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Audio.TST November 2008: Chip-level connectivity with DSIO

Created 12 Nov 2008

Notes from the FIELD

By Dave Schmoldt, President, Audio Precision

We are here in the Test & Measurement hall of Electronica, a huge show dedicated to ICs, electronics manufacturing and automotive electronics. It's AP's first time at the show, but already several good friends have come over and there's been a lot of interest from new people looking for easier audio test.

But enough about us.

Yesterday at the show, AP was proud to introduce our sixth new product of 2008, the Digital Serial I/O for APx. You can think of it as the big brother to the PSIA -- multichannel, built-in support for multiple formats, plus a host of other features that make it easier to use across a wider set of applications.

Read below for more details or visit the Digital Serial I/O web page at ap.com. If you're here in Munich, drop us a line or stop by the booth (Hall A1, Stand 364).

Dave

Thinking hard about Digital Serial connectivity at Electronica

Output: Tech tips and new applications from AP

Audio Precision’s new Digital Serial I/O for APx audio analyzers provides multichannel, chip-level connectivity for designers of HDMI receiver/ transmitter chips, A/D and D/A converters, codecs, and other audio ICs. Innovations include eight channels of simultaneous audio data, multiple data line and TDM support, independent clocks, buffered oscilloscope monitors, and built-in support for left or right justified, I2S and DSP formats.

Any customer interested in a demo is asked to contact their local AP Sales Partner.

Here's the press release on the new product, or you can read more on the Digital Serial I/O web page at ap.com

NEW AP INTERFACE ALLOWS MULTICHANNEL, CHIP-LEVEL ANALYSIS
APx Digital Serial I/O Option Enables Component-level Testing & Design

Electronica, Munich, November 11, 2008: Audio Precision, the recognized standard in audio test and measurement, is introducing a new digital serial I/O module for its respected range of APx audio analyzers. The multichannel APx Digital Serial I/O option allows engineers to test audio devices at the level of individual ICs rather than being limited to evaluating only the external inputs and outputs of a device. The digital serial option will be of particular interest to HDMI chip developers. When used with AP’s existing HDMI interface option, an APx analyzer — already the only product capable of measuring audio embedded in HDMI — becomes a simple but unrivalled HDMI chip debugging tool.

Aside from its applications in HDMI chip design, the Digital Serial option allows all normal audio measurements to be carried out on A/D and D/A converters, codecs, DSPs, and sample rate converters. There’s built-in support for the most widespread serial interface formats, including left justified, right justified, DSP and I2S, and the interface can generate and measure up to eight audio channels simultaneously using TDM or multiple data lines. Other innovations include independent input and output clocks, dedicated, buffered oscilloscope monitors, and presets for testing popular audio devices.

“A multichannel world needs multichannel connectivity at every level,” says Tom Kite, Audio Precision’s Vice President of Engineering, “An engineer armed with an eight-channel APx585 and the Digital Serial I/O is ready for anything from the circuit board to the speaker outputs.”