• About Us
    • History
    • Mission
    • Team
    • Partners & Memberships
    • Customer Stories
  • Applications
    • Video
    • Automotive
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Industrial
    • Telecommunications
  • News
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Events
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Engineering
    • FPGA & ASIC Design
    • FPGA & ASIC Verification
    • ASIC Prototyping
    • Digital Signal Processing
    • Embedded Software Design
    • Electronic System-Level Design
    • Power / Signal Integrity Analysis
    • System & Hardware Architecture
  • IP Products
    • Why Choose Hardent IP Products?
    • VESA DSC IP Cores
    • VDC-M IP Cores
    • DisplayPort 1.4 IP Subsystem
    • HDMI 2.1 IP Cores
    • ECC/Reed-Solomon FEC IP Cores
    • Mathematically Lossless Video Compression IP Cores
  • Training
    • Training Schedule
    • Training Courses
      • Xilinx Training
      • Verification Training
      • Complete Course List
    • Training Formats
      • Classroom Training
      • Private Training
      • Live Online Training
      • On-Demand Training
Back to
News from Hardent

Hardent IP Portfolio Supports New Features of HDMI 2.1 Specification

January 3, 2018

VESA DSC and Reed-Solomon FEC IP cores enable HDMI controller manufacturers and IP providers to quickly implement new features of HDMI 2.1 and support higher resolution displays.

Hardent, a leading provider of video compression IP cores and a member of the HDMI Forum, today announced plans to support HDMI controller manufacturers with adopting the new HDMI 2.1 specification. Hardent’s portfolio of VESA Display Stream Compression (DSC) and Reed-Solomon Forward Error Correction (FEC) IP cores will accelerate product development time and enable companies to take advantage of key new features of HDMI 2.1 to develop next-generation displays.

Version 2.1 of the HDMI specification, released November 28, 2017 by the HDMI Forum, offers a number of significant new features and bandwidth capabilities to support higher resolution displays and faster refresh rates. HDMI 2.1 provides up to 48 Gbit/s raw bandwidth, which can be used for displays supporting 8K and 10K operating at limited refresh rates or with reduced color information. In order to achieve even higher resolutions and refresh rates, HDMI 2.1 incorporates support for VESA Display Stream Compression (DSC) 1.2a, a visually lossless compression algorithm with a compression ratio of up to 3:1. With the higher link rates allowed in HDMI 2.1, DSC makes resolutions of over 8K with HDR 10-bit color possible, at refresh rates of both 60Hz and 120Hz.

In contrast to other bandwidth reduction methods, such as 4:4:4 to 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 color subsampling, VESA DSC compression preserves the color integrity of the original image. DSC can also be used with the previous HDMI standard link rates of 3 and 6 Gbit/s. This means that HDMI cables supporting earlier versions of the HDMI standard can also achieve higher resolutions and frame rates through the use of compression, making display resolutions above 4K at 120Hz possible.

To achieve higher throughputs, HDMI 2.1 uses a new packet-based link layer. This layer converts the clock and three data lanes of original HDMI TMDS mode to three or four self-clocked links that can be operated at up to 12 Gbit/s. A versatile packet mode maps video, either uncompressed or compressed with DSC, audio, and data over the link. A Forward Error Correction (FEC) algorithm is used to correct possible transmission errors to ensure an error free transmission of the packets over the HDMI links.

Hardent’s IP portfolio offers VESA DSC encoder and decoder IP cores, as well as HDMI Forward Error Correction (FEC) receiver and transceiver IP cores. “Using Hardent’s IP blocks can significantly reduce development time and cost for semiconductor and HDMI controller manufacturers migrating from HDMI 2.0 and earlier to the new 2.1 specification,” explains Alain Legault, VP IP Products at Hardent. “Our customers benefit from our extensive knowledge of implementing VESA DSC and FEC algorithms across a wide range of industries and product applications.”

Hardent will be showing a live demo of Display Stream Compression at the HDMI Booth (South Hall 1, Booth 20542) during CES 2018. For more information about Hardent’s VESA DSC and FEC IP cores for HDMI 2.1, visit Hardent’s website.

Hardent’s portfolio of VESA DSC and FEC IP cores enables companies to take advantage of key new features of HDMI 2.1 to develop next-generation displays.
Latest News
Contact Us
Hardent Announces Expansion of Xilinx Training in the USA
Hardent selected by Xilinx to be the new Xilinx training provider in four U.S. states.
More
Hardent and PLC2 Announce New IP Partnership to Support German Semiconductor Companies
PLC2 named as the official IP representative for Hardent’s video compression IP cores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
More
Hardent Becomes Authorized Microchip Design Partner
FPGA design services and support from Hardent will enable Microchip customers to get their products to market more quickly.
More
Upcoming Sessions
Jan 19–20
Embedded Design with PetaLinux Tools
Register
Jan 20–21
Designing with the Versal ACAP: Programmable Logic Architecture and Methodology
Register
Jan 21
Migrating to the Vitis Embedded Software Development IDE Workshop
Register
Jan 26
Designing with the Versal ACAP: Network on Chip
Register
Complete Course Schedule
Contact Hardent
Simon Robin
President
Linked-in
HardentMontreal
450 rue Saint-Pierre, suite 300
Montreal
,
QC
H2Y 2M9
Canada
T +1 (514) 284-5252
F +1 (514) 284-5052
Tick to hear more from Hardent by email. This includes our newsletter, details about offers, new courses, and events. You can opt out at any time. For further information, please refer to our privacy policy.

Having worked in the past with independent electronic design consultants, we appreciate Hardent’s quality, team work and timely service. The company has excellent project management skills, open communication, constant follow-up and a flexible approach. We have been working with Hardent for about two years now. Though initially I was not excited about outsourcing R&D, I feel that I can 100% count on Hardent, as they know their business well and they directed us toward good technical decisions.

Michel Bitar
R&D/ I.T Manager
Prodco International Inc.
More testimonials
Partners & Memberships
Xilinx APC logo
mipi member logo
VESA
Hardent © 2002-2021.
All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of cookies. OK