PROMAG THIRD QUARTER 2014 - VOLUME 22 NUMBER 3 | Page 26

tutorial HDBaseT – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW By Abrie du Plooy (Electrosonic SA’s NEC and GALAXY Product Manager) Recently Kramer Electronics joined forces with Valens, the brains behind HDBaseT. The HDBaseT technology was originally developed by Valens, who formed an HDBaseT alliance (with Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and LG Electronics) to contribute to the development of the technology. Valens is situated just around the corner from Kramer Electronics, and Kramer was hugely involved in the development of the technology, as were some big AV brands. Many AV brands have adapted their product specifications to be HDBaseT compliant. Electrosonic SA invited Nick Mawer (from Kramer Electronics, UK) and Eli Ofek (from Valens) to tell us more about this amazing technology. What follows is a summary of their expert explanations. What is HDBaseT? • • Ethernet • CIR/UART support via continuous oversampling • Active/stand-by modes of operation (LPPF1/LPPF2) Spec 1.1 • Supports power over HDBaseT (PoH) Spec 2.0 • Switch/Network/Control-Point definitions • Multi-Stream support • USB 2.0, SP-Dif, IR/UART integrated support • Flexible A-Symmetric/Partial Link configurations In short HDBaseT allows you to install a display device 100m from a source device and connect a single cable to send HD signals and power. Why HDBaseT? HDBaseT is the new standard for uncompressed Digital Connectivity. It utilises a 5Play system: a signal that combines 5 elements onto a single Cat5 cable over 100 meters. The 5 Play Components are: • Video • Full HD/3D 7 2K/4K uncompressed video • Supports all HDMI 1.4 standards • Multi-streaming Capability • CEC, EDID, HDCP and more supported • Highest video quality with Zero Latency • HDBaseT can be used as a single wire system point-to-point, or a multiconnection system. HDBaseT can be daisy chained between devices, with up to 100M between displays. What is the next step? Audio • HDBaseT is an approved standard that has been adopted by many players in the industry. It’s an elegant, single-cable connection with zero cable clutter. HDBaseT eliminates many multiple cable and cable distance challenges. HDBaseT can be distributed in any AV solution, whether residential, corporate, or hospitality, with a simple HDBaseT network switch - and one does not need separate power. It’s especially popular for video distribution in various modes of transport applications. • Digital Audio directly from HDMI chipset • All standards are supported, e.g. Dolby Digital, DTS, TrueHD, Dolby Pro Logic, Liz 7.1 & 9.1 and more. Ethernet • Standard 100BaseT Ethernet supported • Fall back to standard Ethernet mode Firstly, Look for the HDBaseT Logo. Many of the industry’s leading brands have already adopted the technology, including Kramer Electronics, Crestron and NEC. • Control • Dedicated Control Channel • Consumer Electronic Controls (CEC), RS-232, USB and Infrared Research the supplier’s range of technologies and select a product that supported provides the solution. Read the vendor’s collaterals for any disclaimers regarding required functionality. And lastly, test the products in a real-life Power working situation. • Transmission of up to 100W of DC power • Can Power devices such as 60” displays So what are you waiting for? • In line with Energy-Star standard • No power outlet required • These are the different specification versions: Spec 1.0 • Point to point • Integrated support for a single HDMI stream and 100Mb 24 PROMAG – third quarter 2014 Electrosonic SA has many products in our arsenal that are already prepared for HDBaseT transmission and decoding. Should you need more information call our office and speak to one of our product managers.