What is HDBaseT?

The HDBaseT Alliance's recent announcement of its 1.0 spec release is a good time to take a closer look at this latest technology aimed at easing the pain of whole-home HD video distribution.Like many new technologies, HDBaseT is based on the work of a key technology provider. In this case, that company is Valens Semiconductor, a private Israeli company.The tech principals have heavy DSP and Ethernet PHY backgrounds and worked together at Gigabit Ethernet PHY maker Mysticom, which was acquired by TranSwitch back in late 2005.Valens calls its technology 5Play (video, audio, Internet, power, control), which has been baked into its VS100 chipset. VS100 includes VS100TX and VS100RX transmit and receive devices, shown in Figure 1 playing their part in an HD source - display application.Figure 1: Valens VS100 system block diagramSetting aside the futures-selling of Gigabit Ethernet and 20 Gbps video bandwidth, the current transmit chip is spec'd to support "Uncompressed high definition (HD) video: 1080p@60Hz@48 bits, 3D, 4K x 2K", "high-quality" audio and 100Mbps Ethernet. Valens doesn't define "high quality" for its audio support, but there is no mention of Dolby or multi-channel support. So you may just be getting "high-quality" analog stereo. Have no fear for the security of your HD video stream, however. Because the HDMI and HDBaseT signals are HDCP compliant.Understanding how HDBaseT and 100 Mbps Ethernet play together took a little sorting out.. But it appears that a single HDBaseT connection can handle full-duplex 100 BaseT along with video, audio, control and power. But you need to run a separate cable back your LAN's switch to bring Ethernet to the HDBaseT device, where it is joined with the other HDBaseT signals.

Figure 2: 5play evaluation boardYou can't, however, run the HDBaseT signal itself through a standard LAN switch. That signal must run point to point, through cabled connections only. If you want to connect multiple HDBaseT devices together, that requires an "HDBaseT switch", as shown in Figure 3, grabbed from Valens' demo video.Figure 3: Connecting multiple HDBaseT devices requires an HDBaseT switchThe "up to 100W" of device power appears to be handled via Power over Ethernet. But even PoE+ (802.3at) supports only 25W per port. So the 100W support will have to be using non-standard PoE.HDBaseT isn't the only technology aiming to obsolete HDMI. Both DiiVA and DisplayPort are gunning for the same market, as shown in the HDBaseT Alliance spec comparison chart (Figure 4).

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/tags/hdbaset/?task=view

But I just bought HDMI?!?!?!HDBaseT 1.0 is a newly-announced hardware standard for connecting audio/visual devices like televisions, stereo receivers, Blu-ray players, computers, etc…. Similar to an HDMI cable, it is able to transmit fully uncompressed digital HD video and audio, but it does so over traditional cat5/6 ethernet cables with the usual RJ-45 connectors. It will not, however, allow you to use standard ethernet switching equipment as this functionality will be replaced with new A/V receivers. Sounds fine thus far, right? No more expensive, proprietary HDMI hubs to split signals. No more expensive cables that I’ll have to replace in a few years time. Good ol’ ethernet will carry the signals just fine.The snag is that many consumers have just finished converting their system to HDMI cables and may be unwilling to replace their hardware for the sake of a new connection standard. And while the majority of consumers will have no need for HDBaseT, I’m sure that won’t be the line from the industry over the coming years. Alongside the recent push for HDMI v1.4 and 3D technologies, I worry that consumers may not understand this fact and will see an industry hell-bent on proprietary standards and forcing consumers to upgrade. We just finished up with Blu-ray v. HD-DVD, can these guys just take a break? Its clear the industry has realized that establishing proprietary standards is their best hope for continuously increasing profits up. I hope this post can counter some of that sentiment on consumers’ behalf. Though, let me make it clear I remain skeptical and annoyed by the whole 3D push in general.The simple fact is, those who stand to benefit the most from HDBaseT are commercial installers of networked or “smart” homes (as well as the homeowners) and commercial applications of networked A/V systems.

What is exceptional about HDBaseT is that is can run over existing cat5/6 ethernet wiring. Any home with a pre-installed ethernet network is immediately wired to distribute HD audio and video throughout the house. Furthermore, for those doing the installation work, all cabling can be done on-site and to their specific needs. Before, if my installation needed an odd length of cable, HDMI cables would need to be created offsite and then brought to the worksite. Additionally, HDMI has never performed well over runs of 50 ft.+. This is why some custom systems do already run HD audio and video via ethernet on proprietary (and expensive) networks. This standard is a needed so that multiple companies can ensure their gear will communicate with that from other companies. All of this will add up to huge cost-savings. As an additional benefit, the cables are built to carry electricity, HD video, audio (some details like which HD audio formats are currently foggy), AND 100Mbps internet connectivity.But, aren’t all standards eventually about increased costs for consumers?

http://jlrussell.org/2010/07/

 

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