Video games may once have been considered a fringe form of entertainment, but there’s no denying that today gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry. As test and measurement supplier Chroma points out, gaming equipment is being used not only for entertainment, but also for electronic sports played professionally in international tournaments. That means increasing technological demands, including higher resolutions and refresh rates, multiple display connections, extensive image processing and professional video editing.
The A223813 is a signal module with a state-of-the-art digital display interface. Source: Chroma ATE Inc.The current state-of-the-art digital display protocol is the DisplayPort (DP) interface developed as a replacement for outmoded display technologies by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). Chroma has equipped its new display test module with DP 2.1, the newest DisplayPort iteration that took its place in the spotlight at the 2023 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show.
Capable of delivering resolutions up to 16K, Chroma’s A223813 signal module comes equipped with DP 2.1 for a total transmission speed of up to 80 Gbps. The module includes various test modes such as Adaptive-Sync (more about that in a second), MST, HBR3, UHBR20, Panel Replay and LTTPR, along with built-in HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG test patterns, to offer a multifunctional and versatile video test solution.
So, what’s the big deal about Adaptive-Sync? Defined in the VESA DP 2.1 specification, the technology allows the accommodation of rapidly changing images during gaming. Because gaming frame rates often fluctuate, Adaptive-Sync adjusts the screen’s refresh rate automatically based on changes in the frames per second (FPS) of the transmitted content. That means significant reduction of issues such as lag, jitter, stuttering and screen tearing.
The module also incorporates two DisplayPort and two USB-C output connectors, each equipped with its own independent GPU in a 2x2 configuration. Because it can simultaneously and intermittently achieve full lane rates, one unit can be used to test two devices or device groups with different timings and pattern content — which, according to Chroma, can bring improvements in testing efficiency by as much as 200%.
Also featured in the A223813 are technologies such as Forward Error Correction (FEC) to control transmission errors, Display Stream Compression (DSC) for image stream compression, various wide color gamut options and multiple 3D format options.
Chroma’s product page for the device includes much more information, including visuals to illustrate each of its features that even a video gaming noob (like the humble author of this piece) can understand. Check it out.
