Renesas Announces "Dreamcast On A Chip"

[DCEmu_Newsposter]

ExtremeTech reports that Renesas Technology has taken many of the technologies used in the Sega Dreamcast game console and combined them into a single core.[br][br]Officials from Japan's Renesas, which assumed control over the development of the SH processor from ST Microelectronics on Sept. 28, announced the SH3707 embedded processor at the Fall Processor Forum here today. The SH3707 combines both an advanced SuperH core and a PowerVR graphics core, the components found in the original Dreamcast. [br][br]Specifically, the Dreamcast console contained a 200-MHz Hitachi SH4 with the capability to perform 360 million instructions per second (MIPS) and 1.4 million megaflops, or floating-point operations per second. The Dreamcast also contained an NEC PowerVR2 graphics chip.[br][br]The new SH3707 uses a faster 540 MIPS/2.1 gigaflops engine, with a 64-bit interface to memory. The core also contains a PowerVR MBX chip, a core that Imagination Technologies has licensed to Intel and Texas Instruments, among others. [br][br]According to Miyazaki, the target specification for the platform is to achieve up to 1024 x 768 resolution, 10 million to 13 million vertices or 5 million to 6 million triangles per second, with up to 20 percent translucency per scene – in other words, anticipating a game where some of the polygons would be enhanced with transparency effects. That would place the SH3707 at somewhat over twice the performance of the Dreamcast, which could handle up to 3 million triangles per second. The SH3707 also has the capability of processing MPEG-1, -2, and -4 video and eight-channel PCM/ADCPM audio.[br][br]The SH3707 will ship in the first quarter of 2005, Miyazaki said.

[ShinAkuma]

cOol documentation..., anybody with sreenshots?
Very interresting!!!!

[quzar]

lets just hope that this isused for backwards compatible, DC-like machines. Imagine, with this you get a DC half the size that can play DSNES fullspeed =P

[wraggster]

its very interesting thats for sure

[WHurricane16]

What's the purpose? I've been in the hole for a couple of days so I have no clue on what's going on. Does this mean there is someone out there this chip is targeted to be used by? No one does something like this without a profitable reason.

[quzar]

This allows you to use a single chip instead of having a seperate cpu and gpu.

[WHurricane16]

[quote author=quzar link=board=news;num=1097154908;start=0#5 date=10/08/04 at 17:19:51]This allows you to use a single chip instead of having a seperate cpu and gpu.[/quote]

Wow, I could have never have figured that out on my own, quzar.

I guess my question was over your head.

[MetaFox]

[quote author=Storminator16 link=board=news;num=1097154908;start=0#4 date=10/08/04 at 17:13:30]What's the purpose? I've been in the hole for a couple of days so I have no clue on what's going on. Does this mean there is someone out there this chip is targeted to be used by? No one does something like this without a profitable reason.[/quote]I'll use my recycled quote :P

All this is saying is that someone can make a new console with the technology used in the Dreamcast. You would need more than just the technology behind the Dreamcast to make the console compatible with Dreamcast games. It would be cool if someone licensed the backwards-compatibility for the system to play Dreamcast games from Sega, but I doubt it's going to happen.

And to elaborate more - no one has yet picked up this technology, but I'm sure someone will make use of it (probably in cell-phones or TiVos or other non-console related items, even though Renesas wants it to be used in game machines). I'd love for a company like NEC, Panasonic, or another big electronics company with money to blow to make a console using the technology - and while I'm dreaming - license backwards compatibility with the system from Sega, and the GD-ROM technology from Yamaha. But, honestly, that's as likely as Sega making their own console out of this.

So, why did I post it: just because I found it interesting. Nothing more, nothing less.

[WHurricane16]

And to elaborate more - no one has yet picked up this technology, but I'm sure someone will make use of it (probably in cell-phones or TiVos or other non-console related items, even though Renesas wants it to be used in game machines).

That's the answer I was looking for, but I'm thinking they must have pitched this idea to someone already and they must have thought it was interesting.

Let's hope the Dreamcast gets reborn by this very cool idea, and better yet it even makes a world wide impact instead of being localized in Japan or in Europe.

[quzar]

[quote author=Storminator16 link=board=news;num=1097154908;start=0#6 date=10/08/04 at 17:37:15]

Wow, I could have never have figured that out on my own, quzar.

I guess my qqestion was over your head.
[/quote]

You dont have to insult me just cause i didnt answer what you wanted to know.

The most likely thing is that this will lead to a set top entertainment center device that can also play DC games. But I just figured everyone knew that pvr's MBX line is designed for set top applications, as are all the newer Renesas chips, to it would be ovbious that it will be in a set top device...

Metafox: Although those were just examples, really dont think that NEC or Panasonic would be releasing new consoles after their prior failed forays into the market.