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MediaTek Pentonic 2000 will power flagship 8K 120Hz TVs

Built for the streaming era

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Pentonic 2000

MediaTek is already powering over two billion smart TVs today but they’re taking things to the next level with the Pentonic 2000. The new chip will power future 8K 120Hz TVs.

The MediaTek Pentonic smart TV series is built on MediaTek’s innovative technologies in display, audio, AI,
broadcasting and connectivity. Pentonic 2000 is the world’s first commercial TV chip manufactured using TSMC’s N7 (7nm-class) process, delivering unparalleled performance and power-efficiency.

The all-in-one chip supports 8K 120Hz displays, and can even support 144Hz for gaming PC hardware and the ninth generation of consoles. It’s the first chip with an integrated 8K 120Hz MEMC engine. The chip’s built-in high performance MediaTek APU (AI processor) powers MediaTek’s new 8K AI-Super Resolution technology that intelligently upscales lower-resolution content to the display’s native resolution, while also performing real-time image quality enhancements.

Multiview madness

The Pentonic 2000 supports multiple picture-in-picture (PiP) or picture-by-picture (PbP) screens through MediaTek’s Intelligent View technology. This allows a large 8K resolution display to showcase a display wall of different media sources.

With it consumers can have multiple apps open and stream from different sources, all at the same time. MediaTek’s Intelligent View ensures the video in each window continues to display seamlessly — even when the window size or display layout changes. It also provides the same level of picture quality in each window to ensure the best viewing experience.

Inside the chip is the TV industry’s fastest CPU and GPU, which is fueled by an ultra-wide memory bus
and ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage. MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E or even 5G cellular modems can be used by device
makers to provide the fastest wireless internet connectivity for 8K streaming media, or up to multiple
streamed sources displayed at once.

Made for streaming

Pentonic 2000 is the first commercial 8K TV chip with Versatile Video Coding (VVC) H.266 media support. It offers improved compression efficiency — an essential in today’s streaming era. It also supports Dolby’s latest imaging and audio technologies to provide the ultimate cinematic experiences in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Additionally, the chip supports AV1 for streaming services and all global TV broadcast standards including the latest ATSC 3.0.

Availability

The MediaTek Pentonic 2000 powering next generation flagship 8K TVs that will launch in the global market in 2022.

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Apple reportedly shelved the iPhone Air series indefinitely

The delay is because of low sales.

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On its own, the iPhone 17 Air is a mighty device. However, if you consider that the vastly superior iPhone 17 Pro series is only a hundred bucks away from the Air series, the thinner iPhone model becomes less attractive. Based on actual sales, it looks like Apple users think the same way. In response to low demand, Apple has reportedly shelved the next iPhone Air indefinitely.

Since the series launched a few months ago, numerous reports have speculated that the iPhone 17 Air isn’t performing as Apple expected. Given how Apple held out a lot of hope for the iPhone 17’s new designs, the Air’s failure to meet expectations is a big blow. Soon after the first reports trickled in, Apple reportedly dialed back on production to balance out the lower demand.

Now, as reported by The Information, Apple has reportedly delayed the next iPhone Air model indefinitely. Previously, the company was scheduled to release a new model next year alongside the iPhone 18 series. That’s not happening now.

Right now, there is no timeline for the next Air, if it is coming. That said, it’s still likely that Apple is still working on a new Air. It just might take some time while the company figures out how to make the next model pop.

SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone Air Review

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PlayStation might soon let you buy PC games

Cross-Buy might bundle your PS5 games with a PC version.

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Maintaining a gaming library between different platforms is a chore, especially for multiplayer games. It’s way too common to buy a new game on one platform, only to find out that your friends bought it on another. This could lead to double buying or forever missing out on playing with friends. Now, PlayStation, if a new leak is to be believed, will finally help cure the curse of platform mismatches.

Last week, @yAmethxst, an X user, posted leaked screenshots of new icons coming to PlayStation. The leak was also confirmed legit by Dealabs. Though some are less interesting (like a touchpad button), a couple of the new icons are hinting at a Cross-Buy function coming to the platform.

Based solely on the name, Cross-Buy doesn’t offer much. However, a complementary icon, which shows the PS5 logo and a PC logo side by side, confirms how Sony wants this to work. Cross-Buy will likely allow players to purchase two copies of the same game: one for the PlayStation and another for their PC.

There are a few gaps and questions to be answered, though. For one, which games are compatible with this feature? Is it exclusive to PlayStation’s first-party games, or are third-party games included?

Secondly, which platform on PC will the feature support? The likeliest suspect is Steam, but how about users who prefer the Epic Games Store or GOG?

There are so many mysteries about this feature. Heck, we don’t even know if this will actually work as we described. If anything, this is a welcome feature in the world of cross-platform gaming.

SEE ALSO: PlayStation announces a new duotone DualSense color

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EcoFlow launches PowerOcean in the Philippines

Solar battery system for secure, independent power solution

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EcoFlow has officially launched the EcoFlow PowerOcean (single-phase) solar battery system in the Philippines.

This marks the eco-friendly energy solutions provider’s entry to the market as it expands to Southeast Asia.

Leveraging its success in Europe and addressing the specific needs of the ASEAN market, the EcoFlow PowerOcean (single-phase) delivers reliable backup power, smart energy management, and cost-saving efficiency.

The system also addresses the problem of underutilized generated power from standalone panels, banking on its integrated solar-plus-storage type that is easy to install and capable of powering an entire home.

The EcoFlow PowerOcean’s inverter supports up to 12kW PV input and allows 95% depth of discharge. This ensures nearly all stored energy is put to use.

Meanwhile, the AI-driven TOU (time-of-use) scheduling system automatically decides when to charge, discharge, or feed energy back to the grid.

By factoring in real-time electricity prices, weather forecasts, and each household’s historical usage patterns, it charges during off-peak hours, prioritizes solar power during the day, and sells surplus energy when prices are high.

In addition, PowerOcean provides daily and monthly cost forecasts with over 90% accuracy. And it continuously refines its scheduling to capture every possible saving opportunity.

In Europe, households using PowerOcean have achieved up to 77.8% reductions in annual electricity bills.

Built to last

The EcoFlow PowerOcean’s plug-and-play system seamless integrates new and existing batteries to deliver scalable capacity and stable high-load performance.

Multiple appliances across the kitchen, living room, and home office can operate simultaneously without interruption. And the system can be expanded to 10 kWh or 15 kWh.

Plus, through its intuitive app, users can monitor real-time household power status, track generation and consumption trends, and control the system via voice commands.

That makes the PowerOcean an intelligent energy manager, aside from being a solar energy solution and storage technology.

Longevity is likewise assured. By using CATL’s battery cell with LFP battery chemistry, the PowerOcean offers a 6,000 life cycle, which means users can power their homes daily for more than 10 years. Furthermore, the system comes with an industry-leading 10-year warranty.

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