Over in Barcelona at MWC, DivX, the digital video codec specialist, has announced the world’s first DivX Plus HD certified mobile system-on-chip (SoC) - the Renesas Mobile Corporation’s SH-Mobile MT1 (SH73704).

Mobile phones used to be judged on their connectivity options, their screen sizes and whether you could get funky changeable fascias for them.

Now it's all about what's under the hood - with the CPUs becoming the core (or dual-core preferably) element of what defines the handset - as these determine how your device is able to perform.

And the SH-Mobile MT1, and subsequent DivX Plus HD chips, will mean that your phone or tablet will be  capable of handling both SD, and more importantly, 1080p HD files directly on any DivX Certified device without any fiddly converting before hand.

The MT1, for example, can process video at full HD 1920x1080 (.mkv) and also offers noise reduction and audio processing (5.1-channel/2-channel) without killing your battery.

“DivX Plus HD is our premium level of certification, and it’s a testament to Renesas Mobile’s technology leadership that they are the first integrated circuit company to achieve our most comprehensive standards for HD video playback on a mobile phone,” said Matt Milne, EVP and GM at DivX.

“By partnering with an innovator like Renesas Mobile that supplies technology to a range of top-tier device manufacturers, we’ll help ensure more consumers can watch the highest quality DivX videos at home or on the go.”