Interoperability testing is a vital step in the manufacturing process. The growing variety of brands, interfaces, standards and electronic functions make it a challenge for manufacturers to ensure that their product will be compatible with other devices. To verify that a product is fully interoperable, manufacturers need to thoroughly test it using a range of real world consumer devices.
Using real world electronics instead of lab simulations provides a more accurate portrait of how a device will function once it enters the market. Testing a product using a variety of devices can help account for the variations between different regions and brands. For example, a product that is only tested and verified in the United States may not be fully compatible with products and regional standards in Japan. Without proper testing, a product may encounter several errors: Product functions may not work, audio and video may be out of sync, or the device may simply be undetectable. For consumers, encountering incompatible products can cause product malfunction and headaches, all while damaging a brand’s image.
Part of the success of Allion’s interoperability testing is the variety of devices we use for product testing. Our comprehensive compatibility testing methodology compiles more than 1,300 consumer devices from all major world markets, including the U.S., Japan, Europe, China and Taiwan. This quarterly-updated list of devices is then ranked using a series of selection criteria, including sales ranking, satisfaction ranking and features, helping to maximize efficiency and streamline the interoperability and validation process. For example, our USB Interoperability Testing verifies a product using 75 camcorders, 322 cameras, 160 keyboards and computer mice, 88 card readers, 243 storage devices, 131 media players and 45 hubs. The results of testing help Allion guide manufacturers to identify and address factors that might prevent full interoperability. The result is a truly interoperable product, regardless of specification or region.
For more information regarding Allion interoperability services, view our Real World Consumer Electronic Interoperability Testing presentation slides from last month’s HD Test Solution Seminar & Plugfest.
Learn More:
- Windows 7 Testing and Ecosystem Interoperability
- New to Device Testing? Check out our Test Facility Basics
- Test Labs for USB Solutions that Go Beyond Testing
Allion recently had the opportunity to test the LG Network Monitor, a low-cost solution allowing multiple users to virtually share a PC. The LG monitors were put through a rigorous battery of tests designed to evaluate their performance and compatibility. The results were impressive.
The LG computer monitors first went through the Windows Compatibility Test. Ten monitors were connected to a computer running Microsoft Windows to evaluate their compatibility with the operating system as well as their performance when running multiple applications simultaneously.
The second test performed was the Software Compatibility Test, a “multitasking test” in which various programs ranging from Microsoft Word to professional graphic design software are run simultaneously.
The final test, the Performance Test, measured the frames per second being displayed, examining for any lag or delay in the interconnected monitor installation. Final results exceeded expectations for overall performance and stability. All tests were passed at 90 percent or higher, with several, including the Device Enumeration Test and Power Management Test, passing with 100 percent compatibility. The tests demonstrated the monitors’ exceptional performance under the most demanding circumstances.
LG, in partnership with Allion, produced the accompanying video to document the rigorous nature of Allion’s display test services.
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Intel aims to be the worldwide leader in the solid state drive (SSD) market. The company plans to unseat Samsung as the top market player while bringing SSDs to the forefront. In the SSD retail market, Intel currently claims the lead in the U.S. and sits second worldwide.
Intel’s joint venture with Micron Technologies Inc. has rolled out the first in a family of 25-nm devices, which, in addition to putting Intel almost a year ahead of the competition in terms of technology, gives Intel a significant cost advantage; while 34-nm competitors have an average cost of $1/GB, Intel’s 25-nm NAND part will average $0.50/GB. Intel plans to ship its new line of 25-nm device-based SSDs later this year.
“We want to be a leader in SSDs,” Tom Rampone, the VP and general manager of Intel’s NAND Solutions Group, told EE Times at a recent event. “We want to bring SSDs out of the niche markets and into the mainstream.”
Compelling SSD features, including unprecedented speeds, durability, and silent operation, will bring big benefits to end-users in both personal and enterprise applications. Also noteworthy is that SSDs enable new technologies such as SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) to achieve higher data transfer rates than what is possible with traditional HDDs. As we reported earlier this year, 2010 is shaping up to be the year for SSDs.
Connecting a digital TV to the wide variety of devices found in a home theater can present challenges. TV signals input/output (I/O) interfaces, standards, and device variety are complex, and they can lead to poor connectivity among TVs and devices.
TV tests aid television developers by ensuring product interoperability between the TV and top consumer devices. In determining the top consumer devices, factors such as market share, customer satisfaction, sales ranking and device generation are considered. A reputable testing facility will purchase the newest devices and buy devices from specific locales. TV tests ultimately help developers sell their products by delivering quality products, which lead to positive reviews.
Some common tests to ensure that the TV can function as it should include:
Cable Capability Test: verifies that the TV and devices work properly with bundled cables.
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) test: checks whether the TV can offer DLNA setup and if the TV can play back all supported DLNA files on the connected devices.
Full Connection Test: verifies that every I/O port on the TV works properly.
Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) Test: verifies CEC function.
Input Switching Testing: alters signal sources (switches analog and digital signal source) and verifies the TV’s input and interface functions.
Power Function Test: verifies the TV works correctly after powering on or off the TV and devices.
Play Back Test: checks if the TV can properly play back media content of the connected device and from the USB interface and determines if the TV can display all supported resolutions.
Ideally, the TV test environment will simulate the most common scenarios for consumers connecting their devices to their TVs. Third party testing at facilities like Allion Test Labs ensure that TVs will properly function.
In an age of continual computing evolution, users often take for granted the usability and durability of their computers and devices. If a consumer drops a cell phone, they anticipate it will survive the fall. If a laptop is left in a sweltering car all day, it’s expected to continue to function properly. Increasingly electronic devices are utilized in environments not normally conducive to the sustained operation of electronic gadgetry: police duty, on the construction job site, combat environments, at sea and in climatic extremes of hot and cold. The sector of devices designed to deal with these extremes is referred to as ruggedized devices.
From cell phones, to GPS devices and laptops the sector is growing as users demand uncompromised performance from their devices in any condition. The delivery of uncompromised performance cannot be left to chance. There are many device tests used to push products to the limit, testing their sustained usability and durability.
Independent test labs like Allion can test computers and devices during the development stage to ensure they’ll operate appropriately, even in the harshest conditions. You can check out some of the ruggedized testing performed at Allion Test Labs in the Panasonic Toughbook video.
One common test is a temperature test that can simulate extreme climates and determine if devices continue to function in brutally hot, cold or wet environments. A static compression test can also be performed to determine a product’s response to extreme compression – an everyday example might be stepping on a device or accidentally driving over it.
Specific equipment allows labs to test battery life and simulate dropping devices from a variety of heights. Drop tests entail lifting the product to pre-determined heights and then releasing the product to hit the ground. If a product consistently functions properly after such a fall, it can be certified at a specific drop level. Common failures in a drop test range from display screens, hard disk drives, or the failure of a devices housing. All failures provide designers with valuable insights that they can use to further reinforce the device from impact.
Device testing enables consumers and those tasked with purchasing rugged devices a set of common specifications to review and ensure the device they intend to purchase will stand-up to even the worst abuse in the field. As future generations of ruggedized electronic devices appear in the market, durability should improve to meet customer demand for go-anywhere electronics.
