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MediaTek’s new Pentonic 1000 processor may make your next TV even better

Phil Nickinson
Caleb Denison
By and

MediaTek today at its annual MediaTek Summit unveiled its newest flagship system on a chip for televisions — with the Pentonic 1000 looking to future-proof your next television.

The multi-core, multi-CPU chipset will enable all kinds of specs and features that you’ve likely heard of before, but they’ll be all tucked inside more TV sets than ever, with more video and audio codecs and broadcast TV standards, all in a single platform. (And, hopefully, enabling lower prices.)

The MediaTek Pentonic 1000 should receive an enthusiastic welcome by TV enthusiasts since it solves a pain point many have complained of over the past few years as HDMI 2.1 and its promised features have been touted by many TV brands, but very inconsistently delivered. While several LG and Samsung TV models offer four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 points, other brands, like Sony, TCL, and Hisense — which rely on MediaTek SOCs at the heart of their TVs — have only offered two high-bandwidth ports, one of which is often shared with the eARC feature, thus leaving only one free high-bandwidth port for a device that could use it, such as an Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or gaming PC with a high-end GPU. With the MediaTek Pentonic making its debut in 2023 TVs, more TVs will be more powerful than ever.

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We’re also talking things like 4K resolution at 120Hz, and variable refresh rates up to 144Hz for gaming. Toss in auto low-latency mode, too, for good measure.

MediaTek’s Intelligent View feature will let you watch along with your friends, or do built-in video calls, all while using A..I to make things look even better. MediaTek says you’ll be able to combine up to eight views in a single display, and have seamless video and graphic syncing while things are moving around.

MediaTek Pentonic 1000 infographic.
MediaTek

There’s plenty of support for the Dolby standards, too. Dolby Vision IQ adds Precision Detail, “revealing incredible detail in both bright and dark areas.” It’ll add more depth to textures, and Dolby Vision itself will extend to multiple windows on the same television.

“By integrating Dolby Vision IQ with Precision Detail, the Pentonic 1000 will enable 4K smart TVs to expand the Dolby Vision experience,” Mathias Bendull, Vice President of Living Room at Dolby Laboratories, said in a press release. “Dolby will work with MediaTek and our OEM partners to bring the astonishing Dolby Vision imaging for more use cases to 4K smart TVs.”

Your network connection will be plenty fast, too, with support for Wi-Fi 6E, the latest standard.

The first smart TVs powered by Pentonic 1000 will be available in the first quarter of 2023.

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