Posted on Monday, May 10 2010 @ 17:34 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
VESA announced Internal DisplayPort, a new standard for inside-the-box connectivity within flat panel TVs.
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today issued the new Internal DisplayPort (iDP™) interface standard for inside-the-box connectivity within flat panel TVs. The standard is designed to replace LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) with a simpler and higher-performing connectivity technology based on the widely adopted VESA DisplayPort standard.
The VESA iDP standard addresses the connection between a TV controller SOC (System-on-a-Chip) and a TV panel Timing Controller (TCON) within a TV chassis. Only 17 signals – eight differential pairs and one Hot Plug Detect (HPD) signal – are needed to transport Full HD 240Hz at 10 bits per color over the iDP link, reducing cost and manufacturing complexity compared to the LVDS 96-signal requirement. The open and royalty-free standard will create a healthy competitive environment with component suppliers, further enhancing cost benefits while driving innovation within the consumer electronics industry.
This is a scalable standard, allowing for support of future design needs. For example, with iDP a 4K x 2K at 240Hz display only requires two banks of 16 differential pairs and one HPD for 65 signals. In comparison, LVDS would require 192 differential pairs (or 384 signals) to support this rate. Other iDP advantages include elimination of the many LVDS printed circuit board traces and device pins which result in reduced system form factor and cost, and less shielding requirement due to reduced EMI.
Similar to the existing VESA eDP™ (Embedded DisplayPort) interface standard used within Notebooks and other PC devices with internal displays, iDP is designed around the special needs of flat panel television displays and provides specific optimizations for internal flat panel TV applications.
“Today’s flat panel TV manufacturers are in a constant race to provide better picture quality, more realistic animation, and even 3D video. This continues to push refresh rates higher and has created the need for a new high-speed panel interface standard,” said VESA Executive Director Bill Lempesis. “VESA’s iDP standard meets that need while also helping control costs.”
