PXI Newsletter

Newsletter: HDMI 1.4 3D Video Analysis and Testing			6/24/2010
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From Bob Helsel, Editor of the PXI Newsletter:

PXI System Alliance Links

Welcome to the June 2010 edition of the PXI Newsletter. Our intent is to educate and inform you about how the PXI standard is being used in automated test systems for a wide variety of industries.

PXI Logo and Trademark:

One of the responsibilities of the PXI Systems Alliance is the ownership of the PXI logo and trademark that can only be used legally by its members. The PXI logo stands for several important things to test engineers worldwide:

Longevity and reliability. The PXI standard was first adopted in 1998.
Multivendor interoperability. All PXI products must conform to the PXI standard.
Backward compatibility. Compatibility with products built for earlier revisions of the PXI specification.

In the main article of this issue, HDMI 1.4 3D Video Analysis and Testing, we show how engineers are realizing the benefits of higher throughput and performance test solutions to reduce both the development and test times of their latest multimedia devices. In the second article, Tips to Reduce RF Measurement Time, we focus on how to improve RF measurement speeds with PXI.

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Main Article

HDMI 1.4 3D Video Analysis and Testing

As consumers gear up for the next-generation 3D video technology in their homes, engineers worldwide are gearing up for one of the greatest challenges in multimedia device testing.

For these engineers, understanding the anatomy of traditional digital video signals is the first step in analyzing 3D video content. Digital video signals can be broken into three main parts: the vertical blanking region, the horizontal blanking region, and the active picture region. The vertical blanking region contains the vertical sync pulse that signifies a new frame, and the horizontal blanking region contains a sync pulse that signifies a new line within the frame. The Vendor-Specific Info Frame specifies the frame rate and resolution of the video signal, which defines the timing of the horizontal and vertical sync pulses. For example, a Full High-Definition (HD) 1080p/60 Hz video stream has a vertical blanking pulse every 16.67 ms (60 Hz) to signify a new frame and a horizontal blanking pulse every 14.8 μs to signify a new horizontal line. Within the 14.8 μs horizontal line duration there are 2,200 pixels, which include the horizontal blanking period and the active picture. This requires a pixel clock of 148.5 MHz (1/14.8 μs horizontal line duration*2,200 pixels) to generate the video frame composed of the three regions.

Thanks to all our readers.
Bob Helsel, Editor
www.pxisa.org

Application Article

Tips to Reduce RF Measurement Time

If you’ve ever configured an automated RF measurement system, you likely have faced the dilemma of trying to improve measurement speed. Measurement speed is a critical component of the overall performance and productivity of your RF automated test systems. Software-defined RF instrumentation PXI can assist you in significantly lowering your RF measurement times. Most software-defined RF instruments typically perform measurements five to 10 times faster than their traditional instrument counterparts. By examining the key factors that affect RF measurement time, you can increase the performance of your RF measurement systems using traditional or PXI-based RF instruments.