HDBaseT Cat 5 Technology is Useful, but No ‘HDMI Killer’

Isn’t it basically an embedded balun?

hdmi baluns typically use all pairs just for video/audio - they do not pass power to devices, nor provide ethernet. this company seems to be going for much more than just that small CI segment.

im all for this. its been said for quite some time by our company and others who step back for a minute that this is a logical move. REAL residential networking, here we come..

No, the transmission of signal is completely different.  It’s also standardized across manufacturers.  So, assuming you it takes off with manufacturers and becomes embedded in devices, then you could use a Gefen transmitter plugged directly into your Sony TV (as an example). 

The HDMI “layer” is still there, it’s just a new transmission method.  Saying “just” doesn’t do it justice, though, as long distance HDMI has proved to be an industry wide nightmare.

Eyal,

I guess I am old school, but I have a problem with the term “balun.”  A balun usually is considered to be passive device that simply converts media types or possibly does impedance matching, too.  Some “baluns” just change the physical connector types and others may have transformers or other passive components.  They may put the signal out over a different wire types, but they do very little to the signal itself.

These are complex powered electronic devices with very specialized chip sets and associated components.  They have to get FCC approval among others because of RF emissions and the designers need to worry about things like ESD, board traces, and component layouts.  Therefore, I would not call these “baluns.”  I would consider these more as HDMI “Extenders” with some additional features.

  =D-

Derek R. Flickinger
Interactive Homes, Inc.

Jim,

I agree with you on your assessment of how this could standardize the HDMI “Extender” market finally.  However, I still am going to throw a caution flag when it comes to complete interoperability.  My understanding is that, while the HDMI and CEC aspects are standardized, the current specifications leave it up to the vendors to implement the control features of 5Play for IR, RS-232, and/or USB.  That would mean that not all vendors’ products would interoperate at that level.  Additionally, the power implementations, while standardized in how it works, are an optional feature that not all vendors may choose to implement.  The current Gefen boxes to not take advantage of the power distribution features.

With that said, it is a good step in the right direction.  I still recommend investigating any potential interoperability aspects before putting them on site for your clients, especially when mixing and matching embedded versions versus stand-alone transmitters and receivers.

  =D-

Julie,

Very good (and really timely) article. I am not so sure that I would dismiss the technology so quickly based on price, because (as the article states) mass production significantly reduces cost.

In my opinion, the bigger question is reliability. If it is a stable product that allows for high-quality HDCP enabled transmissions over great lengths, it may succeed.

Time will certainly tell, but I think that cost is only one of a multitude of factors that will determine its fate.

Yes.  Balun = BALanced + UNbalanced. Just like modem = MOdulate + DEModulate.

Industry people use Balun for anything that extends something over Cat5, and customers use Modem for anything their computer is plugged in to.  Drives me nuts.  Especially when they spell it modum. 

lol… ok… I admit, getting into this industry 3 years ago, I didn’t imagine that I need to double verify the terms used by more than half the people I met, including manufacturers.

Nevertheless… thank you all for the clarifications…. I’m going to stand in the corner of my office - embarrassed - for 3 minutes….

I definitely would not dismiss over price. PCs were once expensive too. I have a follow-up story on the chances of mass mkt success for HDBaseT ...

Just an aside here to the conversation, but if you are thinking about mass market implementation on this, you have to leapfrog residential for the moment.

Look at the digital signage market where you have HD networkable media players that are being sold for $2000 plus, and are coordinated with a server that all those players go out to at the head end.

Now replace that with something like BaseT that gives you HDMI distribution, ethernet connectivity, and power capability at the remote display, eliminating the need for players out in the field, and just distribute the server data on this new platform.  $600 is peanuts, given the 100 foot runs back to the distribution point are achievable, which seems to be the limiting factor at this point.

Mark,

I agree that this would be a good application for HDBaseT.  Keep in mind that the 100 meter limitation is something that the DRM gods may limit.  The HDBaseT technology itself can be extended further by daisy-chaining HDBaseT switches or repeaters together as long as you are not distributing content protected by the length limitations (it still has not been published how this will be implemented).  Unfortunately, there is no fiber solution for longer runs (and I doubt there ever will be).

I still caution about the power distribution for driving displays.  I could see possibly powering digital signage streaming players with it if they can run on such low current, but my recommendation is to power as much a possible locally.

  =D-

@=D-

I agree, I think I must have come across wrong, I definitely would not consider remotely powering an LCD Panel over POE .

I just meant if another low power device like a motion or occupancy sensor etc were attached it would be nice to have an option other than another wall wart AC adapter.

Keep up the innovative thought and God Bless!

Mark C

My question is why is the HDMI Spec so poor in the first place? In that it is not capable of reliable cable runs over 10m. They (Hdmi) should have just tapped two cat5/6 cables with tape and we would never have had this problem in the first place. Long live cat5/6.