PDMI (Portable Digital Media Interface) is an interconnection standard for

portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

s. It has been developed by CEA (

Consumer Electronics Association The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is a standard and trade organization representing 1,376 consumer technology companies in the United States. CTA works to influence public policy, holds events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CE ...

) as ANSI/CEA-2017-A standard ''Common Interconnection for Portable Media Players'' in February 2010. Chaired by David McLauchlan from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

, the standard was developed with the input or support of over fifty consumer electronics companies worldwide.

Development and history

CEA-2017-A is the new revision of the earlier ANSI/CEA-2017 standard adopted in July 2007, which used a proprietary serial protocol based on

Media Oriented Systems Transport MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is a high-speed multimedia network technology optimized by the automotive industry. It can be used for applications inside or outside the car. The serial MOST bus uses a daisy-chain topology or ring topolo ...

(MOST) in-vehicle network; the 2007 revision has seen only marginal use in actual devices. New CEA-2017-A devices are not compatible with devices manufactured under the 2007 revision. PDMI connector is intended to serve as a common interconnection between docking devices and displays and portable/nomadic devices with media playback capability. Intended host devices include docking stations for home A/V equipment, in-car entertainment systems, digital media kiosks, and hotel/in-flight entertainment systems, where PDMI aims to replace the ubiquitous

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes wa ...

cradle connector. PDMI uses a 30 pin receptacle with approximate size of 2.5 mm by 22 mm; a cradle-style connector is also defined. The PDMI connector includes the following electrical interfaces: * 2-lane

DisplayPort DisplayPort (DP) is a digital display interface developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device su ...

v1.1a with AUX Channel, Hot Plug Detect, and 3.3 V power line *

USB 3.0 USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...

, USB 2.0, and

USB On-The-Go USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, mouse or keyboa ...

* Analog stereo line-out for legacy audio * HDMI CEC for remote control * High output power line from both host and portable device DisplayPort component provides data rate of 4.32

Gbit/s In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits ( bitrate), characters or symbols ( baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are mu ...

and supports up to

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

60 video and 8-channel audio playback on an attached display device, as well as EDID and display control commands. DisplayPort signal can be converted to HDMI format using active converter circuitry in the dock or external signal conversion adapter powered by 3.3 V DisplayPort power. Power supply from both the host (docking station) and portable device allows for supporting the portable device with power and battery charging, as well as supporting accessories from the portable device. USB 3.0 "SuperSpeed", USB 2.0, and USB On-The-Go support file transfer and device control, as well as device-to-device intercommunication.

Devices that use PDMI

The first mass-production device from a major manufacturer to incorporate PDMI is the Dell Streak, a tablet device running the

Android operating system Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of d ...

version 1.6 through 2.2.

Pinout

References

External links

;Purchase Standards
CEA-2017 Rev A
Common Interconnection For Portable Media Players (PDMI), $75.
CEA-2017.1 Rev 7
Serial Communication Protocol For Portable Electronic Devices, $156. ;Slides
DisplayPort Technical Overview; Slides; May 2010
contains slides about PDMI ;Announcements
CEA Announced Portable Media Connection Standard

CEA may spawn standards effort for handhelds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pdmi Audiovisual connectors Digital display connectors USB Electronics standards Telecommunications-related introductions in 2010