Silicon Image Introduces New Mobile High-Definition Link

Silicon Image Introduces New Mobile High-Definition Link

Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) Technology Gives Consumers the Ability to Link Mobile Devices to HDTVs with Support for Audio and Video

At the 2008 International CES, Silicon Image, Inc., a leader in semiconductors for the secure storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition content, announced the Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), enabling mobile phones, digital cameras, media players and other mobile devices to link directly to HDTVs. In support of its mission of delivering high-definition content everywhere, Silicon Image has created MHL, a low-pin-count link for low-power mobile devices that is compatible with High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI).

A tremendous amount of content lives on mobile devices, from high megapixel images and short videos to feature-length films. However, when users connect their mobile devices to an HDTV via today’s analog connections, the picture displays with poor image quality, often below standard definition. With an MHL connection, users will be able to connect their mobile device via a docking station or dongle, which bridges the MHL interface with standard HDMI so users can watch and listen to their digital content on a large screen in high definition.

Small form factor devices such as digital cameras, portable media players (PMPs), and mobile phones face greater constraints than larger mobile devices such as camcorders. Small mobile devices have size and power-consumption limitations and typically have a single small connector with too few pins to support standard 19-pin HDMI connectors. With MHL, Silicon Image reduced the pin count from 19 to five, while handling all the formats that are required by HDMI.

Mobile device manufacturers are currently forced into no-win decisions when connecting analog audio and video to HDTVs. Component video requires three video connectors plus stereo audio connectors or a multi-channel audio optical connector, for a total of five to six connectors. While HDMI is a single connector, it requires 19 pins. This puts a burden on the manufacturer to select a larger dock connector. In some cases, manufacturers have implemented a serial dock interface for the compressed media and then decoded the media using a digital signal processor in the dock, an expensive solution duplicating the functions in the mobile device. MHL solves this problem with a low-cost, low-pin count interface.

“MHL is the ideal solution for connecting existing mobile devices with a single connector to link to HDMI,” said Steve Tirado, CEO of Silicon Image. “Because HDMI is the de facto standard in digital connectively, it was essential that the mobile connector ultimately connect to the HDTV via HDMI.”

The new MHL link requires four pins for audio / visual Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) packets and a single pin for a control bus, which supports content protection authentication, A/V format discovery and Consumer Electronics Control (CEC). CEC enables manufacturers to add a broad set of command and control functions that, when deployed, can revolutionize the way devices behave in a system and allows users to control multiple CEC-enabled devices with a single remote control.

To equip a mobile phone or other device with MHL, the manufacturer would add an MHL transmitter chip to the mobile devices. The device maker would also add a bridge chip to a docking station or dongle that performs the conversion into a standard HDMI signal. The docking station or dongle will have a standard HDMI connector on the other end, allowing the docking station to be plugged directly into HDTVs.