Texas Instruments 3Q 2006 Amplifier and Data Converter Selection Guide
Amplifiers
Video Amplifiers
19
➔
Video amplifiers—can be used in a number
of different ways, but generally they are in the
signal path for amplifying, buffering, filtering or
driving video lines. The specifications of most
interest for composite video signals, or CVBS,
are differential gain and differential phase. For
other video signals, such as YPbPr or RGB,
bandwidth, both small signal and large
signal, and slew rate are of most importance.
Noise and DC accuracy are also considered
important in some high-end applications.
The traditional voltage-feedback (VFB) amplifier
is widely used, because of its ability to be
configured for almost any situation. Many VFB
amplifiers have the ability to accept input
signals going to the negative rail (or ground),
allowing use in many single-supply systems.
Additionally, many VFB amplifiers offer rail-to-
rail outputs offering the widest dynamic range
possible on reduced supplies. Traditional VFB
amplifiers (non-RRO) designed for video offer
the ability to have very high slew rates, wide
bandwidths, low noise, and very good DC
characteristics. Current-feedback amps are
commonly found in high-end video applications,
because of their combination of high slew
rate and excellent output drive at low
quiescent power.
TI is bringing new technology to the market
with the introduction of the
THS7303, THS7313
and
THS7353
. These new three-channel devices
are the first to offer full I
2
C programmability of
all functions independently for each channel,
which provides the designer the flexibility to
configure a video system as required or on-the-
fly, without the need for hardware upgrades or
modifications. The devices are designed with
integrated Butterworth filters to provide all the
analog signal conditioning required in video
applications such as set-top boxes, digital
televisions, personal video recorders/DVD
readers and portable USB devices. These
highly integrated devices provide space
savings as a result of the high levels of
integration and advanced package technology.
Portable video—Successfully designing a
high-performance video system into low
voltage portable applications requires careful
attention to many small details. Portable
applications impose very challenging technical
requirements beyond those required in typical
video applications and demand particular
trade-offs in performance, power consumption,
printed circuit board space and cost. A DC-
coupled solution with integrated gain,
low-pass filter, level-shifter and shutdown
solves these challenges while maintaining
good video performance—and eliminates the
need for large, expensive discrete components.
The strong combination of integrated features
and optimized design make TI’s OPA360 and
OPA361 especially well suited for use in the
TV-out function in portable designs. The
lowest cost, highest performance and smallest
total solution is achieved by using DC-coupled
input and output, and fits into an area smaller
than 5mm
2
. Internal gain resistors eliminate
discrete components and the internal level
shifter prevents clipping of the video sync
signal by raising the signal into the amplifier
output’s linear operating range. A shutdown
feature reduces power consumption to 2.5µA
with TV output disabled.
OPA360 is a fully-integrated solution with
on-chip Gain of 2, an integrated 2-pole filter,
and an input level shift circuit. OPA360 is ideally
suited for use with TI’s TMS320DM270/275/320™
and other industry video processors. The new
OPA361 is designed and tested to work
flawlessly with TI’s new OMAP2420 and
DaVinci™ TMS320DM420™ processors and
facilitates automatic TV detection for simpli-
fied end-user interface. For those interested in
tuning their designs for specific characteristics
with a standard video amp, OPA358 offers
excellent, low-cost video performance in a
small SC70 package.