Yahoo! News Fujitsu's 40-year story of personal computers [13] Transition of desktop PCs and AV functions in the digital broadcasting era
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0 comments 0 comments32-inch all-in-one desktop PC "FMV DESKPOWER TX90L / D" that realizes high-definition image quality digital broadcast recording by itself (announced in April 2005)
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— TechRepublic Wed Mar 31 04:25:11 +0000 2021
While Fujitsu's notebook computers are good at making them lighter, thinner, and smaller, desktop computers have continued to take the lead in audio-visual (AV) functions. Looking back on history, we have released PCs with advanced AV functions such as FM77AV, which was the first 8-bit personal computer to have an AV function, and FM TOWNS, which became the world's first PC with a CD-ROM drive. It's still going on. [Photo] Desktop PC "FMV-TEO" (announced in January 2007) that assumes the use of a flat-screen TV in the living room as a "display". Announced the "FMV DESKPOWER TX90 L / D", a desktop computer with a 32-inch liquid crystal display that realized recording. In fact, at this time, Fujitsu held a press conference for new PC products for the first time in four and a half years since the press conference for the first LOOX in September 2000. More than 100 reporters participated in the press conference held at the Fujitsu Head Office in Shiodome, Tokyo. At the press conference, in order to reproduce the actual usage scene, it seemed that he would put effort into reproducing the appearance of the living room. Mr. Kimihisa Ito (later President of Fujitsu Personals), who was in charge of the personal computer business at that time, said in the opening remarks, "I would like to ask reporters," Fujitsu, challenge to home appliance makers. " I don't want you to write something like that. " On the other hand, "The world of" seeing, recording, and leaving "on personal computers pursued by Fujitsu through FM77AV and FM TOWNS has evolved into the form of" looking more beautiful, recording more beautifully, and leaving more beautifully. " This time, the TX90L / D was emphasized with a focus on image quality. For the LCD panel, we selected the "Kameyama model" produced by Sharp at the Kameyama Plant in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture. Words such as "high-definition quality" and "powerful LCD" were studded in the presentation materials during the press conference, and looking only there, it was like a new product announcement press conference for flat-screen TVs. After hearing these explanations, some media people may have wanted to use the above-mentioned words that Mr. Ito prohibited. In fact, Mr. Ito said, "Beautiful images are created by personal computers." "We have achieved image quality comparable to that of flat-screen TVs made by home appliances. Fujitsu will enter the stage of demonstrating its true value in the trend toward digital broadcasting. " "Telepaso" equipped with a TV function in a personal computer The first year was 1994, and Fujitsu was delayed. In this field, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (currently Panasonic) and IBM Japan (currently Lenovo Japan) took the lead. Fujitsu then released "FM TOWNS II Fresh TV". Each company introduced telepaso one after another. Of course, at that time, it was the reception of analog broadcasting. After that, BS digital broadcasting started in 2000, and terrestrial digital broadcasting started in 2003. With the start of terrestrial digital broadcasting nationwide in 2006, the stage of telepaso shifted to digital broadcasting. NEC took the lead here. Following the "VALUESTAR T" that implemented the viewing function of BS digital / 110 degree CS digital broadcasting released in August 2002, the "VALUESTAR T T" that also supports terrestrial digital broadcasting was released in May 2004. Fujitsu's personal computer, which had the pride of being ahead of the AV function, was delayed in supporting digital broadcasting. This delay was seen as a major problem within Fujitsu. It is said that the debate "Why Fujitsu cannot catch up" was repeated every week. The development department at that time thought that it was necessary to solve a major problem in order to introduce a telepaso compatible with digital broadcasting. It is to enable recording with high definition image quality. This was not possible with NEC's personal computer, which preceded it, and Sony's telepaso, which had been commercialized. In the background was the arrangement of the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), an industry group. In the case of a personal computer, it was premised that it could not record with the high-definition image quality that is a feature of digital broadcasting, and that it was recorded in combination with an optional digital tuner and not processed by the personal computer itself. As a result, there were problems such as complicated operation and extra cost. Unlike analog broadcasting, digital broadcasting has the characteristic that the image does not deteriorate even after repeated recording. It was natural that ARIB restricted the handling of digital content on personal computers with a high degree of freedom in order to protect the content. It's a secret plan of Fujitsu, but Fujitsu had a secret plan to solve it. The idea is to develop a dedicated LSI that supports high-definition digital recording that protects content on personal computers. In collaboration with the development team of the personal computer division and the development division of Fujitsu Laboratories, we started the development of LSI with an investment of several hundred million yen. We challenged to solve these problems by utilizing our unique technology. Although we were late for telepaso, FMV-DESKPOWER TX90L / D realized a telepaso compatible with digital broadcasting by using two technologies. One is Fujitsu's original high image quality LSI "Dixel". Dixel, which combines the words "digital image" and "accelerator", fully digitally processes the input video source, and hardware processing such as contour enhancement by Dixel Illator, 3D Y / C separation and 3D digital noise reduction. Thorough noise reduction is performed. The LCD control engine is equipped with optimal processing functions for high-quality and beautiful images, such as color optimization and contrast adjustment for each LCD panel. Dixel continued to be installed in Fujitsu's personal computers and became a market leader in the image quality of digital broadcasting. The other is the development of security LSIs. Fujitsu's proprietary encryption technology is used to protect the copyright of digital broadcast content and record and play it back. This is mounted on a video capture board, the recorded information is encrypted and saved on the hard disk, and decrypted by a secure LSI during playback. Furthermore, it is re-encrypted, passed through the general-purpose bus of the personal computer, and decrypted using a dedicated application on the memory. The secure LSI monitors in real time whether it is being processed by the appropriate application, stops the flow of content when cracking is discovered, and realizes playback with high-definition image quality when it is appropriate. The point of secure LSI is that most of the processing is realized by software that is advantageous in terms of cost, and only the security maintenance function is made into LSI. As a result, we have succeeded in minimizing the rise in PC prices. This secure LSI attracted a great deal of attention as a technology that proposed content protection in the terrestrial digital era to the industry. By developing this LSI, Fujitsu's telepaso for digital broadcasting has jumped to the top share. In addition to being installed in the PC itself, a Digital TV box was prepared as an option, expanding the world of digital broadcast viewing and high-definition recording. FMV-DESKPOWER TX90L / D has "instant TV function" that allows you to watch TV in about 3 seconds, "triple recording" that allows you to record 3 programs including digital broadcasting at the same time, and "sports" that automatically supports extension of sports programs. "Extended recording" is also adopted. Considering the operability on a large screen, it has a wireless keyboard and mouse with a maximum communication distance of 10 meters, and functions such as remote control operation and character input from a distance. As a matter of course, since the FMV-DESKPOWER TX90L / D is a personal computer, it can be used for non-linear editing by software, which cannot be realized with a flat-screen TV. This was also one of the differentiating points. Another thing that cannot be overlooked is the provision of an on-site service for installing a personal computer. The FMV-DESKPOWER TX90L / D is equipped with the functions of a large TV and recorder, and high-quality speakers in addition to the "PC". Therefore, the total weight was 41 kg, which was unthinkable with conventional personal computers. Therefore, we prepared a mechanism similar to the flat-screen TV installation service. By creating the mechanism up to this point, we supported a new era of personal computers placed in the center of the living room. New proposal for personal computers "FMV-TEO" series The "FMV-TEO" announced in January 2007 is also a unique desktop personal computer. An entertainment / living computer with a new concept that allows you to watch video content on the Internet and watch / record digital broadcasts by connecting to a flat-screen TV with an HDMI input terminal with a single cable in order to accelerate usage proposals in the living room. was. FMV-TEO has a main body design like a DVD recorder, and the point is to use a flat-screen TV that is finally becoming popular in the home for the display. The CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) function, which was one of the highlights of the HDMI standard, was installed for the first time in the world as a personal computer (according to Fujitsu research), achieving unprecedented usability by linking with home appliances. It was a product aimed at "making new functions unique to personal computers as easy to use as home appliances, and proactively proposing new personal computer styles that anticipate the living room in the future." It looks like a recorder, but it's a computer with Windows Vista, and the CPU is an AMD Turion X2 dual-core mobile processor. Since the CPU was originally designed for mobile PCs, it is possible to design high-performance but low-power, which also contributed to the miniaturization and quietness of the main unit. In addition, the TV tuner board is a transcoding-dedicated LSI "Dixel HD" that converts received TV programs from MPEG-2, which is a compression method for broadcast waves, to H.264 AVC, which has a higher compression rate, in real time with high-definition image quality. Equipped with "engine". This reduced the amount of hard disk space used while recording high-quality images, enabling long-term recording of up to 48 hours on a 400GB hard disk. "In general, the higher the compression ratio, the worse the image quality of the video, but when recompressing the video, the Dixel HD engine performs adaptive processing based on the research results of human visual characteristics. The compression rate is lowered to maintain high image quality in areas where image quality deterioration is likely to occur, such as moving objects, and the other areas are greatly compressed. This uses Fujitsu Laboratories' original transcoding algorithm technology. It achieves both high-quality recording and long-term recording. ”(Fujitsu) The successor model announced in August 2008 is equipped with a Blu-ray disc drive. It has also made it possible to archive recorded content from digital broadcasts on Blu-ray discs and DVD media. It can be said that the FMV DESKPOWER TX series and TEO series were the challenge of proposing a personal computer as a new home appliance to be installed in the living room while utilizing the Windows platform. Mr. Ito said, "There were many AV enthusiasts in the personal computer department, including myself. There were many employees who understood AV, and with the spread of digital broadcasting, larger screens and digitization of recorders are progressing. It was also a time when I was thinking about whether there was room for a personal computer, "he recalls. "If you put it in your room, you can watch TV as well as the function of a personal computer, and you only need one unit including the function of a recorder. It has the advantage of not taking up space and having high cost performance." I also touch on the fact that I was advancing proposals unique to the PC camp. Fujitsu's personal computer and AV functions, changing aims and roles, but unfortunately, with the advent of the digital broadcasting era, personal computers did not enter the center of the living room. Due to the difference in performance life between TVs and PCs (TVs are longer), telepaso was not accepted, product display at mass retailers was limited to the PC sales floor, and the price was due to its multi-functionality. The reason is that the price rises. Nevertheless, these experiences are steadily linked to the evolution of Fujitsu's personal computers in the future. In November 2018, Fujitsu Client Computing (FCCL) announced the world's first (according to FCCL research) a 27-inch LCD-integrated desktop computer "ESPRIMO FH-X / C3" with a built-in new 4K satellite broadcasting tuner. It is the only model that has been commercialized as a personal computer compatible with the new 4K satellite broadcasting that started broadcasting in Japan from 10:00 am on December 1, 2018. The four-sided narrow frame design and the high-brightness, wide-viewing-angle LCD panel realize a highly immersive viewing experience. In addition to the high resolution compatible Pioneer 2.1ch speaker that can enjoy a wide range with high sound quality, it is equipped with a double passive radiator type subwoofer that enhances bass. We are particular about the angle of the speakers so that the sound reaches the ears directly. "What is a personal computer that realizes a space to enjoy for the needs of individuals who want to enrich their time, not just aiming for the world's first? To provide what users really want at a satisfactory level. ESPRIMO FH-X / C3 was commercialized with the idea of what to do. Personal time will increase as we reach the age of 100 years of life. I want to cherish my time even among young people. (Fujitsu Client Computing, Chairman Kuniaki Saito) Pursuing the role that personal computers play in order to spend a fulfilling time, the world's first new 4K was born. It was a 27-inch desktop computer with a built-in satellite broadcasting tuner. It can be said that the installation of AV function is the DNA that flows through Fujitsu's personal computers. It can be said that its aim and role have changed little by little in the history of 40 years.
Katsuyuki Okawara
