Standards compliance: Instruments help validate display designs

By Control Engineering Staff

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Beaverton, OR — Parade Technologies has validated its new DP501 DisplayPort transmitter for compliance with the emerging DisplayPort standard, with help from Tektronix test equipment. The DisplayPort digital display interface specification, approved in May 2006 and developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), defines a new license-free, state-of-the-art digital audio/video interconnect, intended primarily for use between a computer and its display. DisplayPort allows for standardized connections between source devices and display devices such as LCD panels without the need for signal translation. The direct drive capability is said to simplify display product design and cut costs.

The physical layer test solution used for the validation includes several Tektronix components, including the TDS6804B real-time oscilloscope running RT-Eye serial compliance and analysis software, a TDS8200 sampling oscilloscope for time domain reflectometry (TDR) analysis, and an AFG3252 for receiver testing. The TDS6804B oscilloscope with TR-Eye provides accurate eye-rendering and clock recovery from the DisplayPort-based serial bit streams. The AFG3252 is used to transmit test patterns that serve to validate design performance using precise limit testing on the bit stream. The TDS8200 is used for electric characterization, reducing validation time from days to minutes.

'As a company at the forefront of driving acceptance of the DisplayPort standard, having the most reliable test suite in our labs is crucial,' said Jack Zhao, Parade's president and CEO. 'Tektronix was the immediate choice with its comprehensive, integrated instrument suite and expertise in the serial data validation arena.'

Click here to read more about the display connectivity standard from VESA.

Click here to read more about the DP501 DisplayPort transmitter.

—Edited by Jeanine Katzel , senior editor, Control Engineering