Decent connectors

[Eight Bit]

I love my Pandora to death but I really loathe the Ext out connector.

Have any decissions been made about which- or what kind of connectors will be used for the Pyra?

In ED's audio thread I mentioned I'd like XLR connectors for the audio which was partly a joke ofcourse since those are way too bulky for a pocketable device, but... I think decent lockable connectors will make the unit so much better for use with an external screen or audio system.

Therefor I would herewith like to ask those responsible to look real serious to the connectors.

Lockable HDMI like this

or this

would be my preference.

And maybe 2x mini XLR for direct audio out?

Preferably balanced ofcourse with Gnd, Hot and Cold signal over one connector.

Would something like that be doable?

 

[Bosbeetle]

Please keep it standard, having to buy all sorts of pyra specific cable's wont be nice imo.

 

[Eight Bit]

xlr is (pro audio) standard and thus not pyra specific at all, and lockable hdmi fits standard hdmi without a screw too. Mind this is just for the ext-out. If you like to use your mini jack headphone out to connect your Pyra to a stereo set or whatever, there's no one to stop you

 

[Eight Bit]

Oh, and while I'm at it. 2x mini XLR female (audio input) with the ability to provide phantom power would make the pyra full of win!

 

[TrashyMG]

There won't be an EXT out on the Pyra so not a concern. HDMI connectors work pretty well with just friction fit. locking mechanisms just seem redundant and could cause damage to the PCB if someone trips on a cable or something..

 

[Eight Bit]

There won't be an EXT out on the Pyra so not a concern. HDMI connectors work pretty well with just friction fit. locking mechanisms just seem redundant and could cause damage to the PCB if someone trips on a cable or something..

Playing games with the pyra in my hands and a friction fit hdmi cable to a tv set is way too wonky.  Like the Ext-out connector on the Pandora.

Also they won't fit too tight anymore after a few weeks pluging and unplugging. Nothing is more annoying than having to wiggle your cable to get your signal to work, especially when it's on a device which has game controls on it. (!)

I use hdmi a lot at work unfortunately and I found that it's a crap connector, not suitable for serious work at all. Too bad DVI-D is so bulky because it's a way better connector (with the same data protocol as HDMI).

Sure the HDMI connector is nice for a stationary blu-ray player and tv screen that you connect once and never touch again but not for a portable solution that you can't hold still when using it.

If someone trips over a cable the Pyra will fly through the room anyway, if anything the extra screw would protect your connector I think.

 

[TrashyMG]

The EXT connector is more likely to break where the pins connect to the wires than slip out, and currently I think the plan is to have a micro-hdmi connector not a full sized one.

 

[Eight Bit]

The connectors I posted were just suggestions, all I asked in my original post was this

Therefor I would herewith like to ask those responsible to look real serious to the connectors.

 

[mcobit]

I think symmetrical headphone jacks would be fine, too.

 

[thatgui]

I guess the real problem is, that HDMI connectors where never designed for mobile use, meaning that the device is actually mobile (hand movement while playing) and not just sitting on a desk feeding a big screen. I wonder wether NVIDIA put any thought on that on the Shield portable.

But I'm with TrashyMG, I don't think a "too tight" connection is a good idea, I would rather have the connector move around a little when hes plugged in, then haveing all the cable stress directly transfered to the solder joints on the pcb.

More generally speaking: as Ed already stated, connector wise the design won't change any more, so the only thing we could do is to check, wether different manufacturers differ in the reliability of their sockets.

 

[WizardStan]

The plugs have already been selected. Give me some time to find the actual quotes, though.

There's a USB3.0 micro AB (OTG) port, two USB2.0 ports, an esata port, an HDMI port, and of course the trrs headset port with automatic OMTP/CTIA switching.

 

[TrashyMG]

According to EvilDragon in one of his prototype videos it's going to be a micro-HDMI connector. 

Linked right where he mentions it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyaL92B5tfM#t=228

 

[WizardStan]

Ah, there you go, you can actually see all the planned connectors. Thanks! microHDMI, yeah, not full sized, good.

Also the usb charging/debug port I'd forgotten about.

 

[Grench]

I think symmetrical headphone jacks would be fine, too.

I'm just wishing for a switchable headphone jack so that it can support headsets in both 'normal' (unavailable) and the bastardized standard (ubiquitous).

 

[TrashyMG]

I'm just wishing for a switchable headphone jack so that it can support headsets in both 'normal' (unavailable) and the bastardized standard (ubiquitous).

That is the plan, it will have a Ti chip that handles this automagically. looking for the source of that now.

Edit: found what GTA04 stated: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15945-silent-progress/page-2#entry324908/URL]


Which references this: http://www.ti.com/product/ts3a225e

 

[Grench]

I'm just wishing for a switchable headphone jack so that it can support headsets in both 'normal' (unavailable) and the bastardized standard (ubiquitous).

That is the plan, it will have a Ti chip that handles this automagically. looking for the source of that now.

Edit: found what GTA04 stated: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15945-silent-progress/page-2#entry324908/URL]

Which references this: http://www.ti.com/product/ts3a225e

Cool - I had missed this reference. That TI chip looks to be a purpose built solution for just this issue. Thank you!