Agilent Technologies' HDMI Test Solution Chosen by Simplay Labs at Second China Test Center

The test center at Simplay Labs is designed to promote industrywide interoperability among products using HDMI and High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), including HDTVs, DVD and Blu-ray Disc players, set-top boxes, AV receivers, and HDMI cables. The test setups also help maximize the ability of such products to receive and play high-definition content. Simplay Labs, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., provides technologies, testing programs, development tools, and interoperability and performance design standards for the high-definition consumer electronics industry.

Simplay chose Agilent's solution because of its superior signal integrity, reliability and repeatability, which provide more accurate and repeatable testing results to the device under test. The solution also provides an easy upgrade path for meeting the requirements of the new HDMI Specification Version 1.4 test specification, which will be issued in the near future.

In addition to the Agilent Infiniium 90000A Series oscilloscopes with the N5399A compliance test software, Simplay Labs chose Agilent's N5998A protocol/audio/video generator and analyzer, the ParBERT 81250 based E4887A TMDS signal generator with cable emulators, the N1080A test point access assemblies/fixtures, the E5071C network analyzer and the N5990A test automation software platform for use in its testing labs.

The majority of Authorized Test Centers use Agilent's E4887A-007 high-end TMDS signal generator solutions because of their full range of capabilities, performance and dedication in presenting industry-leading serial data generation and analysis test capabilities to accelerate HDMI 1.3 tests, said Thomas Dippon, Agilent's HDMI program manager. Many of the Agilent HDMI products already meet the requirements of the new HDMI specification 1.4, providing our customers a head-start.

Transitioning from our existing Shenzhen facilities to our new and improved lab will enable us to better serve our customers and expand our testing capabilities in the Asian marketplace, said Joseph Lias, president of Simplay Labs, LLC. Continuing to work with Agilent and its partner BitifEye Digital Test Solutions ensures that our customers' products can be effectively tested in our ATCs for HDMI 1.3. It also helps our customers be well prepared for the coming new features of HDMI 1.4, such as 3D, 4K x 2K video formats, and the new Color Spaces.