HDMI Over 330 Feet Using CAT5 Cable

[Guest]

Gefen has upgraded its HDMI range extender and now enables 1080p full HD with 3DTV pass-through to be transmitted over just one CAT5 cable instead of two. The range remains at 330 feet or 100m.

HDMI Over 330 Feet Using CAT5 Cable : Read more

 

[zero messiah]

Well, I always wanted to watch Children of The Corn in the middle of a corn field...and now i can.

 

[springhalo]

I wonder if these kinds of things work by amplifying the digital signal using higher voltages, then convert it back at the end of the cable. Considering it's transferring such a large amount of data through a few strands, it probably uses HF signals too. It's a tough job.

 

[memadmax]

I can't think of too many applications for this, one is high quality security cameras where the security station is a block away... in a bunker... deep underground...

=D

 

[dingo07]

Crestron did this Years ago!!!

 

[NewbieTechGodII]

@memadmax:

actually, there are lots of reasons for this type of solution (though no way for $1,000...go to monoprice.com and you will find similar items for far, far less).

for instance, i have a closet under the stairs that i use as a centralized hub for all things audio/video/data. i use a 48-port CAT6 patch panel to route all of my telephone lines and ethernet cables from throughout the house to a central point. i am considering moving all of my directv boxes into this closet as well, and then use ethernet cable to not only transmit hdmi, but also signals for the remote control (plus an additional phone line or ethernet connection).

of course, i am rebuilding a new server, which will house my audio and video collection.

again, i would never pay $1,000 for this as there are many more solutions on monoprice.com that do the same and are far less expensive.

btw- if you haven't been to monoprice.com, you owe it to yourself to check it out. patch cables are incredibly cheap (as in inexpensive); so much so that i don't even bother making my own anymore. to give you a hint about how good they are, i run a 25' hdmi cable from my pc to my plasma, and it only cost like $33.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Crestron did this Years ago!!!

They certainly did, Geffen HDMI extenders have been around for a few years as well though and it seems a bit odd that it's taken them this long to bring out a single cable solution.

 

[lockhrt999]

I don't think production houses will use this one as it costs as much as the entry-mid level professional displays.
Secondly, these devices will add some 50 ms lag for displaying the picture and it's noticeable on professional level.
Thirdly, BoxX(who makes rigs for pros) already has such solution from a year or two. Their solution is even better than this as it not only serves the displays but also keyboard, mouse USB ports, speaker jacks, power/reset buttons everything over ethernet and that too for less than a grand.
-----
Nevertheless I did a few calculations a while back. Uncompressed 60Hz 1080p video data in RGB format can't be transferred over a gigabit ethernet connection as bandwidth is insufficient. So video compression is in the order (Yeah lossless compression will do, i suppose).

 

[madjimms]

How does this effect DHCP?

 

[madjimms]

D[citation][nom]madjimms[/nom]How does this effect DHCP?[/citation]
EDIT!

(HDCP)

 

[monkeysweat]

[citation][nom]NewbieTechGodII[/nom]@memadmax:actually, there are lots of reasons for this type of solution (though no way for $1,000...go to monoprice.com and you will find similar items for far, far less).for instance, i have a closet under the stairs that i use as a centralized hub for all things audio/video/data. i use a 48-port CAT6 patch panel to route all of my telephone lines and ethernet cables from throughout the house to a central point. i am considering moving all of my directv boxes into this closet as well, and then use ethernet cable to not only transmit hdmi, but also signals for the remote control (plus an additional phone line or ethernet connection).of course, i am rebuilding a new server, which will house my audio and video collection.again, i would never pay $1,000 for this as there are many more solutions on monoprice.com that do the same and are far less expensive.btw- if you haven't been to monoprice.com, you owe it to yourself to check it out. patch cables are incredibly cheap (as in inexpensive); so much so that i don't even bother making my own anymore. to give you a hint about how good they are, i run a 25' hdmi cable from my pc to my plasma, and it only cost like $33.[/citation]

Monoprice is my favorite site for any electronic accessories,, price is GREAT and quality is some of the best for the cables,, electronics I havent purchased from there yet, but I have bought phone cases, screen protectors, keystone jacks, all kinds of cables (DVI,HDMI,Ethernet,toslink) and adapters, most items are better than what you buy in the brick and mortar stores for a fraction of the cost.

AND no I don't work for them,,

 

[gwellin]

[citation][nom]Dingo07[/nom]Crestron did this Years ago!!![/citation]
Also Extron

You get what you pay for. With crestron's 8G+ transmitters and recievers you not only can send up to 1920x1200 resolution along with deep color, 3D and multi channel audio but you can also transmit ethernet and USB control along with RS232 control of the far end. Not to mention full customizable configuration of EDID information.

 

[jaber2]

I wonder when or where this would be useful at home or work.

 

[igot1forya]

You can probably go even further (a lot further) by connecting an Ethernet to Fiber Transceiver in there. At that point, you would be talking many kilometers.

 

[gwellin]

[citation][nom]jaber2[/nom]I wonder when or where this would be useful at home or work.[/citation]

- laptop inputs in conference rooms.
- sending signal to projectors
- sending signal to control booth from podiums in auditoriums
- sending signal from HD camera's to security stations
- sending signal from (insert source) to (insert destination that is over 30' or so)

 

[monkeysweat]

[citation][nom]jaber2[/nom]I wonder when or where this would be useful at home or work.[/citation]
this is a professional item, not for home use,, it is meant for when you don't have the option to have the source equipment close by the tv, such as a restaurant with alot of flat panel displays, the ones closest to the source equipment won't need, but the Tv's at the opposite end may require this as they may not need 300 feet of cable but more than a 120 is quite feasable as a straight run from one end of my house to the other will easily use up 50',, never mind running something from a back room up to a 12/16' ceiling then snake it through conduits, quickly adds up.

 

[10tacle]

[citation][nom]monkeysweat[/nom]this is a professional item, not for home use,, it is meant for when you don't have the option to have the source equipment close by the tv, such as a restaurant with alot of flat panel displays,[/citation]

Exactly. In fact, that's the first application I thought of as someone who helped set up a friend's new sports pub with exactly that.

 

[NewbieTechGodII]

@monkeysweat:

this type-product (not this one in particular- see my earlier post), could be at any home of someone truly [H].

 

[TeraMedia]

I'm surprised they chose CAT5. With CAT5e and now even CAT6a (it's "a", right?) so inexpensive, why spend $1k on a device only to hamstring it with a cheap $25 cable?

 

[bdubdc]

usb2 on the ends?

 

[Jerky_san]

I think the monoprice 35 dollar job has served me really well..

 

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]lockhrt999[/nom]Secondly, these devices will add some 50 ms lag for displaying the picture[/citation]
I seriously doubt those boxes do full-frame grabbing and transcoding/decoding.

What they likely do is packetize the HDMI and USB2 streams as-is without transcode in which case the process would add microseconds of latency at most.

 

[photonboy]

[citation][nom]madjimms[/nom]DEDIT! (HDCP)[/citation]

It would not affect it. HDCP is simply the protocol for encrypting the HD content to prevent piracy. Devices that transmit a signal further, but whatever means they employ still send the SAME SIGNAL on the output as they receive on the input.

There MUST be a commercial demand for this product as it's too expensive for home use.

 

[Darkerson]

Its ironic how we could have been using ethernet cables for pretty much everything audio/video related for a long time now, but instead have had to deal with companies coming out with something "new" every 5 years or so. RCA, S-Video, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc, all have lots of restrictions and limitations that ethernet does not have. Food for thought.

 

[back_by_demand]

OK, so either pay for a box at $1000 and use a single 100m CAT5 cable, around $50
...
Or pay $20 for a dual cable extender, plus around $100 for the both 100m cables
...
Should I really waste $930 on this? Too late, I already did the dual cable route around 4 years ago and get pretty good 1080p redistributed around the house by combining with a HDMI 1 to 4 splitter
...
Save the cash and use the extra cable, really isn't worth it