IT66324: 3 IN to 1 OUT HDMI 2.0 Switch with HDMI 2.1 eARC RX and Embedded MCU

The IT66324 is an HDMI 2.0 3 IN to 1 OUT switch with eARC receiver function which supports maximum signaling rate up to 6 Gbps/channel. It is compliant to the latest HDMI 2.0b specification and backward compatible to the HDMI 1.4 and DVI specifications. With 6 Gbps/channel capability, the IT66324 can support ultra-high resolution content streams, such as 4K x 2K @ 50/60 Hz video formats.

All 3 input ports and 1 output port support HDMI 2.0 data rate up to 18 Gb/s, and the IT66324 also supports various data processing functions, such as video color space conversion function and audio extract/merge function. For the audio content in HDMI data stream, the IT66324 can extract the audio from the input stream and/or merge the external audio to the output stream.

With the audio extract/merge function, the audio stream from HDMI RX port can be decoded and output to external audio processor through various audio interfaces. After processed by the audio processor, the new audio content can be encoded to audio stream and merged to original video stream from RX port and then a complete video/audio stream can be transmitted by TX port.

In some applications, the external audio would like to be transmitted by TX port without HDMI input signals. An embedded pattern generator in IT66324 could be used to generate internal video stream, which is merged to the external audio stream generated by audio encoder function to form a complete HDMI output signal.

The IT66324 TX port contains an audio receiver designed for HDMI 2.1 Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) and it is also backward compatible to the HDMI 1.4 Audio Return Channel (ARC). When operating in eARC mode, the Differential Mode Audio Channel (DMAC) bandwidth, i.e. 98.304 Mbps, allows receiving 8-channel 192 K audio from HDMI Sink. No video stream and CEC function is required when eARC link is active.

The IT66324 also builds in HDCP 1.4/2.3 hardware engines, which can be used to disable the HDCP encryption at the output port or convert HDCP 2.3 to HDCP 1.4 for closed system application. Each IT66324 chip comes preprogrammed with a unique HDCP key, in compliance with the HDCP 1.4/2.3 standard, so as to provide secure transmission of high-definition content. Users of the IT66324 need not purchase any HDCP keys or ROMs.

The IT66324 also provides a complete solution of Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) functions. This optional CEC feature of HDMI specification allows the user to control two or more CEC-enabled devices through HDMI network. With IT66324 embedded CEC PHY, users can use high-level software API to easily implement all the necessary remote control commands. The CEC bus related protocol is handled by the CEC PHY which eliminates extra loading of the MCU. With embedded MCU and Flash, customers need to external Flash and MCU, which saves the BOM cost and board size.