Inside HDBaseT Technology: A Better HDMI Extender
By Derek Flickinger
HDBaseT delivers 4K x 2K video, audio, control, Ethernet and up to 100 watts of power over a single Cat 5 cable up to 100 meters ... without degrading the signal. How'd they do that?

If it is implemented on a large scale, HDBaseT could be an exciting development in whole-house multimedia distribution -- enabling video resolutions (4k x 2K), distances (100+ meters) and extra features (100 watts of power) that we've never seen over a single Cat 5 cable.

The technology originally was developed by Valens Semiconductor and marketed under the 5Play brand. Now the official HDBaseT 1.0 spec has been ratified by the six-month-old HDBaseT Alliance formed by Valens, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and Sony Pictures Entertainment.



Contrary to overzealous reports, HDBaseT is not a replacement for HDMI -- and will not be a replacement anytime soon.

In fact, the technology is simply an enhancement to HDMI. It still requires an HDMI chipset at both the transmitting (source) and receiving (display) ends – just like any other HDMI-over-Cat 5 solution.

In any case, “We’re not trying to be an HDMI extender,” says Micha Risling, VP of sales and marketing for Valens Semiconductor and spokesperson for the HDBaseT Alliance. “It’s only one segment that we’re after simply because we can. But we’re trying to introduce much, much more than that.”

In the HDBaseT universe, video, audio and related data signals are processed by the HDMI chip as usual, and HDBaseT takes it from there.

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