Handheld newsgathering: NVIDIA chip reveals glimpse of the future


NVIDIA has rolled out GoForce 3D 4800 chip with MPEG-4 encoder for use in mobile devices, such cell phones.

Television newsgathering resources soon will get a major boost from a new generation of cell phones that give everyone in the newsroom – not just the ENG crew - a portable way to capture and transmit video clips of breaking events.

ABC News Now’s coverage of the 2005 inauguration of President George Bush from the parade route down Pennsylvania Ave. demonstrated how cell phones with video cameras can augment traditional ENG resources.

Footage from about two dozen parade participants was sent as files from cell phones as video mail, and edited together to be inserted for inauguration coverage. (See: “ABC News Now turns to Sprint PCS video phones for inauguration coverage.”)

Now, graphics and multimedia chip designer NVIDIA has rolled out a new wireless media processor with an MPEG-4 codec that could soon take the concept one step further by giving all news personnel – producers, editors and reporters - a convenient way to grab footage. Using video cell phones to capture shots won’t replace traditional ENG crews and equipment; rather it will give news directors an affordable way to multiply newsgathering resources and capture footage when an ENG crew can’t get to the scene of a breaking story.

The new NVIDIA GoForce 3D 4800 chip, which offers 3-D graphics for portable game players, also has advanced video features, such as MPEG-4 coded hardware that will give mobile phones the ability to capture VGA resolution (640x480) resolution MPEG-4 video at up to 30fsp.

Aside from newsgathering, the chip enables television viewers to watch shows on the go. It can playback video programs at up 30fsp from an SD card.

The company will work with cell phone OEMs to integrate the GoForce 3D 4800 chip into future handset designs.

For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.

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