Serialized HDMI Link Over Single Optical Fiber
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing HDMI cable technology is costly and limited by the use of copper wires, which are inefficient for high-bandwidth applications, and replacing them with multiple optical fibers is not cost-effective due to complexity and hardware requirements, necessitating a method to transmit serialized HDMI data over a single optical cable.
Innovation Solution
The method involves receiving TMDS data from an HDMI source, combining it with a clock signal to form a single serialized bitstream, transmitting this over an optical fiber, and re-serializing it for delivery to an HDMI sink, using a serializer/deserializer apparatus that includes an AD9880 HDMI receiver and transmitter with diagnostic and runtime modes to manage data formatting and clock recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple optical fibers are used to replace copper wires, then transmission efficiency and bandwidth are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate optical fiber connections into a single integrated cable assembly. The converter device integrates multiple optical receivers and signal processing functions into one unit, allowing multiple TMDS channels to be transmitted through a single optical cable rather than requiring separate fibers for each channel, thereby reducing cable complexity while maintaining high transmission efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The converter device performs multiple functions within a single apparatus: it receives serialized TMDS data, deserializes it, converts it to parallel form, and re-serializes it for transmission. This multi-functional integration eliminates the need for separate devices for each function, reducing overall system complexity while achieving high-bandwidth optical transmission
2Ease of manufacture
If copper wires are used for HDMI transmission, then ease of manufacture is maintained, but transmission bandwidth and efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes electrical signal transmission through copper wires with optical signal transmission through optical fibers. The converter device includes optical receivers that convert optical signals to electrical signals, enabling the use of optical materials instead of copper conductors, thereby dramatically increasing transmission bandwidth and efficiency while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized optical cable assembly
3Device complexity
If serialized TMDS data transmission is implemented, then cable complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The converter device performs preliminary deserialization and formatting of TMDS data before transmission. By pre-processing the data into the correct serialized format with embedded clock signals, the system ensures that the optical cable only needs to transmit the formatted data without requiring complex error correction or re-synchronization, thereby reducing cable complexity while maintaining manageable manufacturing precision requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The serialized TMDS data format includes embedded clock signals and synchronization information that enable the receiving end to automatically re-synchronize and deserialize the data without external intervention. This self-synchronizing capability reduces the need for complex external control circuits in the cable, simplifying its structure while ensuring accurate data transmission
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and a method for providing serialized HDMI data from an HDMI source to an HDMI sink. An HDMI transmitter may include inputs including control inputs, a deserializer, and a parser. The inputs may receive serialized HDMI data from an HDMI data source. A deserializer may deserialize the serialized HDMI data received on each of the respective inputs and outputting parallel data for each of the inputs. A parser may parse the parallel data output from the deserializer from each of the respective inputs into serial video data at a first clock rate and audio data at a second clock rate. Control inputs of the transmitter may be set to a first mode in which from the deserializer is caused to bypass the parser, and the parallel data is output from the HDMI transmitter.