Industry's First HDMI Transmitters for PC Platforms

March 2, 2005

Silicon Image, Inc. today debuted the industry's first High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) transmitters for desktop and notebook PC applications. Capitalizing on increasing consumer interest in Media Center PCs and the growing availability of HD content for PC platforms, Silicon Image's new series of HDMI transmitters targeted at PCs-consisting of the PanelLink SiI 1390 and SiI 1930 transmitters - are the first integrated solutions designed to interface directly to the video and audio interfaces of PC platforms for seamless connectivity. Silicon Image also introduced the SiI 1368, the industry's first Digital Visual Interface High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (DVI-HDCP) transmitter designed for PCI-Express graphics chipsets supporting Intel's Serial Digital Video Output (SDVO) interface.

"The market for entertainment PCs is projected to grow from 7.9 million in 2004 to 59 million in 2008, driven largely by the growing availability of new HD content and the popularity of Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition with integrated HDTV support," noted Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. "HD content for PCs is becoming more abundant with entertainment PCs now sporting ATSC and digital cable HD tuners, not to mention the coming wave of BluRay and HD-DVD content. Following the lead of the CE market, the PC market will require PCs to support HDMI or DVI with HDCP in order to access this content. With its single cable coupling multi-channel audio and uncompressed HD video and its smaller connector, HDMI is poised to emerge as the defacto multimedia interface for both PCs and consumer electronics devices-enabling PCs with true entertainment and multimedia functionality."

Consumer electronics video processor sources and PC graphics platforms have very distinct audio and video requirements. Silicon Image is once again first to market with new HDMI and DVI-HDCP transmitters designed specifically for PC graphics applications, demonstrating both the company's dedication to the HDMI market and underscoring its ongoing commitment to offering cost-effective HDMI products optimized for specific applications.

Designed for Intel CPU-based chipsets, the SiI 1390 transmitter accepts Intel's Serial Digital Video Output (SDVO) input and offers a fully compliant HDMI output capable of supporting video resolutions up to UXGA and 1080p with up to eight channels of 192kHz audio. It supports both motherboard-down applications for desktop and notebook PCs, as well as ADD2 card applications. The SiI 1930 HDMI transmitter also provides an HDMI output. Designed for graphics card applications using a discrete Graphics Processor Unit (GPU), the SiI 1930 features a Transition-Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS®) interface to the GPU. The SiI 1368 transmitter supports Intel's SDVO input and offers a DVI-HDCP output.

All three transmitters support the full 25-165 MHz HDMI and DVI bandwidth. The SiI 1390 and SiI 1930 transmitters also support a wide variety of audio interfaces-including HD-Audio, SPDIF and three I2S channels-to ensure compatibility with a broad range of PC audio hardware platforms. Silicon Image's industry-leading on-chip HDCP capability is standard on all three transmitters for proven HDCP reliability and security. By incorporating production-proven and compliance-tested HDMI and HDCP implementations, the SiI 1390 and 1930 set the gold standard for quality and performance.

"All the signs indicate that 2005 will mark the year HDMI gains a foothold in PC platforms," stated Joe Lee, Silicon Image director of product marketing, PC and display products. "Having pioneered the DVI and HDMI standards, Silicon Image is better positioned than any other company to enable HDMI on PC platforms and truly facilitate PC/CE convergence. Our family of new HDMI products for the PC supports our corporate strategy of enabling secure delivery of digital content on any and all platforms, including Windows Media Center and other Intel architected desktop PCs, notebooks, set-top boxes and media adapters. Once again, Silicon Image is setting the standard with high-quality, low-cost HDMI and DVI-HDCP transmitter solutions for both discrete and integrated graphics platforms."

"As PC users gain access to HD content, secure content delivery on PC platforms will be an important issue," said Neerav Shah, president of Digital Content Protection, LLC, the licensor of HDCP. "HDCP already has the support of content providers in the consumer electronics market and has emerged as an important technology in enabling consumers to access HD content. We expect HDCP will similarly become a requirement on PC platforms capable of receiving and playing HD content. As a contributor to the HDCP specification and having developed HDCP test protocols for its PanelLink Cinema Partners test center, Silicon Image can help enable PC platforms to access the growing volume of HD content."

A contributor to the HDCP specification, Silicon Image designed the industry's only HDCP test protocols and is currently testing HDCP functionality on a broad range of third-party products in its PanelLink Cinema™ Test Center. Silicon Image was the first company to ship DVI and HDMI silicon and the first to ship HDCP-enabled silicon in production. The company remains the leading supplier of DVI and HDMI silicon with more than 80 million PanelLink ICs shipped to date.