What SerDes parts can I use for a sensor, not a video application?
Maxim has a range of SerDes parts which can be used for non-video applications. Go to our website and use the parts selector to find all parts. As an example, the MAX96709 takes parallel data in at PCLK and outputs it at the other end with a regenerated PCLK. It doesn't matter what the data is. We have several customers using these parts as non-video SerDes.
The video related pins like HS can be treated as data unless you program the device to do something with them, which you would only do for video. All the input pins are independent, so you could use them for GPIO input to the serializer and output from the deserializer. In general (I mean most parts in this series) there is one GPI on the deserializer which is output at the serializer. Some parts have additional GPIO that is written by I2C. To get more GPIO, you can add an I2C controlled IO expander.
The MAX96709 is the least expensive one in the series and logically pairs with the MAX96708 which is similarly inexpensive. To get the most user pins and GPIO look at the MAX9275/6. All the parts in this series interwork, but there are more and less logical pairings, depending on what you want to do.