Video crosspoint switch replaces multiple parts in discrete alternatives

Bettyann Liotta

eeProductCenter (04/06/2005 1:47 PM ET)

Milpitas, Calif. — A highly integrated triple video switch from Intersil Corp. touts 300 MHz of bandwidth at the 3-dB points, and embedded video sync extraction for high bandwidth RGB switching applications.

This switch provides a new level of integration for video switching applications by replacing the multiple muxes and buffers that are required in other discrete solutions, said Patrick Long, Intersil's marketing manager for video products. "Along with its cost, space and time-to-market advantages, the EL4544 allows system designers to send and switch RGB video over standard CAT-5 cabling when used in combination with the EL4543 differential driver with embedded sync encoding."

The triple 16x5 crosspoint switch operates in single-ended or differential input modes. It offers 16 red, green, blue (RGB) differential input channels, which connect via an internal crosspoint multiplexer to five single-ended output channels. It also features integrated input and output gain controls, auto-calibration for DC restore, and a pixel-by-pixel overlay mux. Applications include security video systems, large video distribution systems and keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) operations.

The switch is programmed through a simple serial interface and can be daisy chained to create large switching arrays. It has input and output gain controls that provide four levels of control for screen brightness. The device can directly drive 150-ohm loads and provides a presence-of-signal indicator that looks for syncs on a pre-assigned channel. It provides crosstalk rejection of 75 dB at 100 MHz.

The EL4544 is now available in 356-pin BGA packages. Pricing is $36 each in 1,000- unit quantities. Click here for the preliminary EL4544 data sheet.

Intersil, 1-888-468-3774, www.Intersil.com.