A video DAC for driving video displays with reduced power dissipation is presented. This is accomplished using a dual driver circuit connected to a current mirror, the dual driver comprising a strong driver and a weak driver. The dual driver permits switching current between the video load and a dummy load. The current to the dummy load is disabled during periods when the video signal remains steady for a predetermined period of time. The dual driver, using the weak driver, disables the current to the dummy load during video blanking and synchronization periods. This scheme substantially reduces the power dissipation in the DAC.
A current switching circuit has greatly reduced charge injection effects with the introduction of a mirror path to mirror the switch path. The mirror path comprises a complementary switch and a pulling amplifier, e.g., a pull-down amplifier for a source current switching circuit, or a pull-up amplifier for a sink current switch circuit. The pulling amplifier mirrors the status of an output path of a current source, e.g., a transistor current source, such that when the current source is switched ON or OFF, the switching process with respect to the load, e.g., a load capacitor, is smooth and provides a clean current waveform due to greatly reduced charge injection.
A current steering type D/A converter comprises a D/A conversion circuit having plural current sources each outputting a predetermined current, and a logic circuit for selecting desired current sources from among the plural current sources; a reference voltage generation circuit for generating a reference voltage potential that determines an output current value of the D/A conversion circuit; and a control circuit for setting the D/A conversion circuit in the ON state or OFF state by controlling switch elements which are placed between the D/A conversion circuit and the reference voltage generation circuit. Therefore, current consumption of the current steering type D/A converter can be reduced.
The current addition type D/A converter of the present invention is equipped with a control circuit to reduce power consumption. A control signal is input from a control terminal (17), the resistance value of a resistor (10) that determines a reference current of a current mirror is multiplied n-fold and thereby the operating current of current cell matrix (1) is reduced to (1/n). On the other hand, the resistance value of a current/voltage conversion resistor (16) is multiplied n-fold so as to compensate the reduction of the operating current and maintain a predetermined D/A conversion rate. Normally, there is no input near an upper limit of the input dynamic range, and therefore there is no inconvenience regarding the conversion rate of the D/A converter even if the operating current is reduced.
A current-mode D/A converter is described having variable output and offset control. According to an exemplary embodiment, a first D/A converter includes a number of first control inputs and an output capable of generating a first current proportional to a number of active first control inputs. A driver includes an input connected to the output of the first D/A converter, a number of second control inputs, and an output capable of generating a second current proportional to the first current based on a number of active second control inputs. A second D/A converter includes a number of third control inputs and an output capable of generating a third current proportional to a number of active third control inputs. Offset control circuitry includes an input connected to the output of the second D/A converter, an offset control input, and an output connected to the output of the driver. The offset control circuitry is capable of summing the second and third currents at the output of the driver when the control input is active.
A method and apparatus within a television receiver for electronically aligning signals within the receiver by controlling support circuitry for an IF module. A control voltage source controls both video alignment and picture IF (PIF) mute functions. The DAC is coupled to a video level control circuit within the video amplifier circuitry of the television receiver. The control signal controls both the video level as well as a PIF mute circuit.