SDALTEVK Triple-Rate SDI and Video Clocking Daughter Card Home->Interface Solutions

SDALTEVK Triple-Rate SDI and Video Clocking Daughter Card

HSMC SDI I/O Module for Altera Cyclone III and Stratix III Development Kits


National Semiconductor in collaboration with Altera has developed a triple-rate SDI and video clocking daughter card for the Altera Cyclone III and Stratix III FPGA development kits (sold separately by Altera). The daughter card plugs directly into the host FPGA development board through a High-Speed Mezzanine Connector (HSMC). The combined solution of the daughter card provides broadcast video system designers a comprehensive platform for rapid evaluation and prototyping of new designs to reduce time to market.

The SDALTEVK kit consists of:

To maximize flexibility and facilitate IP customization, National Semiconductor provides synthesizable FPGA source code in both Verilog and VHDL formats.

SDALTEVK Hardware Description

The SDALTEVK daughter card contains:

  • LMH0344 Triple-rate SDI Adaptive Cable Equalizer
  • LMH0340 Triple-rate SDI Serializer with integrated cable driver
  • LMH0341 Triple-rate SDI deserializer with reclocked loop through
  • LMH1981 Multi-Format Video Sync Separator
  • LMH1982 Multi-Rate Video Clock Generator
  • DS90CP22 2x2 LVDS Crosspoint Switch
  • LP3878 Adjustable Low Noise LDO
  • LM20242 PowerWise Buck Regulator

 

LED LP3878-ADJ LM20242 LMH0340 LMH0340 DS90CP22 LMH1982 LMH1981 LMH0341 LMH0344 Power Supply LED LED LED

 

The SDALTEVK supports a complete 3G-SDI signal path consisting of adaptive cable equalizer (LMH0344), deserializer with reclocked loop through (LMH0341) and serializer with integrated cable driver (LMH0340). A multi-rate sync separator (LMH1981) and clock generator (LMH1982) deliver ultra-low jitter reference clocks to the host FPGA. A 2x2 LVDS crosspoint switch (DS90CP22) acts as a reference clock selector to choose between four separate clocking options:

  • Recovered clock from LMH0341 deserializer
  • Genlock from analog reference, LMH1981 sync separator and LMH1982 clock generator
  • Local clock generation from LMH1982 in free-run mode
  • External clock via SMA connector

These selectable reference clocks allow designers to compare system performance using different clocking sources. For example, one application may require genlock capability for synchronization while another one leverages the recovered clock from the SDI deserializer. Designers may compare system jitter performance of each clocking solution then make architectural decisions based on system requirements and constraints.

FPGA IP Description

A full set of FPGA firmware is available from National as source code to enable quick system integration and faster time to market. This IP implements the SMPTE SDI protocol processing blocks. A reference design using this IP is available for the Cyclone III 3C120 host development kit and is compatible with other Cyclone III devices, including the Cyclone III 3C25.

The IP architecture includes:

  • Triple rate SDI support with automatic rate detect
  • SMPTE scrambling, descrambling and framing
  • Audio embedding and de-embedding
  • Test pattern generation for development and validation
  • 20:5 output muxing and 5:20 input demuxing to support the 5-bit LVDS interface bus
  • SMBus management interface

By providing both the hardware and FPGA firmware, National enables maximum flexibility to modify system design, quickly adapt to standard changes, add features, and reduce time-to-market. Competing solutions that integrate the protocol blocks locally in the discrete SerDes, constrain system designs to a minimal set of digital functions.

 

 

In addition to the FPGA IP provided by National, Altera provides its own version of FPGA IP to do SMPTE SDI protocol processing. The table below compares the feature set of the different FPGA IPs. The FPGA IP provided by Altera can be downloaded from Altera’s website.

 

FPGA Source Triple-Rate
3G/HD/SD		 Audio Embed/
De-Embed		 Gen Lock Clocking Verilog Source VHDL Source FPGA IP
Altera Cyclone III & Stratix III Altera •     •    
National • • • • • Contact National (SLA required)

 

Feature Benefit
Triple-Rate SDI Supports SD, HD and 3G-SDI (SMPTE 259M-C, 292M, 424M)
Four Clocking Options Compare SerDes jitter performance with multiple reference clocks
Verilog or VHDL Source Code Flexible SMPTE IP allows users to easily customize features and functions
Genlock Synchronize timing to analog house reference
Audio Embedding / De-embedding Support up to 8-channels of audio embed / de-embed
Serial Reclocked Loop Through Enables low-jitter input monitoring or daisy chaining
Two Triple-Rate SDI Outputs Support Dual-Link SMPTE
High Input Jitter Tolerance Receive, lock and deserialize noisy signals with accumulated jitter
Ultra-Low Output Alignment Jitter Transmit ultra-clean output signals well within SMPTE jitter specifications
HSMC compatible Compatible with both Cyclone III and Stratix III development kits

 

The FPGA IP is available for download as a SRAM Object File (SOF) file.

National Semiconductor provides synthesizable FPGA source code in both Verilog and VHDL formats. The source code is available as a download from National’s FTP site (send a signed copy of this Software License Agreement (SLA) to your local National representative to obtain a login and password to the FTP site).

Additional SDALTEVK Design Resources

Ordering Info