1st 2008 10:34PM]

i will love a phone, that can play 480p, or maybe, just maybe 720p...but the tv out, can play 1080p.
i mean it's not necessary to have a full HD res, on a phone (besides you'll have more battery life), but it would be awesome if i can play mi HD stuff, on any HD capable tb, with just my phone.
the phone screen will turn off, when connected to a tv, and stream a higher res, cool heh? :)

[EUPHOR1C @ Dec 1st 2008 10:46PM]

While they are at it, why not just make it a blueray player phone that accepts full size discs! Yeah! Also with 10 second anti skip protection for when you get an incoming call and the phone is on vibrate. The possibilities are endless

[JerkfacedFed @ Dec 1st 2008 11:09PM]

yes, a processor that can play 1080p on a 320x240 screen. Way to attempt to boost your stock prices, only to see them drop back to $useless tomorrow. Idiots.

[Dionte @ Dec 1st 2008 11:46PM]

This might make hooking cell phones up to tv's interesting

[Samboini @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:00AM]

Technology sex FTW!

[Rolf Schewe @ Dec 1st 2008 11:54PM]

It better have 24p and be THX Certified with 7.1 surround sound too. I want that .1 to rumble like a mofo.

[Chuchi @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:59AM]

This would make sense if the phone could project this res using a pico projector or for use with an external display, but obviously not on the phone's screen itself.

And, oh yeah, useless until the day phones have 500GB+ of flash storage to accomodate things at a needless level. At least they have the ball rolling on this front.

[Félix @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:29AM]

I find it amusing that most people worry about the screen (which is a real concern though don't get me wrong, but there are some phones which have a TV out after all.)

But the main problem is no smartphone can carry an entire 1080p movie.
Not enough memory.
there is also the battery problem etc etc...