Study and implementation of a motherboard measurement system for DVD recorders based on virtual instrument technology

As an emerging family entertainment centre, DVD recorder is able to play home videos and record TV shows into built-in hard disk or RAM disc. Its quality plays an essential role in its market share around the world for manufacturers. Consequently, as the most important part of the DVD recorder, the motherboard is needed to be checked and measured thoroughly in the manufacturing process of DVD recorders. The measurement signals include video, audio and power supply voltage. To tackle this issue, this paper presents a motherboard measurement system by means of FPGA to control the motherboard directly based on virtual instrument technology. Measurement requirements are discussed firstly and therefore the measurement system is designed. Software modules are coded and illustrated by LabVIEW, a virtual instrument development tool of National Instrument of the US. After verification, the developed motherboard measurement system has been put into service successfully on the workshop floor of a DVD manufacturer in Dalian, China since July 2007.