Computing specialist Xilinx is demonstrating a number of new enhancements at its booth in Hall 15, including the addition of a complete HDMI 2.1 IP subsystem to its portfolio of intellectual property cores that will enable the company’s devices to transmit, receive and process up to 8K UHD video in pro AV equipment.
According to Ramesh Iyer (pictured), director of marketing for pro AV and broadcast at Xilinx, the HDMI 2.1 technology is now being tested at plugfests and other events as part of the debugging process that is expected to take around six to seven months. The company claims this is the first field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of HDMI 2.1.
Iyer said the industry is already looking ahead to 8K, driven by consumer demand as well as the need of the broadcast industry to stay relevant in a post-Netflix world. He sees impetus coming from major sporting events such as the Olympic Games. Indeed, he noted that Japanese broadcaster NHK started broadcasting in 8K in December 2018 ahead of the Tokyo games in 2020.
“Today’s professional AV and broadcast markets continue to demand higher resolution, higher frame rates and HDR, to deliver more immersive viewing experiences,” said Iyer. “Our customers can now implement the complete HDMI 2.1 interface on-chip, creating highly integrated designs that can natively handle 8K processing. And customers can combine this functionality with 8K lightweight mezzanine codecs for 8K over IP streaming, reducing real-estate, power consumption and BOM costs.”
Also on display is Xilinx’ machine learning technology, which it gained through the acquisition of a Beijing-based company called DeePhi Tech in 2018. Iyer sees huge potential for the technology in the digital signage market, for example, as machine learning offers the ability to create targeted advertising.
Stand: 15-D240
