Analogix Semiconductor, Inc. announced the availability of its VirtualLink™ Reference Design which enables VirtualLink directly on the motherboard of high-performance gaming notebooks, allowing them to support virtual reality (VR) over the USB-C™ connector.
External accessories can also leverage the reference design to interface legacy graphics processing units (GPUs) to future VirtualLink-enabled VR head-mounted displays.
Introduced by a consortium led by NVIDIA, Oculus, Valve, AMD, and Microsoft, the VirtualLink Alternate Mode of USB Type-C™ was designed to deliver the power, display, and data required to power VR headsets through a single USB Type-C connector, eliminating the need for multiple cables. It expands on the USB Type-C connector’s capabilities to deliver high-definition video at high frame rates, high-speed 10Gpbs USB-C data for camera and sensor communication back to the VR source, and up to 27W power delivery to the VR headset.
The Analogix VirtualLink reference design system consists of:
- Input: 4-lane DisplayPort 1.4 and 1-lane USB 3.2 Gen2;
- Output: USB-C with power delivery (PD) and support for DisplayPort™ Alt Mode and VirtualLink Alternate Mode;
- ANX7440 – USB-C Mux with active re-timer solution, fully compliant to USB 3.2 and DisplayPort 1.4 specifications, with insertion loss compensation to recover up to 23dB channel loss for USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps, and up to 27dB for DisplayPort 8.1G;
- ANX7428 – fast center switch capable of switching between USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 signals with excellent crosstalk performance at 10G for DisplayPort Alt Mode and VirtualLink applications;
- ANX7430 – USB 3.2 Gen2 active re-timer for dedicated high-speed USB data path;
- ANX7411 – USB-C port controller with USB PD 3.0.
“Connecting and powering a tethered VR headset environment today involves multiple cables; the goal is to leverage a single connector solution that simplifies set-up and maintains high-performance,” said Michael Ching, vice president of marketing for Analogix. “The Analogix VirtualLink RD brings VirtualLink and VR support to gaming laptops of any size with a single USB-C port.”
All system components are in full production and the reference design will be available for purchase from Analogix by July 2019.
Product demonstrations will be taking place during Computex Taipei May 28 – Jun 1, 2019 at Analogix’s exhibitor suite # 1105 & 1106 at The Grand Hyatt Taipei.
About Analogix Semiconductor
Analogix Semiconductor, Inc. designs and manufactures semiconductors for the digital multimedia market, from portable devices such as smartphones, notebooks, and AR/VR head mounted displays, to large, high-definition TVs and high-end graphics cards. Analogix is the market leader in providing end-to-end interface connectivity semiconductor solutions for DisplayPort under its SlimPort brand, including high-speed signal conditioners, and an industry leader in mobile display controllers, such as low-power, high-speed timing controller solutions. The DisplayPort standard is an innovative, packetized digital interface for high-resolution video and audio that was developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). SlimPort branded products are compliant with DisplayPort, Mobility DisplayPort (MyDP), and DisplayPort Alternate Mode over the USB Type-C connector.
