Silicon Image Develops 340 MHz HDMI Solution

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Silicon Image intros two new VastLane High-Definition Multimedia Interface transmitter chips that enable PC manufacturers to drive their digital output to PC monitors and HDTVs from a single transmitter. The VastLane SiI1392-3 and VastLane SiI1932-3 offer fast performance of up to 340 megahertz or 10.2 gigabits per second, letting them support monitor resolutions up to WQXGA (2560 x 1600 pixels) or HDTV resolutions up to 1440p. These products can drive the biggest, highest-resolution PC monitors on the market with a single-link solution. The previous generation of HDMI chips for PCs operated at up to 165 MHz, which limited them to monitor resolutions of UXGA (1600 ? 1200 pixels).

Silicon Image is delivering the components needed to strengthen the market leadership of the HDMI interface in the PC space, building upon HDMI's current position as the de facto standard digital interface for HDTVs and high-definition consumer electronics products. The VastLane SiI1392-3 and VastLane SiI1932-3 let PC makers use a single digital transmitter to connect to the large and rapidly-growing installed base of PC monitors with Digital Visual Interface inputs and HDTVs with HDMI inputs, along with future PC monitors expected to incorporate HDMI. These transmitters handle a broad range of PC applications ranging from corporate desktop PCs to home media PCs and notebook PCs to retail graphics cards. According to market research firm In-Stat, the estimated installed base of PC monitors with DVI inputs will reach 106 million this year, and the estimated installed base of HDTVs with HDMI inputs will reach 44 million this year.

PCs with HDMI connectors allow consumers to transmit the highest-quality premium digital audio and video content, such as high-definition movies from HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc drives and HDTV tuners, to HDTVs and other displays.

The VastLane SiI1932-3 supports a Transition Minimized Differential Signaling input interface from discrete graphics processing units, while the VastLane SiI1392-3 supports Intel's SDVO interface with integrated graphics controller chipsets. Because HDMI is backward compatible with DVI, these transmitters give PC makers the maximum flexibility of being able to interface to any digital display, from existing DVI LCD monitors, HDTVs and projectors to future low-cost all digital PC monitors with DVI or HDMI inputs. In addition, PCs integrating these transmitters can be designed to meet Windows Vista Premium requirements and to be fully compliant with the latest High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection 1.2 specification to transmit premium HD content.

In addition to adding unprecedented TMDS high-bandwidth performance, the new transmitters enable system-level cost reduction compared to currently-available HDMI solutions by integrating functions that normally require a discrete microcontroller in addition to the discrete transmitters.

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