Alla presentazione del kit di sviluppo per Google TV 2.0 avevamo affermato che “Le cose potrebbero cambiare prima dell’arrivo sul mercato”, e così è stato: Google ha infatti – dopo molte voci diffusesi per la Rete a proposito – abbandonato la piattaforma Intel Atom CE4100 per passare alla più efficiente ARM. Marvell, che è stata designata come partner per la fornitura dei microprocessori che forniranno il “cervello” e la potenza di calcolo alla nuova versione di Google TV, ha diffuso urbi et orbi l’orgoglio di aver visto la propria piattaforma Foresight eletta come piattaforma standard. La CPU Armada 1500 è un processore dual core che, sulla carta, promette prestazioni da PC con consumi da smartphone a Google TV, con integrato il supporto alla visualizzazione di Blu-ray 3D, al video encoding e decoding nonchè all’upscaling – il tutto nel silenzio offerto dalla mancanza di ventole di raffreddamento. Oltre alle prestazioni simili con minori consumi e minore calore prodotto, un aspetto chiave che potrebbe rivelarsi vincente in questo cambiamento è anche rappresentato dal minor costo dei chip, che abbasseranno il prezzo del prodotto finale.
Il cofondatore di Marvell, Weili Dai, ha dichiarato che considera questa come un’opportunità di cambiare radicalmente la relazione tra i produttori di contenuti ed i fruitori di questi – un obiettivo ambizioso che, però, potrebbe essere alla portata di questa seconda generazione di prodotti multimediali che potenzialmente potrebbero portare ad una rivoluzione nel modo di fruire e di intendere la televisione: non più solo mezzo di assimilazione passiva di contenuti, ma mezzo attivo di scelta e partecipazione.
[spoiler=”Comunicato stampa”]Marvell and Google Team Up to Transform TV into the Command Center for the ‘Connected Lifestyle’
Marvell’s new revolutionary ARMADA-based “Foresight Platform” powers new Google TV, offers best of television and multimedia experience for the new generation of Smart TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and beyond
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – January 5, 2012 – Representing a major breakthrough in the convergence of TV, gaming, streaming video, popular web apps and social media, Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, today announced that the new Foresight Platform, powered by the Marvell® ARMADA™ 1500 HD Media System-on-a-Chip (SoC), has been designed into the next generation of Google TVs debuting at CES 2012. Google chose the ARMADA 1500 Foresight Platform for its one-of-a-kind ability to deliver the full continuum of rich multimedia entertainment on single-chip architecture. Using Marvell’s award-winning Qdeo™ video processing technology, the ARMADA-based Foresight Platform is designed to deliver superior 3D video, impressively rich audio, striking 3D graphics and TV-friendly Web content.
“Marvell and Google have teamed up to change home entertainment forever – transforming the TV into the command center for our connected lifestyle. Marvell and Google are fundamentally changing the relationship between the producers and consumers of content – from Hollywood to Madison Avenue to publishing and major news networks – creating a dynamic, two-way experience featuring real-time global news, social network, entertainment and information,” said Weili Dai, Co-founder of Marvell. “I believe this is a major breakthrough movement and it’s just the beginning of our bigger vision. The same forces that are revolutionizing today’s television experience will transform numerous vertical applications for small businesses and large enterprises, enhancing the way we all work, connect with each other and collaborate globally.”
“The Google and Marvell teams have been working closely together to bring our combined software and chipset technologies to market to grow the Google TV ecosystem of manufacturers and devices. Marvell-powered Google TV solutions will enable powerful products to be brought to market at attractive prices,” said Mario Queiroz, VP, Product Management Google TV.
For consumers, today’s digital home offers an endless choice of devices and content. For OEMs and service providers, it’s an all-out sprint to create offerings that perform noticeably better than competitors and at mass-market prices. The Connected TV Marketing Association (CTVMA) estimates 123 million connected TVs will be sold worldwide in 2014. Those consumers will expect access to the services they love – Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Skype, Picasa and many more – in a lightning-fast, crystal-clear and resource-friendly package.
Powerful, energy-efficient, ultra-scalable and immensely affordable, the ARMADA 1500 contains Marvell’s highest-performing ARM v6/7-compatible PJ4B SMP super-scalar dual-core CPU. The chip is designed to enable PC-like processing power to support Web browsing with support for Flash™ and other key technologies – with the aid of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS of computing horsepower, FPU v3.0, 512KB of L2 cache and WMMX2. The Foresight Platform is energy efficient and has advanced cell-phone like power management.
The ARMADA 1500 also contains Marvell’s award-winning Qdeo video processing for state-of-the-art HD and 3D video, including scaling, noise reduction, de-interlacing, low bit-rate internet video enhancement and FRC and color/contrast enhancement. The chip offers VMeta™, a multi-format video decoder/encoder/transcoder that can decode up to two simultaneous 1080p streams as well as a host of other video formats and containers. These features make the Foresight Platform ideal for Google TV, which requires tremendous processing power for its numerous applications at a cost effective price point.
Related Links:
• Product information: [insert link]
• Marvell media materials: http://www.marvell.com/company/press_kit/
About Marvell
Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a world leader in the development of storage, communications and consumer silicon solutions. Marvell’s diverse product portfolio includes switching, transceiver, communications controller, wireless and storage solutions that power the entire communications infrastructure, including enterprise, metro, home and storage networking. As used in this release, the term “Marvell” refers to Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit Marvell.com.[/spoiler]