Lattice Semiconductor Corporation announces the release of the SiI9437 and SiI9438, the first HDMI® 2.1 Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) audio receiver and transmitter devices. eARC future proofs and significantly improves home theater connectivity. This new, simple and trouble-free audio feature is included in the recently announced HDMI 2.1 Specification. Available today, eARC technology was developed by the HDMI Forum, an organization of over 80 leading consumer electronics companies.
As a founder, contributor, and adopter of the HDMI Specification, Lattice continues to lead the market by releasing HDMI 2.1 products supporting eARC technology. The eARC feature makes the audio device work seamlessly with the TV. The device selection and volume control are performed by the TV remote, as if no audio device is attached at all. eARC uses two pins within the HDMI cable – the same pins intended for the HDMI Ethernet Channel feature – to transmit the low-jitter, high-bandwidth audio, and also bi-directional communication signals, which discover and control the audio feature. This is a great improvement over the old TOSLINK and SPDIF audio outputs, which require a separate cable and connector, and lack the ability to communicate between the audio device and TV.
eARC makes using even the highest performance audio systems as easy as using a TV with the built-in speaker. Key features of Lattice HDMI 2.1 SiI9437 and SiI9438 eARC ICs include:
- Availability for both TVs and audio devices
- Compatibility with existing HDMI transmitter or receiver ICs using any version of HDMI
- Supports both HDMI 2.1 eARC and HDMI 1.4 legacy ARC modes with automatic ARC fallback
- eARC control channel functions supported via I2C interface
- 4mm x 4mm QFN package with 0.4mm pin pitch
- Supports eARC Data Channel, including lip sync, discovery, heartbeat, status and capabilities
For more information about eARC, please visit http://www.latticesemi.com/Solutions/Solutions/Standards/HDMI21earc.
