Trinnov Announces Partnership With Cypress Technology (CYP) In Preparation For HDMI 2.1

May 12, 2020

Press Release

Trinnov Audio, the market leader in the design and manufacture of reference audio processors for home theaters, high-end hi-fi, professional audio and commercial cinemas, announces a new collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturer Cypress Technology for the development of HDMI boards to be utilized in Trinnov’s Altitude series of
Home Theater processors.

Market-leader seeks leading technology partner AV manufacturers and integrators share the view HDMI is the home theater installation headache that just won’t go away. Trinnov acknowledges this fact by doing its best to ease an installer’s pain, through best-in-class support, advanced technical training and unique product features. For example, current Altitude software effectively turns the product into an HDMI analyzer, helping installers troubleshoot and resolve the HDMI interoperability issues they face
daily.

The current Altitude HDMI platform, operating in thousands of home theaters, including many of the most complex, has proven to be solidly reliable. However, successfully integrating HDMI 2.1, with its wider bandwidth requirements and new features, is expected to create a formidable challenge to all manufacturers of home theater preamps and receivers.

Even though Trinnov is universally recognized as the leading manufacturer of high-end home theater processors, maintaining this position requires significant efforts in research and development. This applies to all aspects of Trinnov products, even those outside the company’s area of expertise. Indeed, as no High-End AV processor or receiver manufacturer has the expertise and resources to develop HDMI boards in-house, Trinnov began a new search for a long-term partner to help achieve excellence in HDMI performance, for now, and well into the future. Cypress Technology is that partner.

“In anticipation of the future evolution of HDMI formats, we started our investigation at the end of 2017 and came to the conclusion Cypress Technology was the best partner for us going forward. In addition to their own product line, CYP designs and manufactures HDMI equipment for many of the most highly-regarded AV manufacturers. We have staff presence in Taiwan, enabling seamless communication, and we are confident CYP will prove to be the ideal partner when the time comes to incorporate HDMI 2.1 into our own products,” says Arnaud Laborie, CEO of Trinnov.

“It’s our greatest honor to work with Trinnov Audio, the leader of high-end home theater audio processors, on the project that incorporates Cypress Technology’s signature expertise in HDMI with Trinnov’s uniquely implemented audio processing planform..” says Erik Su, VP of Cypress Technology. "Cypress Technology has been in the industry for 30 years. The extensive experiences have been built upon almost every aspect of AV related technologies. Our commitment to providing flexibility, speed manufacturing and latest technologies has made Cypress Technology the go-to partner in an industry that is constantly seeking advanced solutions." Erik continues, “ The
cooperation with Trinnov Audio denotes that Cypress Technology’s efforts in continuously pursuing perfection in better user experience and pristine quality are more than a recognition. It sets a milestone on our visions of providing the unrivaled design service and manufacturing capability to the partners that share the same values in the Pro and Home AV markets.”

Sustainability: preparing for the future Trinnov’s hardware platform and TrinnovOS operating system make Altitude processors uniquely sustainable as technologies and format advances are introduced. For example, in 2019, Trinnov worked closely with DTS to advance immersive sound technology in homes, through the development of DTS:X Pro. Today, only owners of Altitude processors are capable of enjoying more than 11 discretely-rendered channels of DTS:X in their home theaters.

Another example: over the last two years, Trinnov has improved Altitude HDMI performance dramatically through a series of significant firmware updates provided at no cost to all owners of Altitudes.

Continuing to move forward, Trinnov processors will soon be delivered with a brand-new HDMI 2.0 board, co-developed with CYP. This new board, based on Panasonic chipsets, ensures better interoperability and faster switching. It also restores the eighth HDMI input that was present on the original Altitude HDMI 1.4 board. However, and most importantly, this new HDMI 2.0 board provides a baseline product for work towards the adoption of HDMI 2.1. At the time of release and over the next several months, it will incorporate several capabilities from the HDMI 2.1 specification while remaining optimized for current 4k sources and displays. Because of the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis, any release dates are tentative. Current plans are to ship the first Altitude processors with the new board towards the beginning of June.

There is no need for current owners of Altitude processors to replace their existing HDMI board with the new one. In fact, Trinnov recommends against this, unless an existing system requires an additional HDMI input. Performance-wise, the new board brings little to no benefit for watching 4k content.

Once HDMI 2.1 becomes a reality and suitable chipsets are available, a new HDMI 2.1 board will be developed with CYP. This will be made available to all Altitude owners, regardless of the age of their processor. For those interested in obtaining the eighth input now, a program for purchasing the new HDMI 2.0 board will be announced later this year.