Audiovisual industry professionals face significant challenges when installing and deploying arrays, switches, displays, and projectors, among other devices.
By Micha Risling*
Each project presents its own challenges, either because of the existing or future infrastructure (type of cable, cable quality), because of the architectural design (distances, visual elegance), or even because of the complexity and costs (of the equipment or the overall installation).
The advent of high-definition, 3D and super-high-definition resolution visualization adds more pressure to the situation, as equipment and infrastructure are expected to handle a huge amount of bandwidth, without compromising on quality.
The HDBaseT is the de facto standard for streaming super high definition audio and video, Ethernet, controls, power and USB over LAN cables at a distance of up to 100 meters.
From the beginning, HDBaseT's goal has been to ensure the best possible experience for users by streaming high-performance video over a low-cost, ubiquitous cable infrastructure. In other words, the HDBaseT allows the transmission of high-definition multimedia content without compression, over LAN cables (Cat5e and later).
The HDBaseT Architecture
HDBaseT technology employs an asymmetric transmission method (Fig. 1), whereby a bandwidth of 8Gb/s of audio and video, Ethernet, and different controls is sent from the source devices to the target devices, but only a bandwidth of less than 300Mb/s (audio, Ethernet and controls) is transferred. The HDBaseT uses all four pairs of LAN cables to achieve this bandwidth, and to send up to 100W of power over the same line simultaneously.
The HDBaseT is based on an innovative DSP engine and a front-end analog architecture (AFE). This makes possible an extremely robust and resilient platform, which can stream even 4K super high definition video at a link speed of 8 Gbps, as opposed to the 10 Gbps required by HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface). HDBaseT does not involve the additional load that HDMI adds when correcting errors, and still ensures a faultless transmission of the video signal.
The HDBaseT employs a PAM16 encoding, a version of pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) technology, which represents digital data as an encoding scheme using different levels of DC voltage at high rates.
PAM 16 allows the HDBaseT to control electrical interference while still meeting the expected high performance. Although HDBaseT employs the same encoding technology as Ethernet and even has an Ethernet channel for 100BaseT transmission, its packet technology is different from traditional Ethernet packets. The HDBaseT depends on the same physical cable infrastructure.
This simplicity and great functionality made HDBaseT the de facto standard of the professional residential and audiovisual sector.
Commercial and consumer electronics have a set of HDBaseT integrated circuits inserted to enhance the advantages and benefits they can offer.
The new 5Play
The cornerstone of HDBaseT technology is the new 5Play (Fig.2), a set of functions that converge on a single LAN cable that covers a distance of up to 100m:
1. Audio and video: The HDBaseT streams even uncompressed super high definition (4K) video. It supports all HDMI 1.4 functions, including EPG, CEC, EDID and HDCP. The HDBaseT's exceptional video encoding scheme ensures the highest video quality with almost zero latency. HDBaseT audio supports all standard formats, including Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD-Master Audio.
2. Ethernet: The HDBaseT supports a 100Mb Ethernet connection, allowing communication between TVs, sound systems, computers and other CE devices, as well as access to any stored multimedia content (such as music or video streams). The HDBaseT also supports Ethernet backup mode, which allows seamless integration between an HDBaseT device and an Ethernet-only infrastructure. In this case, only the Ethernet functionalities of the connection are enabled.
3. Controls: The HDBaseT supports signals from various controls for multiple purposes: Consumer Electronic Controls (CEC), RS-232 (Recommended Standard), and Infrared (IR). IP control is also enabled, thanks to the support of an Ethernet channel. The HDBaseT's wide range of control options offers manufacturers virtually unlimited opportunities.
4. Power supply: Power supply up to 100W DC can be transmitted via the same CAT5e/6 cable. This important aspect of the new 5Play gives you the freedom to locate equipment where you want it and not where there is a power source installed.
5. USB: Specification 2.0 defined support for USB ports, opening the door to new applications such as KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) and touchscreen functionalities.
Additionally, the 2.0 specification – released in mid-2013 – also introduced multi-data stream functionality, fiber optic support and improved 4K performance.
HDBaseT Applications
Thanks to the extensive feature set, simplicity in configuration and use of the economical and popular LAN cabling, the HDBaseT can be used in various applications, including residential home theaters, digital signage, corporate projections, industrial PCs, and medical and military uses.
In residential installations (Fig. 3), the HDBaseT offers an elegant design, with a single cable to connect all devices. No more tangled wires. It allows you to hide the source devices, since the HDBaseT allows transmissions of up to 100 m (including 4K video), without compromising the quality and without any latency. For example, since the whole house is connected, hdBaseT allows you to start seeing something in the living room and still see it in the room with just a couple of clicks on a tablet or smartphone app.
And this is because the HDBaseT offers multi-zone connectivity, thanks to which it is possible to transmit content from any source to any screen, without any inconvenience. Also, if you are watching something and must check your email or search for something on the internet, you can pause your program, switch fonts (for example, from blu-ray player to computer), and use your TELEVISION as your PC screen. When you're done, you can go back to your movie and pick up where you interrupted it.
In the field of corporate and business applications, HDBaseT is widely used in boardrooms, hotel and restaurant screens, educational facilities (from secondary school onwards) (Fig. 4), among others, thanks to its easy installation and operation. In addition, the existing wiring infrastructure is used, resulting in additional savings. Because the HDBaseT meets HDMI specifications, it can complement existing configurations without the need for any major overhauls.
The 2.0 specification expands the roles of today's technology by enabling touchscreen functionality (e.g., in an airport or fast food restaurant), and point-to-multipoint connectivity (for multiple data streams and daisy-chaining). The HDBaseT can also transmit high-definition digital content over fiber optics, opening up new markets in the military and healthcare field, where fiber optics are the standard infrastructure for connectivity.
Practical benefits
HDBase represents clear immediate benefits for installers and integrators around the world. The technology revolutionized what was once a multi-hour process, both before and during any installation, given the complexity of the existing infrastructure. By examining the challenges that these professionals had to face in their daily activities, the HDBaseT emerges as the solution to many of their problems:
Distance: Before the advent of HDBaseT, installers had a limit on the distance at which they could locate source and target devices, unless they used the very expensive optical fiber. The HDBaseT can be used at a distance of up to 100 m with a single jump and up to 800 m with eight jumps.
Functions: The 5Play feature group expanded the possible content that could be offered, without increasing complexity or costs. In fact, power over HDBaseT (POH, a variant of PoE, power over Ethernet) is another benefit of the technology, as it eliminates the need for a separate power supply.
Elegance: The HDBaseT uses a single cable, eliminating tangles and clutter, and/or the complications of having to hide bundles of cables from view.
Quality: The fundamental purpose of HDBaseT is the transmission of super high definition video without compression (up to 4K), with low latency and without electromagnetic interference that compromises the quality.
Simplicity: The HDBaseT uses standard LAN cables (Cat5e and later). These cables are easy to connect in the field with standard RJ-45 connectors. LAN cables also reduce installation costs and time.
The HDBaseT Alliance
HDBaseT became the de facto industry standard for the professional residential and commercial audiovisual sector, thanks to the work done by the HDBaseT Alliance, since its creation in 2010, which includes LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens.
The Alliance encourages and promotes the adoption of HDBaseT technology as a global standard for high definition and digital connectivity. It currently has more than 100 members, with hundreds of HDBaseT technology products on the market, among others, extenders, arrays, projectors, AV receivers, screens (including 4K) and test equipment.
The HDBaseT is the obvious choice for installations and projects that require high-definition digital transmission over a distance of more than a few meters and at a reasonable price. Without compromising on quality, HDBaseT technology allows installers and end users to save time, money and headaches.
*Micha Risling is the chair of the HDBaseT Alliance's marketing committee.
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