H.264 Decoding Chip in Macs: Provided by Fujitsu?

An interesting rumor initiated by I,CRINGELY, then taken over by many Mac rumor websites, has spread the web the last few days: Apple might add H.264 hardware decoder chip to Macs? Here again, one should be careful, as most of the recent GPU support hardware-based H.264 decoding on-the-fly (such as Avivo by ATI). So, the novelty would come with the integration of a H.264 encoding and decoding chip that would be able to perform the task in the best performance and power consumption manner. Indeed, if decoding is currently performed by the CPU or the GPU, encoding relies on CPU + specific application/codec.
Of course Apple is strongly supporting H.264 video and is basing most of its current and future online video offers on this format; so adding such a dedicated chip would make sense, only if all 4 key features are present in this component:
- H.264 decoding
- H.264 encoding
- low power consumption
- easy integration in Intel reference board.
As we already discussed about it last December, Fujitsu has developed such chip and its mass production availability is expected on April 2007, its code name: MB80H50. Thanks to its embedded memory and lower power consumption, one could play H.264 videos while maintaining both CPU and GPU power requirements to the lowest level possible, extending battery lifetime especially for notebooks.
However, if three of the key features can be performed by this chip, its integration in Intel reference board (especially for Core 2 Duo Merom-based hardware) remains a key question. The MB80H50, 50US$/unit, requires a connector composed of 650 pins (more than the Core 2 Duo) and adding it to the reference boards might not be so trivial and R&D costs for Cupertino might not be worth it. One way to proceed might be via a PCI-express daughter card that could be added as a BTO or by default depending on the hardware model.
For sure such chip will please professional users, but might also be the way to go for the Mac mini or the Apple TV as the key video hub for consumers.