Archive for February, 2012

If you follow Synopsys Mergers news we acquired a Japanese company.

Here I am welcoming the team our Japan IP R&D Design Team to Mountain View today.

Eric and Synopsys IP R&D Design Team

Listen carefully to the video for clues on how this entry relates to USB 3.0 IP.

We recorded the video on a video camera using USB IP from Synopsys.  Be sure to watch it in 720p video.

Once we reach more than 150 hits on the video above, I will publish the blooper video that goes with this video.

So either watch the video 149 more times, or forward this to your friends and…

Subscribe

This Blog Address has:

• http://blogs.synopsys.com/tousbornottousb/
• To subscribe, click on this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/synopsysoc/ToUSB
• Leave comments below, even if you disagree with me.

If you love USB, and want more then subscribe so I keep blogging.

If you don’t love USB, I don’t know why you possibly would have read this far down on this page.

Most people don’t have a clue what goes on with USB 3.0 Certification (or USB 2.0 Certification).

So here’s a video of our USB 3.0 xHCI Host interoperating with a whole bunch of USB products.    These products are arranged into a USB Gold Tree as specified by the USB-IF.

USB 3.0 xHCI Host Certification Test–USB 3.0 Interoperability with USB Gold Tree

We use the MCCI USB 3.0 xHCI Host Stack running on Windows 7.

To my knowledge, this is the only time anyone’s ever been crazy enough to post a video demonstration of the USB Gold Tree.

You can see you need to work with USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and USB 1.1 Devices.

The USB 3.0 Gold Tree uses

• USB 3.0 Hub and USB 3.0 Flash Drive for Super Speed Bulk In and Out Transfers
• Four USB 2.0 Hubs
• Two USB 2.0 Web Cams for Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Isochronous Transfers and Interrupt Transfers
• USB 2.0/1.1 USB Headset with Microphone for USB 2.0/1.1 Isochronous Transfers
• Two USB 2.0 Flash Drives for Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Bulk In and Out Transfers
• Keyboards and Mice for Low Speed USB 1.1 Interrupt Transfers
• And not visible underneath is a USB 2.0 Printer for more Bulk Out Transfers and Interrupt Transfers.

In this way, it’s possible to test for all the different types of USB traffic.

The USB 3.0 xHCI Host is implemented on our HAPS FPGA-Based Prototyping Platform with our Synopsys USB 3.0 PHY.

For all the details on USB Compliance (and this is really for your USB engineers) go to http://compliance.usb.org/

Subscribe

This Blog Address has moved to:

• http://blogs.synopsys.com/tousbornottousb/
• To subscribe, click on this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/synopsysoc/ToUSB
• Leave comments below, even if you disagree with me.

Subscribe (please)

If you can buy something in the airport, it’s mainstream product, right?   This Duty Free USB 3 Hard Drive sells for 147,000 Yen at Narita Airport.

I like saying “Duty Free USB 3.” It rhymes.

The 147,000 Yen price = 189 dollars.  A little pricey, maybe because every imported electronics device into Japan carries a heavy premium.  It’s about $120 at Amazon or most on-line stores.  At Everything USB review of the Elecom rikiki USB 3.0 Hard Drive puts it in number 2 out of 4 tested units range of performance for a “bus powered” USB 3.0 drive.

USB Factoid

Bus powered USB = Uses power provided by USB port on your PC.  You don’t need an extra cable just for the power adapter.   All Flash drives work this way and some hard drives

Self-powered USB = You need both a USB cable and a power cable.  For example, all USB Printers require both a power cable and a USB cable.

(Yes I know a lot of printers use WiFi and never use USB. )

 

My point is: You can buy this USB 3.0 drive in the airport.

Other Synopsys Blogs – Analog Insights and MIPI OnTheGo

I’m reluctant to recommend other blogs at Synopsys because:

1. They are well written and useful
2. If I refer you to them, they may get more blog hits than me.

Here are 3 (more) blogs to check out.

1. Our recently revived “Analog Insights” blog has a new blog author HĂ©lène ThibiĂ©roz.   She writes practical blog entries including the most recent “10 tips to improve performance using HSPICE.” 
2. Our MIPI Product Marketing Manager Hezi Saar writes about mobile standards in “On The Move”.  Take a look at Hezi Saar’s entry on USB 3.0 SSIC using the the MIPI M-PHY. 
3. I’ve recommended Navraj Nandra’s “The Eyes Have It” before.  His most recent entries relate to 28nm process nodes and beyond.

(After you’ve sampled those blogs, come back)

Back to me.

The Writer of this Blog, Me

Forced by our Social Media Experts to do this “Meet the Blogger” video or Synopsys would suspend my yearly allotment of donuts.

Here’s the video.

To USB or Not To USB Blogger Eric Huang

The makeup and hair for this video shoot was unnecessarily time consuming.

Last Chance of the Fastest USB 3.0 Flash Drive

You guys aren’t even close to guessing. Comment below.  Maybe the winner will get a USB 3.0 Flash Drive.

Answer key next week.

Rate this Blog Entry.

Remember 5 stars is the best rating, 1 star is the worst. (So I’m sure the 1 star rating a few weeks ago was a misunderstanding)

Comment on the blog or e-mail me (you know who you are) on what you like or don’t like.

I get e-mails for most entries now so I appreciate those comments and input.  Thank you for reading.  If you get this far, e-mail me the word “donut” and I’ll buy you a donut next time I see you.

So the European Union has said, you must use USB as the charger for all cell phones in Europe going forward.  In fact, the EU estimates that there are over 1 Billion non-USB chargers sitting around Europe that are simply garbage.  By changing over to USB as the standard connector, this will eliminate the need to destroy or dispose billions of non-USB chargers.

It’s likely then you won’t get a charger in the box of your new mobile phone within the next 3 years.  Every phone maker will assume you have 3 in a drawer somewhere.

These (fun) videos from the EU explain why.  Who would have thought the EU could be so much fun?

Dinner Party and EU Common Phone Charger using USB Power

USB Dinner Party and EU Common Phone Charger using USB

USB Power for Phone

I’ll have a new blog on Thursday (or Friday) with referrals to 3 other blogs.  I expect that you will come back to my blog 2x for each click you give them.

Subscribe

This Blog Address has moved to:

• http://blogs.synopsys.com/tousbornottousb/
• To subscribe, click on this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/synopsysoc/ToUSB
• Leave comments below, even if you disagree with me.

Subscribe now.

TI has now demonstrated the TI OMAP 5 chip which fully integrates USB 3.0,

It would have been even better for us SuperSpeed USB freaks if TI had actually demonstrated the USB 3.0 portion.

Instead, TI demonstrates stuff like 64fps 1080p video, highly responsive touchscreen scrolling, and points to all the interfaces.

Engadget’s exclusive pictures of the TI OMAP 5 Software Development show micro-B USB 3.0 connector there below the volume controller rocker switch.

Image Source: Engadget

Below the longer USB 3.0 micro-B connecter, you will see the mini HDMI connector called MHL which looks exactly like an old USB 2.0 mini-B connector because it is.  It was stolen by the HDMI group for use in portable designs.

(We didn’t want the mini-B anyways, when the USB-IF developed the micro-B that was clearly better so we are happy to have HDMI take old standards for their nefarious purposes)

As far as I know this the TI OMAP 5 Software Development Kit about first evidence of USB 3.0 in mobile phone, table, ultrabook design yet.

According to Anandtech

“The first devices based on OMAP 5 aren’t expected to ship until early 2013, with some aggressive customers potentially shipping at the very end of this year.” –Source: Anandtech

Well, I hope to see that out the OMAP 5 platform deploy with USB 3.0 in a real product in 2012. Which would back up with Ismail Rahman said about USB 3.0 appearing in mobile phones and tablets in 2012.  I warn you not to click on that last link to my blog entry.  Someone gave it one star.

You can read more at Engadget about the OMAP 5 demo at CES 2012 to read more, or you can watch the embedded video embedded below.  Engadget has an HD version of the same video at that link.

TI OMAP 5 Software Development Platform at CES 2012

A Faster USB 3.0 Flash Drive?

I received an e-mail saying my blog “Fastest USB 3.0 Flash Drive?…” might not be super-duper inaccurate.

I asked for samples for lab testing, I’m waiting for a response.   Next blog entry, I’ll write about this flash drive.  If you can find it, comment below.  (It’s already publically announced).  My thanks to the commenter for pointing this out.

Subscribe & Rate this Blog

This Blog Address has moved to:

http://blogs.synopsys.com/tousbornottousb/

To subscribe, click on this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/synopsysoc/ToUSB

Rate this Blog Entry. 

Remember 5 stars is the best rating, 1 star is the worst. (So I’m sure the 1 star rating a few weeks ago was a misunderstanding)

Comment on the blog or e-mail me (you know who you are) on what you like or don’t like.

I get e-mails for most entries now so I appreciate those comments and input.  Thank you for reading.  If you get this far, e-mail me the word “donut” and I’ll buy you a donut next time I see you.