Valens introduces compact USB3 extension chipset

Valens Semiconductor has introduced the VS6310, a USB3 extension chipset designed for integration into cameras, touch controllers, and other professional conferencing peripherals that must operate at a distance from their host computers.

The device supports USB3 data transmission at up to 2.5Gbps over category cabling at distances extending to 40 metres. It also accommodates USB2 connections at 480Mbps and associated control signals, combining several connectivity functions within a chipset intended to consume less than 1W under typical operating conditions.

Valens has developed the VS6310 as a lower-power alternative within its HDBaseT-USB3 portfolio, building on the existing VS6320. The new device is intended to allow equipment manufacturers to incorporate USB extension directly into their products rather than depend on separate external transmitter and receiver boxes.

Professional conferencing systems often contain cameras, touch displays, microphones, and control interfaces installed at different positions around a meeting room. Their connections must carry data to the equipment responsible for processing video, audio, and user inputs, which may be located in a separate cabinet or equipment area.

Long connections introduce difficulties for conventional high-speed USB signalling. Cable attenuation, reflections, interference, and connector characteristics can affect the ability of a receiving circuit to distinguish the transmitted data reliably.

As the required connection distance increases, a direct cable arrangement may no longer provide sufficient signal integrity. An extension system addresses that constraint by converting the USB traffic into a transmission format suited to the longer link and reconstructing the required connection at the receiving end.

Such systems commonly use dedicated extender boxes connected between the host, the cable, and the peripheral. Although this arrangement can provide the necessary reach, it also requires additional enclosures, connectors, power arrangements, and installation space.

Embedding the extension electronics into the peripheral changes that system architecture. A camera manufacturer could incorporate the VS6310 into the camera’s own electronics, providing the extended connection without adding a separate extension unit immediately outside the device.

The approach requires the manufacturer to accommodate the chipset, supporting circuitry, cable interface, and electrical protection within the equipment. It can simplify the external installation, but the design still requires a compatible receiving interface and suitable power arrangements.

Power consumption becomes important when additional electronics are installed inside a compact camera or controller. These devices may already contain image sensors, processors, voltage regulators, and other components that generate heat within a limited enclosure volume.

Valens specifies typical power consumption below 1W for the VS6310. This is the chipset’s power requirement rather than the total consumption of the finished peripheral, and actual thermal behaviour will depend on the surrounding electronics, enclosure, and operating conditions.

The company positions this reduced consumption as an advantage over its higher-performance VS6320, particularly for equipment where the greater transmission distance and bandwidth of the earlier chipset are unnecessary.

The VS6310 complies with the HDBaseT-USB3 standard, which provides a defined approach for carrying USB connectivity over category cabling. The chipset supports the different USB transfer types required by compatible peripherals, enabling several kinds of device traffic to be extended through the link.

The distinction between the chipset’s transmission bandwidth and its stated USB3 performance is important. Valens specifies up to 2.5Gbps for USB3 extension, while its VS6320-series product information lists a symmetrical link bandwidth of 3Gbps for the VS6310.

These figures describe different characteristics of the connection and should not be presented as interchangeable measures of usable USB data throughput. The completed system must also accommodate protocol overhead and the requirements of the attached devices.

Video cameras can impose sustained data-rate requirements when transmitting high-resolution or high-frame-rate images. The resulting bandwidth depends on the image format, resolution, frame rate, and whether the device performs compression before transmitting the information.

A camera generating more data than the supported connection can carry may require a different output format, lower frame rate, or alternative hardware arrangement. The extension chipset must therefore be selected alongside the camera interface and host processing capabilities.

Valens identifies a maximum extension distance of 40 metres for the VS6310. Its published product-family specifications describe this capability using Cat6a U/FTP cabling, meaning the stated range should not be assumed to apply unchanged to every category cable or installation arrangement.

Connector quality, cable length, shielding, routing, and the electrical environment remain relevant to transmission performance. The completed connection must be tested under the conditions expected in the installed system, particularly where cables run near other electrical equipment.

The VS6310 also supports USB2 connectivity and control interfaces within the converged connection architecture. The VS6320 family includes UART, GPIO, frame synchronisation, and additional management signal functions, with the available arrangement depending on the selected chipset and system configuration.

Frame synchronisation can be useful where multiple cameras must acquire images according to a common timing arrangement. The ability to transport synchronisation signals does not, by itself, establish that a completed camera installation will achieve a specified timing accuracy, which also depends on the participating devices and host software.

Valens states that the VS6310 is interoperable with the existing VS6320. This provides a route to combining different members of the product family where the installation requires an appropriate balance of transmission distance, bandwidth, and power consumption.

The VS6320 supports links extending to 100 metres, compared with the VS6310’s stated 40-metre capability. Its product-family specifications identify a symmetrical 6Gbps link bandwidth, double the figure listed for the lower-power VS6310.

These alternatives give equipment manufacturers different design options within the same connectivity architecture. A peripheral requiring shorter reach and lower power consumption may favour the VS6310, while a different system with more demanding transmission requirements may need the VS6320.

The new chipset is primarily directed at professional audiovisual equipment, including electronic pan-tilt-zoom cameras, touch controllers, and active extension cables. Valens’ wider technology also serves medical and industrial imaging applications, but the November announcement does not establish that the VS6310 has completed any separate qualification required for those markets.

Valens expects VS6310 samples to become available in mid-November 2026, with volume production scheduled for January 2027. Manufacturers can use the sampling period to assess USB compatibility, power consumption, cable performance, and integration into their intended equipment before moving towards production.