That Zune HD bad boy's got eight processors

by: John - posted: 8/18/2009 7:56:00 AM

I've been a big fan of Tegra ever seeing it up close at CES. The Zune HD's going to be the first portable device featuring the the processor and it's got some pretty nice power behind it. There's actually a total of eight independent processors in the thing and they are all designed for a specific task. To help with power consumption they can be used independently or together in certain situations. From all the videos of seen of the UI, the Zune HD's interface is buttery smooth and is pretty damn slick. I personally like the interface of the original Zune as well as the look of the HD version over the iPod but that's just me. Now, get this bad boy in a laptop and/or phone and I'll be in line for one.

ANTA CLARA, CA—AUG. 17, 2009—NVIDIA Corporation today announced that Microsoft’s new Zune HD portable media player is powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra™ processor, which gives it exceptional multimedia capabilities.

The Zune HD player, which Microsoft recently announced is available for preorder, is the first portable media player to combine HD-compatible video¹, HD Radio receiver, full-screen Internet browsing, an organic light emitting diode touch screen, and Wi-Fi. These features will connect consumers to a whole new world of entertainment, while delivering excellent battery life. Working closely with Microsoft and optimizing the Tegra processor, NVIDIA has played an important role in helping to bring the next-generation Zune HD portable digital media player to market.

“Tegra provides the multimedia muscle in Zune HD,” said Michael Rayfield, general manager of NVIDIA’s mobile business. “Users will love the device’s new design, amazing multimedia features and HD video out capability. Zune HD is a must-have for anyone looking for the best portable digital media player on the market.”

Key to Tegra’s rich multimedia features are eight independent processors, each designed for a specific class of tasks - among them are an HD video processor, an audio processor, a graphics processor, and two ARM cores. The processors can work together or independently to minimize power consumption. The Microsoft Zune HD² uses the following NVIDIA Tegra technology to deliver a unique visual experience:

• an HD video processor dedicated to HD video, providing unprecedented picture quality and ultra-smooth, vivid movie playback with low power consumption
• an ultra-low power graphics processor for a compelling and intuitive user interface
• NVIDIA nPower™ technology, which optimizes system power use and enables extended HD video and MP3 playback time

Based on NVIDIA’s decade of graphics leadership, Tegra processor has been engineered over the past five years to bring high performance and low power capabilities to the next generation of mobile computing devices such as portable media players, smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks and tablets. Tegra processor-based devices are delivering the experiences that today’s mobile consumers demand, with HD video playback, always-on HD Internet, and intuitive 3D user interfaces. There are 50 active Tegra processor-based design projects currently in the works today.