Silicon Image Incorporated, yes, one of the very own leaders in the semiconductor and intellectual property for secure distribution, presentation and storage of high-definition content market, has announced today that its latest products, the Sil9022a and Sil9024a HDMI transmitters are developed into a mobile platform reference design by Taiwan-based VIA Technologies, Inc. The latter will be incorporating the transmitters into platforms targeting the range of mobile x86 devices, like NetNotes, netbooks, and portable x86 internet devices that will be capable of providing customers with HD video content, as well as an increased battery life.

“We serve our customers by anticipating and developing the most appropriate new technologies that will meet their needs in terms of functionality, performance, power efficiency and cost effectiveness,” said Kevin YC. Huang, VIA GMB Chairman and senior sales director at VIA Technologies, Inc. “We selected Silicon Image for our Surfboard reference design because of its expertise in HDMI technology and its proven track record for delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions for consumer electronics products.”

Sil9022a and Sil9024a are low-power HDMI transmitters that will be implemented in VIA Surfboard platforms, a series of mainboard reference designs from the given manufacturer, that will serve a new generation of light, high performance mobile devices with a longer battery life, larger screen sizes, as well as support for playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video. These are actually the means that will enable partners of the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar (GMB) program to bring new mobile devices to the surface and on the market, faster and more cost-efficient.

“Ultra-mobile devices such as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and netbooks, which can access full Internet content and applications, have a projected market size of 185 million units by 2015,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist with market research firm In-Stat. “The smaller form factor notebooks can support high-definition video, however, their screens are small and using an HDMI cable to help with playback is the right design. More than one third of these designs have HDMI output and not just VGA.”

The two low power transmitters are capable of delivering features like new 72-pin QFN package, clock speeds up to 175MHz, support for dual-edge clocking, resolution ranging from 480i to 1080p at 60Hz and, of course, 24-bit RGB input for conversion to HDMI.


We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is