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Intel Pushes 4K Video With Latest Chip Line
Source: Dow Jones News
Intel Corp. is betting that better video will convince people to buy new personal computers.
The company on Tuesday unveiled the seventh generation of its flagship line of PC chips, which for the first time comes with built-in features to help play or edit video technology in the high-end format known as Ultra HD, or 4K.
Intel also said that Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Comcast Corp.'s Fandango unit would offer versions of 4K video services targeting new laptops powered by the latest members of its Core product line.
Viewing 4K video is technically possible on prior processors equipped with the right software, said Nish Neelalojanan, an Intel product marketing manager. But some content providers have been waiting for built-in video compression to make streaming video easier as well as copyright-protection features, the company said. The new chips also allow laptop PC batteries to operate up to 2.6 times longer while running 4Ks video, Intel said.
Intel's announcement reflects its belief that a growing number of consumers—particularly younger ones—use portable computers rather than TVs as a primary way to view video content. They are also increasingly capturing 4K video on the latest smartphones, which they may want to use PCs to modify and share.
"Video is the new medium for all conversations," wrote Navin Shenoy, a vice president who heads Intel's client computing group, in a blog post.
Intel's new chips also underscore a strategy shift brought about by technical challenges. Designing circuitry to handle specific functions is now a more reliable way to bring big performance improvements than new manufacturing processes that create smaller transistors in chips.
The company long prided itself on introducing new manufacturing recipes every two years or so, in the pattern named for co-founder Gordon Moore. But Intel last year acknowledged last year that so-called Moore's Law advances would be delayed by six months or more by technical difficulties associated with extreme miniaturization.
So Intel plans to introduce three major families of chips on a production process using circuitry measured at 14 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, rather than two. Aided by enhancements to that process, Intel said Web browsing is up to 19% faster on the new chips, which are code-named Kaby Lake, than the prior generation of chips while productivity applications see a 12% speedup.
The chips are first expected to begin appearing this fall in midrange laptops starting at around $449.
Though content providers like Netflix Inc. have begun creating 4K video programming, not many people are able to enjoy it yet. One reason is the 4K video format creates large data files that are difficult to transmit and store, requiring TVs or other devices that support video-compression technology.
Intel's new chips are designed to accelerate the process of compressing and decoding files using two popular compression technologies, known as HEVC and VP9, Mr. Neelalojanan said. They also are designed to support copyright-protection technologies demanded by content providers, he said.
Sony Pictures later this year will offer a version of its 4K streaming service known as Ultra—now only available on Sony Bravia TVs—for PCs equipped with the new Core chips, Intel said. It added that Fandango will do the same with its FandangoNow service.
The chip maker is also announcing an extension of a recent collaboration with Walt Disney Co. that has used Intel technology to help people viewing movie premieres to watch the action from multiple camera angles, Mr. Neelalojanan said.
Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, said he didn't see the need for Intel to strike content deals to spur PC demand. But he agreed that high-resolution is a good way to focus Intel's efforts.
"4K video support is all the rage," Mr. Kay said in an email. "It's the perfect app for this maybe over-muscular hardware."
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 30, 2016 13:35 ET (17:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Intel Pushes 4K Video With Latest Chip Line
Source: Dow Jones News
Intel Corp. is betting that better video will convince people to buy new personal computers.
The company on Tuesday unveiled the seventh generation of its flagship line of PC chips, which for the first time comes with built-in features to help play or edit video technology in the high-end format known as Ultra HD, or 4K.
Intel also said that Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Comcast Corp.'s Fandango unit would offer versions of 4K video services targeting new laptops powered by the latest members of its Core product line.
Viewing 4K video is technically possible on prior processors equipped with the right software, said Nish Neelalojanan, an Intel product marketing manager. But some content providers have been waiting for built-in video compression to make streaming video easier as well as copyright-protection features, the company said. The new chips also allow laptop PC batteries to operate up to 2.6 times longer while running 4Ks video, Intel said.
Intel's announcement reflects its belief that a growing number of consumers—particularly younger ones—use portable computers rather than TVs as a primary way to view video content. They are also increasingly capturing 4K video on the latest smartphones, which they may want to use PCs to modify and share.
"Video is the new medium for all conversations," wrote Navin Shenoy, a vice president who heads Intel's client computing group, in a blog post.
Intel's new chips also underscore a strategy shift brought about by technical challenges. Designing circuitry to handle specific functions is now a more reliable way to bring big performance improvements than new manufacturing processes that create smaller transistors in chips.
The company long prided itself on introducing new manufacturing recipes every two years or so, in the pattern named for co-founder Gordon Moore. But Intel last year acknowledged last year that so-called Moore's Law advances would be delayed by six months or more by technical difficulties associated with extreme miniaturization.
So Intel plans to introduce three major families of chips on a production process using circuitry measured at 14 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, rather than two. Aided by enhancements to that process, Intel said Web browsing is up to 19% faster on the new chips, which are code-named Kaby Lake, than the prior generation of chips while productivity applications see a 12% speedup.
The chips are first expected to begin appearing this fall in midrange laptops starting at around $449.
Though content providers like Netflix Inc. have begun creating 4K video programming, not many people are able to enjoy it yet. One reason is the 4K video format creates large data files that are difficult to transmit and store, requiring TVs or other devices that support video-compression technology.
Intel's new chips are designed to accelerate the process of compressing and decoding files using two popular compression technologies, known as HEVC and VP9, Mr. Neelalojanan said. They also are designed to support copyright-protection technologies demanded by content providers, he said.
Sony Pictures later this year will offer a version of its 4K streaming service known as Ultra—now only available on Sony Bravia TVs—for PCs equipped with the new Core chips, Intel said. It added that Fandango will do the same with its FandangoNow service.
The chip maker is also announcing an extension of a recent collaboration with Walt Disney Co. that has used Intel technology to help people viewing movie premieres to watch the action from multiple camera angles, Mr. Neelalojanan said.
Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, said he didn't see the need for Intel to strike content deals to spur PC demand. But he agreed that high-resolution is a good way to focus Intel's efforts.
"4K video support is all the rage," Mr. Kay said in an email. "It's the perfect app for this maybe over-muscular hardware."
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 30, 2016 13:35 ET (17:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
