MediaTek recently presented its new flagship SoC for smartphones, the Dimensity 9000. The latter is of course aimed at smartphones. For televisions, however, the Pentonic 2000 has also been pulled out of the hat. This flagship processor is created using the 7-nanometer process and is said to have significantly more CPU and GPU performance than previous models. In addition, it can display 8K at 120 Hz and can decode AV1.
MediaTek also advertises that the chip for PC gaming can even handle 144 Hz. It is also one of the first TV processors that can decode VVC (Versatile Video Coding). MediaTek promises good moving image display and improved upscaling through the 8K 120 Hz MEMC engine and a technology called 8K AI Super Resolution. From 2022, the chip could then work in 8K but of course also in 4K TVs.
In case you are wondering: MediaTek has been supplying chips to TV manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic and Philips for a long time. In fact, it is one of the leading providers. The Pentonic 2000 is also ready for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, ATSC 3.0, Wi-Fi 6E, 5G and a picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture mode. However, it is still open which partners want to use the processor.
It is quite possible that MediaTek will reveal more about the new Pentonic 2000 at the CES in Las Vegas in January 2022. At least that sounds like a clean overall package.
The Pentonic 2000 (PDF) is a 7 nm (N7) system-on-a-chip manufactured by TSMC from the Taiwanese manufacturer MediaTek, which is specially designed for use in smart TVs and supports up to 8K at 120 Hz. In addition to Wi-Fi 6E, which has been cut in this country, VCC and UFS 3.1 are also supported.
8K, 120 Hz, AV1, VVC and Wi-Fi 6E
The integrated 8K MEMC engine, which can output up to 120 images per second with 7,680 × 4,320 pixels using AI support, is one of the first system-on-a-chip to master the free video compression AOMedia Video 1 ( AV1 ) also the decoding of VVC ( Versatile Video Coding ) alias H.266.
In addition to the currently ” fastest CPU and GPU ” in the TV SoC segment, MediaTek promises a 6-channel memory controller for UFS 3.1 flash memory, wireless connections via Wi-Fi 6E and optional 5G as well as HDMI 2.1.
Supported by “2nd Generation MediaTek AI-Picture Quality Scene Recognition” and the “3rd Generation MediaTek AI-Picture Quality Object Recognition” as well as “AI-Super Resolution 8K”, content in Full HD and 4K can also be upscaled to up to extrapolate to 8K.
In addition to Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, the System-on-a-Chip also supports the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and picture-in-picture functions with up to 16 parallel images. You can also control up to four AI-supported microphones at the same time.
The manufacturer has not yet announced which manufacturers will rely on the MediaTek Pentronic 2000. CES 2022, which will take place in Las Vegas from January 5 to 8, 2022, could provide further details on the SoC and smart TVs based on it.
