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HDMI output board — Parallax Forums

HDMI output board

RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
edited 2011-08-17 18:32 in Propeller 1
Was taking a look at making an HDMI output board...

Looks like a non-starter though due to licensing for "HDMI".
I'm not completely sure if they'd go after me or not, but it wouldn't surprise me...

So, I think I'll work on a board with a HDMI chip, but a DVI connector.
That way, you can connect to a DVI monitor directly.
Or, you can buy a little DVI to HDMI adapter and connect to big screen TV.

Nice thing about HDMI is you get audio too.
I've read that some new video cards are doing the same thing...
They have a DVI connector, but with the HDMI adapter, you can get sound out too.

Comments

  • ericballericball Posts: 774
    edited 2011-08-16 09:30
    There are probably chips out there which accept 24bit RGB and output HDMI.

    OTOH, HDTVs often have VGA inputs.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-08-16 09:32
    I'm surprised the licensing isn't included with the HDMI chip. At least that's the way it works with I2C.

    -Phil
  • wjsteelewjsteele Posts: 697
    edited 2011-08-16 09:45
    Also, they can't go after you if it is for personal use. Design the board and let us put them together. :-)

    Bill
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
    edited 2011-08-16 10:28
    If I'm reading it right, the minimum entry is $5,000 per year.
    I think it applies to anything sold to a consumer that has an HDMI connector on it...

    I suppose, I could sell the board without a connector soldered on, but I'm leaning toward the DVI connector option...

    VGA is OK, but I've noticed some wavyness at high resolutions on big monitors. Also, I'm not sure the color rendering is 100%
    I'm pretty sure HDMI/DVI output will be flawless.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2011-08-16 10:44
    Here is a nice Xilinx app note on HDMI using the Spartan-3A FPGA:

    http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/application_notes/xapp460.pdf

    and here is one from Altera:

    http://www.altera.com/literature/an/an627.pdf
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
    edited 2011-08-16 11:17
    BTW: I've already done this using the TFP410 chip:
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?117342

    But, that chip doesn't encode sound. I'd like to experiment with adding sound too...
  • smbakersmbaker Posts: 164
    edited 2011-08-16 11:36
    What about displayport? As I understand, it's royalty-free and serves more-or-less the same purpose. Probably not nearly the supporting components that there are for HDMI though.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
    edited 2011-08-16 11:37
    The TFP410 is displayport. But, it doesn't support sound...

    BTW: One other nice thing about DVI/HDMI is that you can use it to power your Prop...
    It is spec'd to provide 55 mA of 5 VDC, but almost all implementations give you much more...
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2011-08-17 07:33
    Rayman wrote: »
    If I'm reading it right, the minimum entry is $5,000 per year.
    I think it applies to anything sold to a consumer that has an HDMI connector on it...
    The connector itself isn't, it's what it does behind the connector (read: HDPC). The Beagleboard, for example, uses an HDMI connector but that is simply because the HDMI connector is physically smaller than a DVI connector and the board is quite small. The Beagleboard HDMI connector doesn't support the closed HDPC part of HDMI, it only uses the DVI-compatible digital part so to use it you attach an HDMI-to-DVI cable and use a normal DVI-compatible monitor.

    Edit: As Rayman says below, HDPC is probably _another_ fee.. but as far as I know the connector by itself isn't the important thing here, it's whether you use the connector for HDMI or not.

    -Tor
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
    edited 2011-08-17 09:02
    As I read it, HDPC is yet another license you'd have to get, if you want to use it.

    I think the Beagleboard is made by TI. They probably don't worry about dropping $5k a year for HDMI licensing...

    I don't think they'd have to pay if they used a DVI connector. But, I bet they do pay for use of the HDMI connector...
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-08-17 09:13
    TI is listed on the HDMI website as an "adopter" so, yes, they're paying the fee (since 2006, according to the site).

    -Phil
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2011-08-17 12:55
    The Beagleboard is not made by TI. Common misunderstanding, but still not true. Several of the designers are TI employees, but as volunteers. From the faq: "..please remember that the Beagle Board is not a TI-supported product..".
    Wikipedia incorrectly states that it is produced by TI, but the discussion page corrects this (unfortunately the article hasn't been updated. I have no idea why). It's true that the original development of the board was sponsored by TI, but they don't produce the board. The original production was funded by Digi-Key. The design is also completely open, and there are now a few other makers - I believe one is made in Sweden, but the elinux.org site is down at the moment so I can't get to the details. I highly doubt that these other makers pay $5k a year for the privilege..! (btw hdmi.org says it's $10k now).

    In short, it says nowhere that the plug itself is the key to have to become an HDMI adopter, from what I can tell you only have to do that if you claim that you are actually HDMI compliant. And the Beagleboard isn't - it's using DVI, not HDMI.

    -Tor
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,876
    edited 2011-08-17 15:26
    Beagleboard is the only board I see out there with HDMI compatible output, so I took another look.
    I think they've removed almost all references to HDMI in their documentation. I remember looking at that board when it first appeared on Digikey.com,
    and seem to remember a lot about the HDMI output....
    Anyway, I think they've found a way around the issue... They don't call it HDMI anywhere, they call it DVI-D.
    This is actually true because the TFP410 chip doesn't do "real" hdmi even though it is compatible.
    Maybe I could use a similar strategy because the chip I'm looking at does offer a "DVI" mode in addition to "HDMI" mode.
    Perhaps if I didn't use the word "HDMI" anywhere in the description (like Beagleboard) I could get away with it....
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2011-08-17 15:32
    My ISEE IGEP boards also have HDMI connectors. They are kind of souped up Beagle Boards made in Spain. Also just DVI-D only.
  • ericballericball Posts: 774
    edited 2011-08-17 18:32
    If you are doing a personal project then I wouldn't worry too much about licenses etc. However, if you're thinking about a commercial product - do the necessary research. Check with the encoder chip makers, they should be able to provide you with decent information and contact info for others using their chips.
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