Renesas Technology to Release SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) SoC for Dashboard-mounted Car Navigation and Infotainment Systems Offering Enhanced Audio and Video Functions

The SH-NaviJ Series comprises compact, single-chip SoC devices that provide map rendering functions and high quality based on the SH-Navi series, which are already used in a variety of high-end systems, while offering a carefully chosen selection of functions suitable for low-end to midrange systems. The new SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) offers the following enhancements over its predecessors.

(1) Sophisticated and flexible 3-D graphics applications to be
developed in less time with OpenGL(R) ES1.1
                  The new product incorporates a more powerful version of the
                  graphics processor, with 2-D and 3-D rendering support included
                  from the earlier SH-NaviJ1 and SH-NaviJ2, while also implementing
                  support for OpenGL(R) ES1.1, the industry-standard programming
                  interface for graphics processing in embedded devices. This
                  enables 3-D graphics software development that previously required
                  the use of a development board to be performed on a PC. The
                  graphics processor supports high-level image display, such as
                  rendering a variety of 3-D objects on a map or implementing a
                  graphical user interface*(2) (GUI) with very detailed and
                  realistic looking 3-D elements. Support for OpenGL(R) ES1.1 greatly
                  simplifies and speeds up development of the necessary software.
(2) High-performance, low-power multi-codec video processing IP
                  To fully meet the requirements of today's AV navigation and
                  infotainment systems, the SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) incorporates
                  high-performance multi-codec video processing IP with support for
                  the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video compression standard used in
                  ISDB-T*(3) terrestrial digital broadcasts for mobile phones
                  and other devices. This IP employs technologies and skills based on
                  the SH-Mobile series of application processors for mobile phone
                  systems and delivers encoding and decoding performance of 30 frames
                  per second (fps) in VGA format (640x480 pixels), supports MPEG-4
                  encoding and decoding as well as VC-1 decoding, and can be used for
                  a wide variety of video application functions. In addition, it
                  supports terrestrial digital broadcast formats used overseas, such
                  as DVB-H*(4) (Europe) and DMB*(5) (South Korea).
                  This reduces the number of external components or software
                  processing load required to build an AV navigation and infotainment
                  system, lowering the system cost and shortening the development
                  time. Finally, the SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) is the same size (21 mm x 21
                  mm) as its predecessor, the second product in the SH-NaviJ Series,
                  which contributes to compact system design.
(3) Numerous high-performance on-chip peripheral functions to
support multimedia applications
                  For audio processing, the SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) integrates a 24-bit
                  dedicated audio DSP with support for a variety of compression
                  formats, including AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), MP3, and WMA
                  (Windows Media Audio).*(6) This 24-bit dedicated audio DSP
                  also processes the AAC Plus (Advanced Audio Coding Plus)*(7)
                  audio compression format used by terrestrial digital broadcasts.
                  Performing this processing in hardware rather than in software, as
                  was previously the case, reduces the processing load on the CPU by
                  the equivalent of about 50 MHz according to comparisons done by
                  Renesas Technology. This makes it possible to further reduce the
                  power consumption of the CPU. There is also a built-in edge-emphasis
                  function for high quality display of terrestrial digital broadcasts.
                  It prevents blurring when QVGA-format (320x240 pixels) video is
                  enlarged to VGA or WVGA (832x496 pixels) size. Other on-chip
                  peripheral modules essential to car navigation and infotainment
                  systems include a GPS*(8 )baseband processor module, a TS
                  interface for receiving terrestrial digital broadcasts, and CAN*(9)
                  and MOST*(10) interfaces for a vehicle LAN. This large
                  number of high-performance peripheral functions reduces the number
                  of components required by the system, making it possible to reduce
                  the overall cost while achieving excellent performance.
                  Additionally, a wide variety of middleware resources are available
                  for the SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3), including video middleware supporting
                  H.264, MPEG-4, and WMV*(6), and audio middleware supporting
                  MP3, WMA and AAC Plus (Advanced Audio Coding Plus).
(4) Two-screen display support for implementing a wide range of
applications
                  The SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) supports two-screen display. For example, two
                  screens of WVGA graphics images can be displayed at the same time.
                  (When a single screen is used, the maximum display size is WXGA
                  [1,280 x 768 pixels].) This enables, as an example, one screen to be
                  used by the car navigation and infotainment system and a second
                  screen to be used as a rear monitor for the backseat passengers. The
                  range of possible applications expands enormously. Of the two
                  input-output signalsystems, one can be used to generate 24-bit color
                  digital RGB output, enabling the display of subtle color gradations.

< Product Background >

Demand is expected to grow in the years ahead for low- and mid-priced car navigation and infotainment systems, such as compact "memory navigation" systems that employ flash memory to store map data and are suitable as dashboard-mounted car navigation systems for compact cars. At the same time, increasing demand for improved functionality and flexibility has led manufacturers of car navigation and infotainment systems to develop low-end and midrange products in parallel with the development of their high-end products, and the pace of this development work is speeding up. As a result, there is strong demand for SoC products that integrate on a single chip the key functions needed in a high-performance and compact car navigation and infotainment system, while also providing connectivity with storage devices such as flash memory cards and USB drives. Another important priority is increasing development efficiency by making effective use of software resources originally developed for high-end products. In response to these requirements, Renesas Technology launched the SH-NaviJ Series in 2008. These compact single-chip devices retain the sophisticated map rendering functions and high quality of the SH-Navi Series*(11 )of SoCs for high-end systems and offer a carefully chosen selection of functions suitable for low-end to midrange products such as dashboard-mounted car navigation and infotainment systems.

In addition, dashboard-mounted car navigation systems and simple car navigation systems such as personal navigation devices (PNDs), are increasingly being equipped with the ability to receive terrestrial digital TV broadcasts, and this trend is expected to grow in the future. In response to the strong demand for support for such AV navigation and infotainment systems with digital TV broadcast playback capability, Renesas Technology has integrated into the SH-NaviJ Series intellectual property (IP) developed for the popular SH-Mobile Series of application processors for mobile phone systems. The result is the SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) with enhanced multimedia functions.

< Product Details >

Like the previous products in the SH-Navi Series, the SH7777 is built around the SH-4A, the most powerful CPU core in the SuperH*(12) Family. At the maximum operating frequency of 533 MHz, CPU processing performance is 960 MIPS and floating-point processing unit (FPU) processing performance is 3.73 GFLOPS (giga [billion] floating-point operations per second). This ample processing power enables developers to build systems delivering high performance. The instruction set is upward-compatible with the SH-4, so programs developed for existing systems using the SH-4 can be reused. This contributes to a shorter system development time.

As with the SH77721 and SH77722, which preceded it in the SH-Navi Series, the SH7777 has an on-chip 2-D/3-D graphics processor with sophisticated rendering functions. In addition to 2-D rendering functions such as thick line rendering and anti-aliasing, it realized more spatial and real 3-D rendering by enhancing a variety of 3-D rendering functions such as triangle 3-D rendering and texture mapping, making means of expression like multi-texture, etc., possible.

In this way, a highly expressive GUI combining 2-D content such as maps, icons, and menus can be combined with 3-D content such as buildings or landmarks superimposed on the maps, using a single rendering processor. To extract the maximum performance from the graphics processor, high-performance 3-D and 2-D graphics libraries are provided. The 3-D graphics library supports OpenGL(R) ES1.1, the industry standard, for maximum convenience in making use of the rendering functions supported by the graphics processor. The 2-D graphics library complies with the GDI-Sub*(13 )specification, which supports Windows(R) Automotive*(14) 5.0 Service Pack 2, from Microsoft Corporation.

A unified memory architecture is also used that enables modules to share the same memory, thereby reducing the need for external memory. The external buses provided are a 32-bit dedicated bus for connection of high-speed DDR2-SDRAM and a 16-bit expansion bus for connection of flash memory or SRAM.

The E10A-USB emulator, which connects to a host PC via a USB interface, is available as a development tool. There is also an on-chip debugging function that supports real-time debugging at the SoC's maximum operating frequency.

Renesas Technology will also prepare a reference platform for system development, according to order, that will offer the following features.

-- Peripheral circuits, typical of vehicle information terminals, will be incorporated to provide a realistic verification environment for developers

-- Ability to be used as a development tool for software applications

-- Additional custom functions can be added by developers

The platform can be used to evaluate the functions of the SH-NaviJ3, to develop software applications, and for other tasks related to efficient system development.

Renesas Technology will continue to develop a range of SoC products for dashboard-mounted car navigation and infotainment systems that provide increased performance with multi-core products and superior functions for high-end systems and optimized performance and functions for low-end and midrange systems. In this way, the company hopes to respond to the evolving demands of the market in a timely manner.

< Notes >

1.                               OpenGL(R) ES: OpenGL is a programming interface for 3-D graphics
                                 processing developed principally by Silicon Graphics Inc. of the
                                 United States. Its outstanding feature is its cross-platform
                                 compatibility. OpenGL ES is an API that corresponds to a subset of
                                 OpenGL and is designed for embedded devices. The OpenGL
                                 specification was codified and is being promoted by the Khronos
                                 Group.
                                 OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc. of the
                                 United States.
2.                               Graphical user interface (GUI): A user interface in which the
                                 information is graphically displayed and can be operated intuitively
                                 by pointing devices and the like.
3.                               ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial): A
                                 terrestrial digital broadcasting standard developed in Japan.
                                 Broadcasting for mobile devices such as mobile phones uses only one
                                 of the 13 ISDB-T segments, and is therefore known as one-segment (or
                                 OneSeg) broadcasting.
4.                               DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds): A mobile device
                                 version of the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) standard developed in
                                 Europe.
5.                               DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting): A digital TV broadcasting
                                 standard for mobile devices developed in South Korea. There are two
                                 versions: Terrestrial DMB (T-DMB) and Satellite DMB (S-DMB).
6.                               Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks
                                 of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
7.                               AAC Plus (Advanced Audio Coding Plus) was developed by Dolby Sweden
                                 AB.
8.                               GPS is an abbreviation of "Global Positioning System."
9.                               CAN is an abbreviation of "Controller Area Network," an automobile
                                 network specification proposed by Robert Bosch Gmbh of Germany.
10.                              MOST: Media-oriented Systems Transport
11.                              SH-Navi Series: SoCs for car information systems such as car
                                 navigation, using a Renesas Technology 32-bit RISC CPU core
                                 SuperH. Three products are currently in mass production, including
                                 the SH7774 featuring an on-chip image recognition engine. In
                                 addition, Renesas also released a dual-core SoC product.
12.                              SuperH(TM) is a trademark of Renesas Technology Corp.
13.                              GDI-Sub: A graphic framework exclusive to Windows Automotive that
                                 provides call instruction compatibility with the GDI (Graphics
                                 Device Interface). It is designed specifically for high-speed
                                 rendering of GUI and map elements and is optimized to extract the
                                 maximum performance from the graphics chip.
14.                              Windows(R) Automotive is an embedded operating system for
                                 car information terminals developed by Microsoft Corporation.
*Other product names, company names, and brands mentioned are the
property of their respective owners.

< Typical Applications >

-- Car information terminals: Low-end to midrange car navigation and infotainment systems, etc.

Sample Price for Reference

Product Name              Package       Sample Price
SH7777 (R8A77770DA01BG)   440-pin BGA   Approximately $35

About Renesas Technology Corp.

Renesas Technology Corp. is the world's No.1 supplier of microcontrollers and one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets. It is also a leading provider of Power MOSFETs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. Established in 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) (NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), Renesas Technology achieved consolidated revenue of 702.7 billion JPY in FY2008 (end of March 2009). Renesas Technology is based in Tokyo, Japan and has a global network of manufacturing, design and sales operations in 16 countries with 25,000 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit http://www.renesas.com

< Specifications >

Item                                                       SH7777 (SH-NaviJ3) Specifications
Product name                                               R8A77770DA01BG
Power supply voltage                                       1.15 V to 1.3 V (internal)/3.3 V, 1.8 V (external)
Max. operating frequency                                   533 MHz
Processing performance                                     960 MIPS, 3.73 GFLOPS
CPU core                                                   SH-4A
On-chip RAM                                                ILRAM: 16 KB, OLRAM: 16 KB
Cache memory                                               32 KB instruction/32 KB data separate, 4-way set-associative
External memory                                            DDR2 dedicated bus supporting direction connection of DDR2-SDRAM
                                                           Expansion bus supporting direct connection of SRAM or ROM
Expansion bus                                              Address space: 64 MB x 3
Main on-chip peripheral functions                          Renesas graphics processor (2-D/3-D)
VPU5F (H.264, MPEG-4, VC-1)
Video processing functions (color conversion, image
enlargement/reduction, filter processing)
Image blending function
Display control 2-screen output (digital RGB x 2 channels)
Video input interface
SD* card host interface x 2 channels
Multimedia card interface
USB 2.0 Host/Function interface
TS interface
GPS baseband processor module
FM multiplexing decoder
Controller area network (RCAN) interface x 2 channels
MOST interface module
Various audio interfaces x 7 channels
Dedicated DMAC x 34 channels
I(2)C bus interface x 4 channels
Serial communication interface (SCIF) x 6 channels
Remote control interface x 1 channel
Timer x 9 channels
On-chip debugging function
Interrupt controller (INTC)
Clock pulse generator (CPG): Integrated multiplier PLL
Power-down (low-power) modes                               Sleep mode
Module standby mode
DDR-SDRAM power supply backup mode
Package                                                    440-pin BGA (21 mm x 21 mm)

Notes:  1. SD card: It is necessary to obtain an SD card license in order to
           use the SD memory card interface in a product.

*Other product names, company names, and brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE: Renesas Technology America, Inc.

Renesas Technology America, Inc. 
Stefani Parrish, 408-382-7410 
stefani.parrish@renesas.com