DPL Labs Introduces Its 48G Reference Standard

January 10, 2020

New Super Speed Oscilloscope Providing 4 100 Gbps channels at the same time

          This past year DPL Labs continued to grow as its popularity gained traction in the far east and Europe. This year DPL will introduce its new 48G Reference Standard Certification for both passive and active cable products. With HDMI 48Gbps products now becoming available the need for 48G testing will escalate, demanding both new cable designs and electronics for active devices with a slight rule change. Due to this incredibly large data rate, passive cables will be limited in length and gauge. To move past 4 to 5 meters will require some form of an active device within all AOC and active copper cable systems. So the days of active products needed for 10 meters and beyond will shrink in length, moving to shorter lengths with a high dependence on gauge. This will ignite a huge business opportunity for more highly specialized 48G active designs between 3 and 10 meters. But how will you tap into these new technologies and not end up with an active claim that hinders the new Rev 2.1 standards?

We have seen this over and over again with wire and cable assemblers using “cowboy” tactics in designing products of this caliper and level. There is a science where transmission line design talent and equipment are lacking in many wire and cable manufactures. It ends up either getting submitted for typical HDMI Testing which is where most of the industry has had to suffer with or taking a higher road moving into a more superior testing service.

Frequency Domain THD Calculations

          HDMI’s new Rev 2.1 is a bit more complicated than revisions of the past. The total operating envelop is huge and requires a relatively smooth overall response from 1Gbps and up, not to mention the seriousness of the noise floor which is just one additional component to test for. The video amplitude with Rev 2.1 is the smallest ever, taking it down very close to the noise floor when entering its designated input stage. The amount of noise and distortion can play hand in hand and need to be considered when analyzing these products.

          For that DPL Labs has worked with several test instrument firms in building a customized test suite specifically for this new transmission format. It consists of new and faster oscilloscopes up to 400Gbps, BERTs (Bit Error Rate Test), improved CEC, I2C (DDC) and software designed to analyze these low level super high data rate signals. In addition, DPL’s new test suite will introduce an entirely new reporting feature that will export the data in an improved format for evaluating what each DUT (Device Under Test) can achieve.

          Now under this new 48G testing methodology each video lane (4) will require several more tests increasing the bench time. With DPL’s new test suite, it will be totally automated increasing accuracy and speed.

          DPL Labs will continue on its quests to provide not only the best test and measurement service for high speed devices in the world but also continue with our strong support team capable of expanding your abilities into the next decade. This will keep your firm in the upper tear of products throughout the world.

          HDMI Rev 2.1 certification probably will not appear on the shelves for some time which was just announced at a press conference at this year’s CES. It is time to put the bureaucratic delays to bed and get to work. We look forward working with all of you. Next month we will provide more information as we begin DPL’s 48G Reference Standard Testing.