3Gb/s SDI

3Gb/s Background
The demand for 1080p50/60 content creation is one of the key drivers for higher capacity SDI transport. In addition, there is a growing desire to produce high definition content at higher bit depths (12-bit per component) and to provide support for R'G'B' and 4:4:4:4 processing. Unfortunately, the bandwidth requirements to transmit these video formats in SDI form exceed the capabilities of a single SMPTE 292M interface.

To meet the needs for higher capacity video transport, both SMPTE (SMPTE 424M and 425M) and the ITU (ITU-R BT.1120 - 2005) have adopted the new 2.97Gb/s SDI interface.

3Gb/s Applications

• Uncompressed 1080p50/60 transport
• Replacement for dual-link HD SDI
• 3D HDTV
• Digital Cinema
• Slow motion capture
• Digital video router
• Video production switcher
• Camera
• Monitor

3Gb/s Product Line
Gennum introduced the industry's first single-chip, transmit and receive solutions for 3Gb/s SDI. These 3Gb/s capable transmitters and receivers are the only solutions available that do not require any external audio or video processing. These feature-packed chips provide the easiest, smallest, lowest power and most cost effective means of realizing a 3Gb/s SDI.

Gennum Corporation is also the first to support the industry's SMPTE424M standard with a fully compliant 3Gb/s SDI product lineup called HD-LINX™ III. The lineup includes co-axial and optical products.

The optical products include the GO2920 dual receiver and the GO2922 dual transmitter.

The co-axial products include the GS2974A equalizer, GS2975A reclocker, and GS2978 cable driver.

3Gb/s Product Line Benefits

• Data rates up to 2.97 Gb/s
• Backwards compatibility with HD SDI and legacy SD SDI
• Improved HD/SD SDI performance in key areas such as jitter, power consumption, and return loss

3Gb/s White Papers
3G: The Evolution of the Serial Digital Interface (SDI)
Originally published in the November/December 2006 issue of the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal. Copyright SMPTE.
 PDF (1.2 MB)

Gennum's New Chips: The equalizer, reclocker and driver are for 3Gb/s video
Reprinted with permission from the August 2006 issue of Broadcast Engineering
 PDF (434.5 KB)

New Products

Transmitters
Gennum's new GS2972 and GS2962 transmit solutions are fully compliant with SMPTE 424M and 425M including support for both Level A and Level B. In addition, these are the only solutions providing conversion from Level A to Level B. The full set of included features makes these devices the ideal choice for 1080p 50/60.

Receivers
Gennum's new GS2970 and GS2960 receive solutions are fully compliant with SMPTE 424M and 425M including support for both Level A and Level B. In addition, these are the only solutions providing conversion from Level A to Level B. The full set of included features makes these devices the ideal choice for 1080p 50/60.

Optical Products
	GO2920 - Dual Optical Receiver The GO2920 is a dual channel optical receiver module designed to receive optical serial digital signals and convert the optical signals to electrical serial digital signals as defined in SMPTE 297-2006.
	GO2922 - 1310nm Dual Optical Transmitter The GO2922 is a dual channel optical transmitter module designed to transmit optical serial digital signals as defined in SMPTE 297-2006.
	GO2910 - Single Channel PIN Receiver The GO2910 is a single-channel optical receiver module designed to receive optical serial digital signals and convert the optical signals to electrical serial digital signals as defined in SMPTE 297-2006.
	GO2912 - Single Channel 1310nm FP Transmitter The GO2912 is a single-channel optical transmitter module designed to transmit optical serial digital signals as defined in SMPTE 297-2006.
Co-axial Products
	GS2974A - 3Gb/s Multi-rate Equalizer The GS2974A is a multi-rate equalizer supporting data rates up to 2.97Gb/s signals. It is pin compatible with Gennum's existing GS1574A HD/SD Equalizer, and is designed so that existing applications can easily be upgraded to support 2.97Gb/s.
	GS2975A - 3Gb/s Tri-Rate Reclocker with Dual Output The GS2975A is a tri-rate reclocker supporting 2.97Gb/s, 1.485Gb/s and 270Mb/s data rates. It is an enhanced pin compatible upgrade to the GS1575B that operates with 40% less power, dual data outputs, and improved jitter performance for 1.5Gb/s applications.
	GS2978 - 3Gb/s Multi-rate Cable Driver The GS2978 is a multi-rate cable driver supporting data rates up to 2.97Gb/s. It also has lower intrinsic jitter than previous solutions, as well as improved output return loss. The GS2978 is pin compatible with the GS1578A and includes an optional disable pin for power savings.