As a founder, contributor, and adopter of the HDMI specification, Lattice continues to lead the market by launching HDMI 2.1 products that support eARC technology. The eARC feature allows audio devices to work seamlessly with the TV. Device selection and volume control are handled by the TV remote, as if no audio device were connected. eARC utilizes two pins within the HDMI cable—the same pins used for the HDMI Ethernet Channel—to transmit low-jitter, wideband, bidirectional audio communication signals that discover and control the audio function. This is a significant improvement over older TOSLINK and SPDIF audio outputs, which require a separate cable and connector and lack the ability to communicate between the audio device and the TV.
“DTS (now Xperi) was eager to collaborate with Lattice to develop eARC technology because it solves important long-term compatibility issues in home theater equipment,” says Joanna Skrdlant, General Manager of Home Audio & Solutions Licensing at Xperi. “We believe the new features that eARC brings to consumers will enhance their home theater experience. Audio content can now move freely across listeners’ connected TVs, while preserving the incredible DTS:X immersive audio experience and DTS-HD surround sound found on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, Blu-ray discs, and streaming services worldwide.”.
“The purpose of HDMI is to deliver two promises to consumers: to provide the best possible digital audio and video quality and to simplify it through automatic setup,” says Marshall Goldberg, Marketing Director at Lattice Semiconductor. “eARC technology is a major step forward in home theater connectivity, delivering significantly higher audio quality than TOSLINK or SPDIF, without the complexity of switching through an AVR device. Furthermore, its new discovery method also ensures compatibility when products from different manufacturers are connected in a home theater system.”.
eARC makes using even the highest-performing audio systems as easy as using a TV with a built-in speaker. Key features of the Lattice HDMI 2.1 SiI9437 and SiI9438 eARC ICs include:
• Availability for TVs and audio devices
• Compatibility with existing HDMI transmitter or receiver ICs using any HDMI version
• Support for legacy HDMI 2.1 eARC and HDMI 1.4 ARC modes with automatic ARC recovery
• Support for eARC control channel functions via the I2C interface
• 4 mm x 4 mm QFN package with 0.4 mm pin pitch
• Support for the eARC data channel, including lip sync, discovery, heartbeat, status, and other capabilities
