Histogram displays show statistical information that can be used to accurately measure rise time, fall time, and amplitude. These automatic measurements can then be logged for extended periods of time. For SDI signals, measurements like rise time and fall time are notoriously difficult to make; here is where the SxE with the Jitter / Eye Analysis Option excels. Even in the presence of excessive jitter, the SxE will provide user-friendly measurements automatically.

The standard SxE features timing and alignment jitter filters; this option adds decade filters in order to allow an engineer to analyze the frequency content of any jitter that's present in an SDI signal. You can display any number of eyes from one eye to a full frame of eyes, which is useful for detecting power-supply problems related to video sources.

The option's multiple eye selection enables analysis when serializer jitter is present. Products process video in either a 10- or 20-bit parallel data domain, which is then transmitted as a single-bit data stream (as such it is "serialized" for SDI transmission). By triggering every 10 or 20 eyes, you can reveal repetitive parallel/serial clock domain jitter in equipment that you're analyzing.

Jitter measurements are among the most important requirements in the design and operation of high-speed serial links, and this option expands the SxE's existing jitter display. The separate jitter analysis screen enables the engineer to analyze the nature of the jitter present by using a graph of jitter vs. time. Time base can be adjusted from 1 line through to 1 frame.

This not only provides a go-/no-go determination of whether the signal is in or out of SMPTE compliance, but it also can suggest to the engineer where any problems might lie. A spiky waveform on the jitter screen, for instance, could indicate power-supply noise. Vertical gain and horizontal magnification controls enable customization of the display, better to identify problems visually.