This is something I've been wondering about for a while. The fact that Nvidia are supporting T239 in L4T (and they're upstreaming that support into the mainline Linux kernel) very strongly suggests that Nvidia has at least one use-case for T239 outside of Nintendo. I've been trying to figure out what that device (or devices) might be, mostly out of simple curiosity.
The issue is that the more we learn about T239, the less useful it seems for everything that isn't a games console. In particular the indication that
it doesn't support cameras (or at least doesn't have a built-in
CSI interface like Nvidia's other SoCs) is something that seems particularly relevant, because almost every other device Nvidia might want to use the chip in would include one or more cameras. Tablets have both front and rear-facing cameras, laptops have webcams, automotive use-cases often involve dozens of cameras, etc. Technically this doesn't preclude a T239-based device from including a camera, but it would have to use an additional IC to connect via a different IO interface (probably USB, or maybe PCIe), which adds cost and complexity. It wouldn't put Nvidia in a great competitive position selling this chip if something that's standard on every competing SoCs, like connecting a camera, requires additional ICs.
One device they could use it in which wouldn't require cameras is a new Shield TV. This is something I do expect, but it's not nearly a big enough selling product to warrant a chip of its own, hence why the only update of the Shield line in the last few years was to use a die-shrunk TX1 they were making for Nintendo. I'm also less confident than I was before that a Shield TV was even considered when making this chip. For quite a while I have been assuming that whatever hardware Nvidia would make for Nintendo next would have a couple of concessions for Nvidia's own use-cases. Namely, that it would have video decode and output capabilities above and beyond what Nintendo need, probably including 8K@60Hz, for Nvidia to use in the next Shield TV. This would be relatively easy to include, as Ampere's video decode block already supports 8K@60Hz, and Orin's display controller likewise supports 8K60 output.
However, if
my understanding of the Linux commit on T239's DisplayPort interface is correct, which it might not be, then T239 isn't even particularly well suited for a Shield TV. The T239 DisplayPort interface supports two lanes of DP1.4 at HBR3 (8.1 Gpbs link rate per lane), which puts it in a pretty good position for a new Switch, as it could support 4K60 with HDR (using either 4:2:2 chroma sub-sampling or DSC), and it's the maximum rate that can be supported on a USB3.x USB-C connection while allowing for USB3 data alongside it. However, for a device targeting 8K it's quite limiting, as it would require DSC to even output 8K30, and would need both DSC
and 4:2:0 subsampling to hit 8K60 with HDR. I'm not sure how noticeable that compression would be at 8K (maybe not at all), but it's a strange bottleneck for a device designed for 8K.
The other part of the Linux commit (which may just be me reading too much into things) is that it implies that T239 doesn't have a direct HDMI output. Again, for Switch this is fine, as Nintendo will want a DP signal to transmit over USB-C, then use a DP-to-HDMI converter in the dock. For a Shield TV, though, this is inconvenient, as it would require a DP-to-HDMI converter that wouldn't have been required otherwise. Furthermore, if they do support 8K on the Shield TV, they would be compressing the 8K signal down using both DSC and 4:2:0 subsampling to squeeze it onto two lanes of DP1.4, only to uncompress it two centimetres away on a DP-to-HDMI chip, and send it out uncompressed over a HDMI cable. While Orin has a display controller that natively supports 8K60 HDMI connections which they could have used.
Of course they could release a new Shield TV without 8K support, but I think it would be a tough sell, as it'll almost certainly be priced higher than the competition (even the 4K Apple TV is now just $129 with a very capable SoC), and lots of CPU cores and a big GPU doesn't matter much for a device that's primarily used for streaming. The main advantage over the existing Shield TV would be 4K AV1 decode, but dirt cheap streaming dongles will probably be able to do that soon enough. Nvidia already had all the technology in place to decode and output 8K60 content, so if a Shield TV was considered a serious use-case when designing this chip, I can only imagine they would have supported it directly.
My money would still be on a new Shield TV using T239, but only as an afterthought, and likely using binned chips that don't make it into the new Switch model. Neither the economics of the situation nor the design of the chip would point to it being manufactured solely for use in the Shield TV, even if Nintendo had pulled out at the last minute. Beyond that I can't think of any other device it could be used in that wouldn't be severely hampered by the lack of out-of-the-box camera support.
