Following the shift toward higher-definition video in television and streaming services, Teledyne LeCroy recently agreed to acquire Quantum Data, a test equipment company that develops signal generators, protocol analyzers, and other tools for testing digital video.
With the acquisition, Teledyne LeCroy acquired protocol analysis tools for two of the most widespread digital video standards: HDMI and SDI. HDMI is installed in a wide range of televisions and other consumer products, while SDI transmits unencrypted data from professional broadcast equipment used in television stations.
“These standards are key to emerging capabilities in consumer electronics, professional video, and studio [and] video broadcast applications,” Tom Reslewic, chief executive of Teledyne LeCroy, said in a statement. “We anticipate a growing need for protocol test tools among designers in these markets.”
These tools will complement Teledyne LeCroy's existing line of oscilloscopes and protocol analyzers, Allen Jorgensen, chief executive of Quantum Data, said in a statement. Teledyne LeCroy's equipment already tests standards like USB, PCI Express, SAS, and SATA.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Over the last decade, HDMI has been a vital to high-definition television and video streaming. The standard exchanges uncompressed video data and compressed audio data with digital cameras, mobile devices, personal computers, televisions, and Blue-ray players. New HDMI standards provide much higher frame rates and greater contrast than than earlier forms of digital video and especially analog technology.
Film studios and streaming services have begun to produce more content for UltraHD televisions, which need HDMI cables to connect with Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and game consoles. The HDMI Forum, which maintains the standard, has said that the number of HDMI-enabled devices will approach 5 billion by the end of 2016. That represents a sharp increase from early 2013, when just over 3 billion devices had been sold.
Teledyne LeCroy said that the transaction would build on the buyout of Frontline Test Equipment earlier this month. In addition to analysis and emulation tools, Frontline develops test tools and packet sniffers for analyzing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals. The terms of that deal were also not revealed.
The Frontline buyout enabled Teledyne LeCroy to “further penetrate the automotive market for emerging serial data requirements” and positioned it “to support Internet of Things emergence including health and fitness sensor integration,” the company said in a statement.