Silicon Image Gmbh

Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation

Super Interconnect Technologies LLC

Seung Ho Hwang

Gyudong Kim

Eric N Lee

Min-Kyu Kim

Gijung Ahn

Albert M Scalise

Baegin Sung

Paul Daniel Wolf

Keewook Jung

Daeyun Shim

Ook Kim

Bruce Kim

James D Lyle

Jano D Banks

Stephen J Keating

John D Banks

Duane P Siemens

Zeehoon Jang

Nam Hoon Kim

James Gregory Hanko

Russel A Martin

Hoon Choi

David D Lee

J Duane Northcutt

Adrian Sfarti

MinKyu Kim

Victor M Da Costa

William Sheet

Eric Lee

Michael Schumacher

Vladimir Grekhov

Ziaus S Molla

Victor DaCosta

Michael Anthony Schumacher

In some embodiments, a chip includes transmitters to transmit differential signals on conductors; and current mode circuitry to selectively modulate a common mode voltage of the differential signals to communicate data. In other embodiments, a system includes a first chip to transmit first and second differential signals on conductors, and a second chip. The second chip includes receivers to receive the first and second differential signals from the conductors and provide received signals representative thereof, and current mode circuitry to selectively modulate a common mode voltage of either the first or second differential signals to communicate data and wherein the first chip includes common mode detection circuitry to detect changes in the common mode voltage. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Current mode circuitry to modulate a common mode voltage

In some embodiments, the invention is a personal digital network ('PDN') including hardware (sometimes referred to as Ingress circuitry) configured to transcrypt encrypted content that enters the PDN. Typically, the transcryption (decryption followed by re-encryption) is performed in hardware within the Ingress circuitry and the re-encryption occurs before the decrypted content is accessible by hardware or software external to the Ingress circuitry. Typically, transcrypted content that leaves the Ingress circuitry remains in re-encrypted form within the PDN whenever it is transferred between integrated circuits or is otherwise easily accessible by software, until it is decrypted within hardware (sometimes referred to as Egress circuitry) for display or playback or output from the PDN. Typically, the PDN is implemented so that no secret in Ingress or Egress circuitry (for use or transfer by the Ingress or Egress circuitry) is accessible in unencrypted form to software or firmware within the PDN or to any entity external to the PDN. Other aspects of the invention are methods for protecting content in a PDN (e.g., an open computing system) and devices (e.g., multimedia graphics cards, set top boxes, or video processors) for use in a PDN.

Method and apparatus for content protection in a personal digital network environment

A cable including circuitry for asserting information to a user or external device and a system including such a cable. The cable can include conductors, a memory storing cable data, and circuitry configured to respond to a request received on at least one of the conductors by accessing at least some of the cable data and asserting the accessed data serially to at least one of the conductors (e.g., for transmission to an external device). Other aspects of the invention are methods for accessing cable data stored in a cable and optionally using the data (e.g., to implement equalization). The cable data can be indicative of all or some of cable type, grade, speed, length, and impedance, a date code, a frequency-dependent attenuation table, far-end crosstalk and EMI-related coefficients, common mode radiation, intra pair skew, and other information. The cable can include a radiation-emitting element and circuitry for generating driving signals for causing the radiation-emitting element to produce an appropriate color, brightness, and/or blinking pattern.

Cable with circuitry for asserting stored cable data or other information to an external device or user

A communication system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a serial link, in which encoded data (e.g., encoded video data and encoded auxiliary data) are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. The serial link can but need not be a TMDS or TMDS-like link. In typical embodiments, alternating bursts of encoded video data and encoded auxiliary data are transmitted over each of one or more channels of the link. Other aspects of the invention are transmitters for use in encoding data for transmission over a serial link, and methods for sending encoded data over a serial link. In accordance with the invention, the data to be transmitted are encoded using a subset (sometimes referred to as a selected set of code words) of a full set of code words. The selected set of code words is selected such that each stream of encoded data (comprising only such code words) transmitted over a serial link has a bit pattern that is less susceptible to inter-symbol interference ('ISI') during transmission than is the bit pattern determined by a conventionally encoded version of the same data (comprising not only the selected set of code words but also other members of the full set). In general, the best choice for the selected set of code words selected from a full set of binary code words depends on the particular coding implemented by the full set. Typically, the selected set of code words includes words whose serial patterns (during transmission) have fewer contiguous zeros and ones (and thus are less susceptible to ISI during transmission) than do those code words in the full set that are not selected. In preferred embodiments in which the bits of the selected set of code words are transmitted over a serial link as sequences of rising and falling voltage transitions, the bit pattern of each transmitted stream of the selected set of code words implements DC balancing to limit the voltage drift over time.

Encoding method and system for reducing inter-symbol interference effects in transmission over a serial link

A system in which encoded data (e.g., encoded video and auxiliary data) are transmitted over a serial link. Other aspects of the invention are transmitters for use in encoding data for transmission over a serial link, receivers for receiving such data, and methods for sending encoded data over a serial link. Source data to be transmitted are encoded using a subset of a full set of code words. The subset consists of preferred code words. Disjoint clusters of code words in the full set are predetermined. Each cluster includes one or more of the preferred words, and optionally also at least one additional code word that is similar to a preferred word of the cluster in the sense that it is likely to be generated as a result of probable bit errors in transmission, or transmission and decoding, of such preferred word. Each preferred word of a cluster is indicative of a single source data value. Each received code word in a cluster is mapped to the source data value determined by each preferred word of the cluster.

Method and system for reducing inter-symbol interference effects in transmission over a serial link with mapping of each word in a cluster of received words to a single transmitted word

A data sampling method and circuit employing an oversampling clock to oversample a data signal, a phase tracker for use with or in a data sampling circuit, and a method for identifying a sequence of best sampling positions for sampling a data signal from signal samples generated using an oversampling clock. In some embodiments, data indicative of the phase of at least one of the oversampling clock's sampling positions relative to the center of the data eye are low-pass filtered in a manner determined by the data signal's bit rate. In other embodiments, the number of dead cycles of the phase tracker decision loop is reduced by generating possible solutions in parallel and moving the feedback point so as to occur as late as practical, or the phase tracker ignores a sample set when updating its determination of the best sampling position when the sample set indicates that the data signal has less than a predetermined number of transitions during a corresponding tracking period.

Reduced dead-cycle, adaptive phase tracking method and apparatus

A method of transmitting data in a system including at least one data channel and a separate clock channel is disclosed. The method involves combining a clock signal to be transmitted on the clock channel with a data signal to generate a combined clock and data signal. In one embodiment, the data signal has been generated from data words using an encoding scheme that shifts an energy spectrum of the data signal away from an energy spectrum of the clock signal. In another embodiment, the clock signal has a plurality of pulses each having a front edge and a back edge, and the data signal is modulated onto the clock signal by moving at least one edge (i.e. front or back or both) of the plurality of pulses, thereby to create a combined clock and data signal.

Combining a clock signal and a data signal

A communication system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a serial link, in which encoded data (e.g., video, audio, and optionally also other auxiliary data) are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. The serial link can but need not be a TMDS or TMDS-like link. In typical embodiments, packets of encoded audio data are transmitted over each of one or more channels of the link during data islands between bursts of encoded video data, a pixel clock is transmitted over the link, and the receiver regenerates a clock for the audio data using time code data in the packets and the pixel clock. Other aspects of the invention are transmitters for transmitting encoded data and a pixel clock over a serial link, receivers for receiving such data and pixel clock and performing audio clock regeneration, and methods for transmitting encoded data and a pixel clock over a serial link and performing clock regeneration using the transmitted data and pixel clock.

Method and apparatus for regenerating a clock for auxiliary data transmitted over a serial link with video data

A communication system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a serial link, in which encoded data (e.g., video, audio, and optionally also other auxiliary data) are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. The serial link can but need not be a TMDS or TMDS-like link. In typical embodiments, packets of encoded audio data are transmitted over each of one or more channels of the link during data islands between bursts of encoded video data. Other aspects of the invention are transmitters for use in encoding data for transmission over a serial link, receivers for receiving such data, and methods for sending encoded data over a serial link.

Method and system for video and auxiliary data transmission over a serial link

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for protecting digital content during transmission. One version of the invention provides a method for encryption in a high-speed digital video transmission system that includes the steps of: a) performing transition controlled encoding of a first sequence of n bit data words into encoded n+1 bit data characters where the n is a positive integer, b) performing XOR masking of the encoded n+1 bit data characters with an XOR mask to produce masked n+1 bit data characters; c) DC balancing the masked n+1 bit data characters to produce DC balanced, masked n+2 bit data characters; d) scrambling the DC balanced, masked n+2 bit data characters using a scrambling formula to produce encrypted n+2 bit data characters; e) encoding control data into encoded n+2 bit control characters, f) generating a serial data stream in response to the encrypted data characters and encoded control characters, and g) transmitting the serial data stream over a communication link. Subsequent to step (e) and prior to step (f), the method can further include the step of encrypting the encoded n+2 bit control characters, such that the generating step generates a serial data stream in response to the encrypted data characters and the encrypted control characters.

Methods and systems for TMDS encryption

A method of testing a circuit having an interface which includes data and clock information where phase jitter is introduced into the clock that produces the clock information. The clock is cycled by increasing the period of the clock for a predetermined number of clock cycles so as to introduce an increasing phase shift advance in the clock. The clock is also cycled by decreasing the period of the clock for a predetermined number of clock cycles so as to introduce an increasing phase shift delay in the clock. The circuit under test is caused to sample the data using a clock derived from the clock information. The sampled data is then compared with reference data to determine the error rate.

Method of testing serial interface

The system preferably includes a unique transmitter that sends both clock and data signals over the same transmission line. The receiver uses the same transmission line to send data signals back to the transmitter. The transmitter comprises a clock generator, a decoder and a line interface. The clock generator produces a clock signal that includes a variable position falling edge. The falling edge position is decoded by the receiver to extract data from the clock signal. The receiver comprises a clock re-generator, a data decoder and a return channel encoder. The clock re-generator monitors the transmission line, receives signals, filters them and generates a clock signal at the receiver from the signal on the transmission line. The return channel encoder generates signals and asserts them on the transmission line. The signal is asserted or superimposed over the clock & data signal provided by the transmitter.

System and method for sending and receiving data signals over a clock signal line

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Seung Ho Hwang