Gennum develops in-wire technology for 100-foot DisplayPort cables

Now that DisplayPort is becoming more of a household name (like it or not), we're thrilled to see someone making sure we can run an external monitor from more than a stone's throw away. Gennum has stepped in with its ActiveConnect DisplayPort solution, which embeds a small semiconductor within a DisplayPort cable to actively push signals up to 30-meters (around 100-feet) without the need for a costly, cumbersome extender box. There's no word yet on which interconnect companies have signed on to produce these sophisticated strands, but we'd expect to hear more by the time CES 2009 gets underway. Full release is after the break.

Gennum Extends DisplayPort Cable Lengths by up to 15x

ActiveConnect™ DisplayPort™ Solution Enables Rapid Adoption of DisplayPort in Digital Signage, PCs, Media Server Devices

BURLINGTON, Ontario – December 8, 2008 – Further broadening the application support for high-speed digital interfaces, Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND) today announced it is expanding its ActiveConnect family with a new connectivity solution for DisplayPort cable products. Rapidly emerging in a variety of electronic devices including laptops, PCs, media servers, DVRs, home theater displays and commercial signage displays, DisplayPort is a digital interface standard that today supports a maximum 10.8 Gb/s data rate over a two meter cable (roughly six feet). By using Gennum's ActiveConnect GV8502 device, a small, cost-effective semiconductor solution, within a standard copper cable assembly, displays can be driven at distances up to 30 meters (roughly 100 feet) – more than 15 times the reach of passive DisplayPort cables. Gennum will showcase this capability at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES), being held in Las Vegas January 8-11, 2009, in the DisplayPort TechZone.

"We see broad market adoption of DisplayPort, in commercial applications such as digital signage and business projectors found in meeting/conference rooms, auditoriums and training facilities" said Vijay Sharma, Director of Product Marketing, Analog & Mixed-Signal Division, Gennum. "These applications require cables as long as 100 feet, and have therefore been unable to take advantage of the multimedia quality that DisplayPort offers. The Gennum ActiveConnect GV8502 can be seamlessly and cost-effectively embedded into the cable, enabling a variety of new active cable solutions that will allow DisplayPort to become a pervasive technology in these fast-growing markets."

According to Brian O'Rourke, analyst at market research firm In-Stat, "DisplayPort is a next-generation digital interface between PCs and LCD monitors that holds great promise for both the consumer and commercial industries. We are just starting to see products emerge that support DisplayPort, and we believe that DisplayPort-enabled devices will grow at an annual rate of 243 percent from 2008 to 2012, representing tremendous opportunities for product and accessories manufacturers that can quickly develop DisplayPort products to capitalize on this growth."

ActiveConnect Provides the Necessary Link for DisplayPort Devices
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), which introduced DisplayPort in 2006, last year ratified DisplayPort version 1.1a, thus enabling resolutions as high as 4K2K (4x resolution of 1080p displays today), 16-bit color depths and 120Hz refresh rates.

Supporting 21.6 gigabits per second (Gbps), up to twice the 10.8 Gbps/channel required by the DisplayPort HBR specification, the newest ActiveConnect solution can drive multimedia up to 100 feet over standard copper DisplayPort cables. Additionally, manufacturers can leverage a complete ActiveConnect reference design kit (RDK) that enables fast integration for cables, as well as wall plates, dongles and booster products that support DisplayPort. The new ActiveConnect DisplayPort RDK provides a turnkey design capability that shortens design time enabling faster time-to-market.

Last year, Gennum became the first company to deliver support for full-rate HDMI 1.3 with a transmit/receive solution capable of operating at distances of 100 meters over coaxial cable, which has since been adopted by leading cable manufacturers serving the home theater custom install market. The ActiveConnect family also includes HDMI 1.3 support for Category 5/6 and thin HDMI cables, wall plates and boosters for the consumer and custom install market.

ActiveConnect DisplayPort Reference Design Kit to Speed Design
Targeting DisplayPort applications, the GV8502-based solution is an active, receive-only solution that will be sold as part of a reference design kit containing a demonstration cable and design collateral. The kit can be leveraged to design cables, dongles, boosters and extenders capable of supporting the full suite of DisplayPort features and functions. The ActiveConnect reference design kit for DisplayPort will be available in January 2009. Initial volume pricing for the ActiveConnect GV8502 silicon solution for DisplayPort is expected to be $2 per unit.

Gennum will be demonstrating its complete suite of ActiveConnect solutions at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show being held January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas. Gennum will be displaying its DisplayPort solution at the DisplayPort TechZone, located in the Sands Hotel Expo & Convention Center, Booth 73611. Gennum's ActiveConnect solutions for HDMI will be shown at the HDMI TechZone, Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 1, Booth 21266.

[jay.viz @ Dec 8th 2008 12:29AM]

Why wouldn't you like DisplayPort? It's faster and cheaper than HDMI. I can make a DisplayPort device without having to go get licensing from the HDMI consortium.

[Adderz @ Dec 8th 2008 12:33AM]

Because Apple used it, therefore its pure evil (obviously).

Didnt you know, Steve Jobs is demon spawn, come to turn Earth into a living hell where everyone uses displayport, use their Macbooks as mirrors and the new unit of measurement is no longer cm or inches, but "iphones"

[Gad Get @ Dec 8th 2008 1:16AM]

Hey Adderz, I understand the Apple hate, but don't you think you're taking it a little too far?

[zioncat @ Dec 8th 2008 2:03AM]

Its fine but you do realize it will only be popular among Mac users. The rest of the world uses HDMI. Sure Mac makes kick ass products but they are just not feasible when it comes to the average consumer. Buy an expensive mac book or affordable dell.

[jordan @ Dec 8th 2008 6:13AM]

@zioncat

Why will it only be popular among Mac users? I don't know if you've been paying attention, but more and more ATI cards are coming with DisplayPort, as are more and more LCD's. The problem is that HDMI has been pushed by the DRM advocates (who happen to be the ones with the money to toss around), among other things.

[Mario @ Dec 8th 2008 11:49AM]

Other good things about DisplayPort:

you can send video, sound and USB signals (and pretty much anything else) down the same wire.

you can daisy-chain displays together (imagine one 100 foot cable connecting the PC to the display; you can connect more displays to that one, and have them display different things, rather than use several 100 foot cables from the PC)

[Bryan @ Dec 8th 2008 12:15PM]

exactly. there is no reason why you wouldn't want displayport. once these things hit TVs you'll see a significant drop in price due to the fact there aren't any licensing fees.

[Cole Mitguard @ Dec 8th 2008 12:54AM]

I have a feeling that the cost on this cable is going to be somewhere between a ferrari and a beach home in Malibu... then Monster will make one, add a "non cling" coating, and incorporate the term "nitrogen injected" somewhere and change in the price range of a small island.

[Gripen40k @ Dec 8th 2008 1:40AM]

"There's no word yet on which interconnect companies have signed on to produce these..."

If they want to actually get these to customers I would think monster is the way to go. But yes, expensive they will be...

[laz @ Dec 8th 2008 1:08AM]

Seems like just a matter of time before you can buy baluns for DP soon enuf which let you run signals like this on CAT-5/6. They already have 'em for HDMI.

[Gad Get @ Dec 8th 2008 1:18AM]

What are "baluns"?

[Shyam D @ Dec 8th 2008 1:48AM]

Baluns are converters that convert unbalanced signals to balanced signals and vice-versa. Basically signals like HDMI and Displayport are unbalanced. All the Cat-# based wires use balanced pairs. This is why they can have such long lengths in comparison to cords like HDMI. So by using a balun, you can convert the HDMI signal to one that can travel on Cat-6 wire, lets say, and then at the other end convert back to an unbalanced signal to your display. Cat6 can do 100 meters aka ~ 330 feet. So essentially by using baluns you can extend the range to a little less then 330 feet, probably on the order of 300 feet.
Baluns are not exactly cheap, but at the same time quite reasonable. ~$100 for a Balun set is not unusual when you're talking about HDMI.

[atrain @ Dec 8th 2008 12:33PM]

@ Shyam D:
HDMI/Display port is already a balanced signal. (Needs to be at the frequencies they operate at) What you are looking for is an active balum, which is exactly what this cable has internally. Whether or not you can take this and push DP through CAT6 is a different story. Looking quickly at the pinout, it seems to have 5 balanced pairs, and 3 individual pins, + a ground. Thats 7 pairs, or 14 conductors. So you may be able to push it over 2 CAT6 cables, if they are high enough frequency and of close length.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Dec 8th 2008 1:45AM]

I can throw a stone more than 100 feet.

[andres @ Dec 8th 2008 2:12AM]

good, you can just throw the cable into place.

[Michael Sterling @ Dec 8th 2008 10:16AM]

I was going to say the same thing.

[marty.com.au @ Dec 8th 2008 2:04AM]

wow, "Monster Morons", I mean "Monster Rripoffs", I mean "Monster law suits", no wait, "Monster Cables" will be peeing in their pants with glee at another cable they can make and stick a few zeros on the end of the price tag...

... Pity the name "Gennum" is not some sort of derivative of "monster" so they could sue at the same time...

[Ian @ Dec 8th 2008 2:22AM]

ok its a digital signal why is there a limit to the length the cable can be. (i know you cant do it for miles because of impedance and such but i must be missing something)

[andres @ Dec 8th 2008 4:03AM]

interference, capacitance, attenuation.

[p465 @ Dec 8th 2008 2:57AM]

@ Ian:
you're right. If the signal were only tens of megahertz, then signal could travel for very long distances.however, as modern standards require signal speeds in the gigahertz region, the impedance to the signal becomes ever greater. This is why for long lengths of cable, active amplification of the signal at the transmit side as well as equalization of the signal on the receive side is required. full disclosure: I am an electrical engineer.

[iHoppipolla @ Dec 8th 2008 8:11AM]

I was just thinking about this the other day. With the 30-incher update, the Cinema display coupled with a MacBook may be all I ever need... And maybe a projector for the big-screen effect. But with the current cable restrictions, my perfect world is not feasible yet;)

[Eli @ Dec 8th 2008 1:21PM]

Yeah, if you can find a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter, or Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI.

I'm holding off on buying a new MacBook because neither of those devices exist yet, and I've grown sort of attached to my 30" monitor.

[Justin Landeen @ Dec 8th 2008 9:06AM]

sounds good to me.