Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff

(List of SDI video ICs) Please help me find an SDI interface IC

(1/3) > >>

Yansi:
Hello,

just got the idea to start this thread. Some of you may be familiar with SDI video interfaces already, for those who are not, please see here (wiki), or search for the most used standards: SMPTE259, SMPTE292 and SMPTE424.

I know this is a very niche topic, but lately I decided to finally start my battle through FPGAs and my main motivation behind that is to have some fun with video (and their professional interfaces). What would likely help me a bit to get started, is to make a list of what is available, what can it do and for how much. As all this will at the moment sure be only hobby level, price will also be a constraint. It is not a problem to find an interface IC within a minute, but sure it won't likely be the best suited one, certainly not cheapest option for the task.

If you happen to know of any interesting diy projects that would include the above mentioned interfaces, please let me know too.

I know that there are way to many possibilities to skin a cat, so making a comprehensive list of solution is impossible, but any tips and pieces of information may be beneficial for me or others, that may be also interested in the same hobby.

I will divide the ICs of interest into three main groups, based on the standard they can deliver. I will stop at 3G, because I think that is the most that can be done on a hobby level without using rocket science and probably the most used standard these days.

I will try to update the list below based on your suggestions. Please post tips for any SDI related ICs you know are somehow interesting, either with their capabilities or for example price-wise. (if you think this whole idea is nonsense, you can tell me that too).

SD-SDI (SMPTE259)
CLC001 - Cable Driver, 622mbps, SOIC8, cheap
CLC006 - Cable Driver, 400mbps, SOIC8, cheap
LMH0070 - Serializer, 5xLVDS in, $20+
LMH0071 - Deserializer, 5xLVDS out, loop out, $25++

HD-SDI (SMPTE292)
LMH0034 - Adaptive Cable Equalizer, $20+
LMH0040 - Serializer, 5xLVDS in, $25++
LMH0041 - Deserializer, 5xLVDS out, loop out, $25++

3G-SDI (SMPTE424)
LMH0302 - Cable Driver, $10+
LMH0356 - Reclocker, FR4 EQ, 4:1 input mux, $25++
GV7600 - Serializer, parallel 20bit input, 1mm pitch BGA, $15+ (obsolete)
GV7700 - Serializer, parallel 20bit input, awful dual row QFN, used in cheap Chinese products, $15+ (but not for this price likely)
LMH0340 - Serializer, 5xLVDS in, $25++
GV7601 - Deserializer, parallel 20bit out, 1mm pitch BGA, $15+ (obsolete)
LMH0341 - Deserializer, 5xLVDS out, loop out, $25++



dmills:
Does your FPGA of choice have a handful of high speed serdes available on its IO?

For a play toy I might be looking at a Microchip EQCO30R5, costs bugger all and will get it done within its limits. You mistake is that you have been looking at external Serdes, nobody does it that way these days.

The usual way to do SDI is just to use a line receiver (Typically TI, Semtec or MaCom, but Microchip have something available that could be worth a look) and then go into the FPGA as 3Gb/s over one of the high speed interfaces.

Do look to your clocking, you need something suitable wired to the Serdes PLL input 148.5/148.35MHz is the usual choice.

Yansi:
Could you please post some other part numbers to look for? That microchip bugger looks promising (there is even a complementary transmitter). But I have a bad feeling that an FPGA equipped with integrated 3Gbps serdes begins to be rocket science and quite expensive.

I'd like to start with cheap Cyclone IV FPGAs, which are available at sensible prices.  Well... at least the smaller ones.

Now looking into the Cyclone IV handbook, the smallest 3Gbps capable is EP4CGX30, which is a hell of a beast, in a very unfriendly packages, not to mention the crazy cost factor. And even trying to attack a smaller BGA of probably still acceptable "diy size and complexity", like EP4CGX30BF14xxx (FBGA169, 1mm pitch) means you get only two 3gig serdes IOs. Maybe good enough for simple format converter... but not for anything past that.

2.5gig serdes is available even on the smaller ones, good enough for SMPTE292 (HD-SDI).  But having an external serdes leaves the option to use even small cheap FPGA, as LVDS is abundant even there. The smallest EP4CE device still has about 20 LVDS pairs available (including those emulated).

Maybe I see it all just too simple to do. I know it is not and certainly will not start playing with a 3G-SDI first, but with a plain ol' SD-SDI at couple hundred mbps.  For example making a simple CVBS to SDI converter would be that much fun to begin with!

Maybe I should just forget all this and play with something more useful...

dmills:
Key phrase is "SDI Equaliser" not "SDI Serdes" because all the non integrated serdes stuff is old technology and expensive.

TI LMH0324 and LMH0397 is what we tend to go to at work, but Semtec and MaCom both have allegedly pin compatible parts.

Broadcast tends to be a Xilinx shop these days for the most part due to better IP being available, and in the office for small video things we generally go Artix 7 series. 

Yansi:
Well, I haven't looked specifically for "serdes" as a keyword, but just to know what options are out there.  External serdes is certainly a way to go with a cheap and simple FPGA. 

I have zero experience working with Xilinx devices, but I may as well switch in the future. As far as I can see, Artix 7 devices can be found for third of the price of what a decent Cyclone IV costs. Doh!

The main limiting factor for a hobby use is the price and and also package. High pin count BGA are rocket science (and PCBs for them are rocket price).

But to be more specific: Say I would like to start with something simple (I haven't done much VHDL past the simple stuff), so as a first trial, I'd like to just build a CVBS to SD-SDI converter.  Cyclone IV FPGA should be more then enough to shovel the 27MHz sampled 4:2:2 video data, question is, how am I supposed to do the data serialization?

For example, is a cheap Cyclone IV ( for ex. EP4CE6E22C8N) able to do the serialization by itself? "Just" SD-SDI, 270mbps. I have the feeling the integrated LVDS output might be used for just that, but how about deserialization of the SD-SDI data?

Thank you for any insight into this.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod