Parade Technologies Introduces World’s First DisplayPort(tm) Timing Controller ICs that meet Direct Drive Monitor spec at 4 Mpixel resolution

Posted September 22nd, 2009

New DDM Tcons support up to 2560×1600 displays at 10-bit color depth

San Francisco (Intel Developers Conference) 22 September 2009—Parade Technologies Ltd. (www.paradetech.com), a leading innovator of digital video interface products, introduced the DP627 and DP628 Direct Drive Monitor (DDM) timing controllers with DisplayPort input at the Intel Developer’s Forum (IDF) today.  These devices are the world’s first that are fully compliant with both the VESA Direct Drive Monitor Standard and the VESA DisplayPort Standard version 1.1a, and which support all display sizes up to the 4Mpixel WQXGA (2560×1600) resolution. DisplayPort-enabled Direct Driver Monitors are now entering the market and are gaining popularity with the increase of DisplayPort adoption.

The DP627 and DP628 integrate the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) DisplayPort receiver with HDCP content protection, a safe-mode video scaler, LCD timing controller (Tcon) and other functions necessary to implement a Direct Drive Monitor.  The devices are designed to mount directly on the LCD panel Tcon board and include mini-LVDS outputs to interface with the column drivers.  The DP627 features a four-lane DisplayPort input and a two channel mini-LVDS output supporting display resolutions up to 1920×1200, targeting midrange displays.  The DP628 includes a four-lane DisplayPort input with a four channel mini-LVDS output, supporting resolutions up to 2560×1600, targeting high-end displays.  Both devices also include multichannel audio support through I2S and S/PDIF output ports.  This enables the Direct Drive Monitor to render the audio stream embedded in the DisplayPort input.

The VESA Direct Drive Monitor specification was developed in parallel with the DisplayPort specification to enable the next generation of desktop displays.  By enabling the DisplayPort interface to occur at the panel Tcon, the secondary “system controller” board can be eliminated.  This allows OEMs to manufacture a slimmer display with lower power consumption, using fewer components, resulting in cost savings.  Image quality is also improved since the display scaling function is done by the host graphic processor unit (GPU), which performs scaling with higher precision.

“The DP627 and DP628 make it possible for new DDMs to support 4Mpixel display resolutions,” says Eric Mentzer, Vice President, Intel Architecture Group. “The ability to support Direct Drive Monitors was a central goal in the development of the DisplayPort Standard. DDMs represent a cost saving to both the OEM and customer.  The first generation of DisplayPort-enabled displays on the market are multi-mode, which include VGA and DVI inputs and a scaler.  As DisplayPort becomes more prolific, display OEMs will introduce more direct drive monitors which support DisplayPort only.”

IC Eliminates Cost of External Crystal and Adaptive Equalizer Supports Long Cables

Advanced features of the DP627 and DP628 include On-Screen Display (OSD) capability and support of the VESA Monitor Control Command Set (MCCS).  An integrated microcontroller provides interface and system control – a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus connects to external memory for firmware and VESA Extended Display Identification Data (EDID).  The DisplayPort receiver includes an adaptive input equalizer to support long interconnect cables, and no external crystal is required by the device, eliminating an extra component that would otherwise add as much as 20% to the cost of DDM electronics.

The DP627 and DP628 offer a complete solution including ESD protection on the DisplayPort interface (up to 8kV on the connector pins and 5kV for other pins), a configurable on-chip Gamma look-up table (loaded through firmware), and dithering and FRC (frame rate control) for down sampling component color depth.  The DisplayPort interface supports spread-spectrum clocking, which is removed prior to video and audio rendering. Both devices are fabricated by Parade foundry partner UMC.

“UMC is pleased to be the manufacturing partner for Parade,” said C.G. Shih, VP of America & Europe Sales and Customer Engineering at UMC. “With Parade’s experienced design team coupled with UMC’s engineering resources, we were confident that our joint efforts would result in a high-quality DisplayPort interface product.  We look forward to working with Parade for similar product successes in the future.”

Pricing and Availability

The DP627 and DP628 are currently in production.  The DP627 is offered in a 128 pin LQFP package and is priced at $4.50 in 100k quantities.  The DP628 is offered in a 176 pin TQFP package and is priced at $7.00 in 100k quantities.

About Parade Technologies, Ltd. and Parade Technologies, Inc.

Parade Technologies, Ltd. is a privately held fabless semiconductor company that specializes in developing high-speed interface ICs, a $3 billion global market.  The company seeks to leverage a combination of high-speed analog, mixed-signal and digital design expertise, along with system level knowledge, to take product performance, power efficiency and customer satisfaction to new heights.

Parade Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Parade Technologies, Ltd, is located in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.  As Parade Technologies, Ltd’s marketing representative in the United States, Parade Technologies, Inc. can be reached at (408) 329-5540, or on the Internet at http://www.paradetech.com .

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