Among the biggest wishes netbook users have for improvements are more performance and the ability to play HD video. The first crop of netbooks that features the Intel Atom N270 lacked the capability for hardware 1080p video decoding.

The Intel Atom N280 and its chipset can support 720p hardware decoding for HD video. NVIDIA announced its Ion platform that uses an Intel Atom CPU bundled with one of its GPUs to decode full 1080p video, but at this time no Ion netbooks have hit market.

VIA has announced a new Media System Processor (MSP) today called the VX855 that offers among its features the ability to decode full 1080p video. VIA says that the processor supports multiple video standards including H.264, MPEG-2/4, DivX and WMV9 and can play the formats in high bit rates in 1080p resolution.

The VX855 is aimed at the netbook and SFF segment of the market and has a TDP of 2.3W making it ideal for netbooks where power usage is very important. The MSP supports all leading operating systems including Windows 7 according to VIA. The part integrates all the features of a modern chipset's north and south bridges in a package that measures only 27mm x 27mm saving over 46% of the space that typical twin-chip designs require.

The low power requirements and power management features allow system builders to integrate the VX855 in fanless designs. Features of the processor include high performance 2D and 3D graphics thanks to the VIA Chrome9 supporting DirectX 9 and 128-bit 2D with hardware rotation capacity.

HD audio is supported with up to eight channels with a 192kHz sampling rate. The memory controller integrated into the MSP supports up to two high-bandwidth DDR2 modules and the product supports up to six USB ports. Supported processors include the VIA Nano, C7, and Eden parts at 400 to 800 MHz FSB speeds.