Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Mon, January 11, 2010
Fri, January 8, 2010 Intersil Announces Industry's First Long-Haul Mini DisplayPort(TM) Video HyperWall Interconnects
MILPITAS, CA and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - January 8, 2010) - Consumer Electronics Show -- [ Intersil Corporation ] (
Powered by the Intersil's Q:Active analog signal processing technology, these "active cables" support the full 8.64Gbps bandwidth (HBR) of DisplayPort 1.1a, enabling a resolution of 2560p x 1600p through up to 50 meters of copper cable -- far exceeding the capabilities of interconnects which are currently limited to lengths of 3 meters or less. They also support the upcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification (HBR2) that doubles the resolution and color depth with an aggregate data rate of 17.28Gbps.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Intersil is demonstrating Deep Color, Full Bandwidth HD digital video running over the industry's longest and thinnest copper Mini DisplayPort (mDP) to DisplayPort hybrid cable. The demonstration shows 50Gbps of Deep Color video information running 20 meters to a 25 megapixel HyperWall in stunning clarity.
"Clearly this is a breakthrough for consumer interconnects at a time that's right," said Ken Fleck, Founder of Fleck Research, and a veteran in the interconnect industry. "Intersil's approach, technology, and user benefits are impressive."
"It is very pleasing to see innovative solutions like Intersil's mDP-to-DP ultra-thin active cables introduced so shortly after the adoption of the standard. This interconnect will be an attractive addition to technologies available to DisplayPort end users," said Bruce Montag, Chairman of the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)."
"We are extremely proud to introduce our Q:Active HD DisplayPort copper cable assemblies," said Huibert Verhoeven, vice president and general manager of Intersil's High-Speed Products Group. "These ultra-thin long-haul interconnects will enable high-speed digital video and audio data transmission for the entire range of display applications, from extreme gaming to commercial and personal video HyperWalls. Our Q:Active technology, now proven in High Performance Computing, is making its way to the consumer market with unprecedented benefits."
Technical Specifications
In the CES demonstration, high-definition video is displayed over six 30-inch flat-panel displays with 2560p x 1600p resolution over 20-meter 32AWG ultra-thin Q:Active HD mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort Hybrid cables. Mini DisplayPort (mDP) is the small connector standard recently adopted by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for the newest portable PCs, ultra-thin netbooks and notebooks. The small form-factor of the mDP connector makes it difficult to utilize traditional thick wire gauge cable, making the Q:Active ultra-thin cable technology an essential alternative.
These active cables use Intersil high-speed CMOS devices that are embedded directly into the connector, and compensate for channel impairments such as skew, attenuation, group delay and crosstalk presented by the copper cable. They are entirely analog for low power and small size, yet they deliver the industry's highest performance. They enable current and future DisplayPort traffic to run on copper twinax cable just 2mm in diameter -- 30% thinner than fiber optics and 90% thinner than Category 6a structured cabling. Alternatively, Q:Active technology can increase distance on traditional copper by as much as 600 percent. This allows gamers, studios and stadiums to interconnect without the hefty power consumption of fiber optic lasers and receivers or additional electronic repeater boxes.
Rapid Broad-Market Adoption
Instat, a leading market research firm, forecasts that over 600 million DisplayPort enabled devices will be shipped in 2012, a growth rate of 194% compounded annually from 2008 to 2013. Applications for these cables include projection, extreme gaming, rendering studios, supercomputing, HyperWalls, and stadiums.
Intersil's Q:Active technology is a broadly deployed active cable format with installations in Top 500 supplied supercomputers, raster image processors, servers, storage farms and data centers worldwide. These switches and supercomputers can consume up to 30,000 ports of Q:Active technology per individual installation.
Pricing and More Information
Q:Active HD DisplayPort cable pricing starts at $89 per cable. For more information please visit [ http://www.intersil.com/activecables ]
About Intersil
[ Intersil Corporation ] is a leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors. The Company's products address some of the industry's fastest growing markets, such as, flat panel displays, cell phones, other handheld systems, and notebooks. Intersil's product families address power management functions and analog signal processing functions. Intersil products include ICs for [ battery management ], hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, power sequencers, supervisory ICs, bridge drivers, [ PWM controllers ], switching DC/DC regulators, Zilker Labs Digital Power ICs and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; [ D2Audio ] products; [ video ] and high-performance [ operational amplifiers ]; [ high-speed data converters ]; [ interface ICs ]; [ analog switches ] and multiplexers; crosspoint switches; voice-over-IP devices; and ICs for [ military ], space and radiation-hardened applications. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the Company's web site and career page at [ www.intersil.com ].
