Delivering a perfect in-car home theater experience through the FPD-Link III chipset, providing high-performance Blu-ray video at resolutions up to 720p.
– National Semiconductor Korea (CEO: Choi Chung-won) today launched the industry's first Ser/Des chipset for automotive infotainment systems that supports high-bandwidth digital content protection. The FPD-Link III chipset delivers a rich home theater experience by protecting and delivering in-vehicle video and audio content, such as Blu-ray movies with resolutions up to 720p.

National's FPD-Link III Ser/Des chipset consists of the DS90UH925Q serializer and the DS90UH926Q deserializer. Both chipsets transmit unidirectional digital video, audio, and bidirectional I2C control signals over a single twisted cable using the HDCP protection interface protocol approved by Digital Content Protection (DCP) LLC ( www.digital-cp.com ). HDCP is recognized for its performance by leading content providers in the industry, including Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. A unique HDCP key is stored in the on-chip memory of each Ser/Des chipset, providing secure protection against unauthorized use of video content. National's Ser/Des encrypts content data and enables the necessary authentication exchange in accordance with HDCP specifications. National plans to hold a demonstration of its Ser/Des products at SAE Convergence 2010, which will be held for two days from October 19 to 20 in Detroit, Michigan, USA (Booth #307).

On-chip processing of protected content by FPD-Link III Ser/Des simplifies infotainment system design and eliminates the need for expensive auxiliary components, such as microcontrollers and FPGAs, by computationally processing data authentication and encryption. The DS90UH925Q serializer converts data, video, digital I2S audio, and control output data from the head unit processor into serial streams, enabling information transmission through the vehicle's cabling box. The DS90UH926Q deserializer converts the serial information streams back into the video, audio, and control outputs necessary to display content on the central infotainment display and LCD displays in the rear seats.

The integration of video data and control functions using a single differential link further simplifies system design by reducing interconnect size, weight, and cost. Both chipsets serially link 24-bit color video content over distances exceeding 10 meters and provide a wide pixel clock range of 5 MHz to 85 MHz. This enables infotainment system designers to develop modular platforms combining video sources and displays that support an automaker's entire vehicle portfolio, ranging from luxury sedans to base models.

The Ser/Des is AEC-Q100 Grade 2 rated for operation between -40°C and +105°C and is powered by 3.3V. It also provides a Built-In Self Test (BIST) mode for factory testing, system startup, and diagnostics. FPD-