MOST150 broadens in-car multimedia to forward high-definition audio and video into vehicles

Based on the technology specification by the organization, through which the leading automotive multimedia network Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) is standardized, MOST150 solutions are being tailored to the five major fields of in-car use cases: entertainment, information, mobile connectivity, connected services, and driver assistance. Entertainment applications, in particular, have taken a major technology step in data transmission for high-definition audio and video, Blu-ray, gaming, MPEG audio streams, etc.

To support more complex video applications, MOST150 contains an isochronous transport mechanism in addition to higher bandwidth, for a data transfer rate of 150 Mbps. This allows the transmission of audio and video signals with high bandwidth efficiency and without any overhead for addressing, collision detection/recovery, or broadcast. Consequently, in a MOST network, multiple high-definition (HD) video streams, single definition (SD) video streams, and multi-channel surround sound with premium Quality of Service can be transmitted at the same time. Isochronous channels are provided to support streams which are not synchronized to the MOST frame rate. A typical use case is the transport of MPEG streams over a MOST network, since MPEG streams generally use variable bit-rates. This new MOST feature enables cost-effective, extensive video applications. The support of HD audio and video content from Blu-ray Discs or HDTV is implemented. In addition to Image and Sound quality, in particular the synchronization between image and sound (Lip Sync) is essential. When adjusting Audio and Video to each other, transmission via the synchronous MOST network is a perfect match, because the delay between sound and image is absolutely constant. The MOST network itself does not add any notable delay. This also has the specific advantage that when operating a number of displays within a system, no special measures are required for synchronizing the various displays - the MOST network already incorporates this synchronization and, consequently, renders any further synchronization protocol unnecessary. These technology qualifications pave the way to rear-seat entertainment systems, digital sound amplifiers, TV tuners, video displays and other entertainment via the MOST network.