Valens updated HDbaseT by announcing the Colligo HDBaseT family of chips at ISE recently. They now support native USB 2.0, HD audio, transmission of 4K video over Cat-5/6 cables up to 100m in length, and add single- and multi-mode fiber transport over distances up to 10km.
Not a bad spot to ask whether HDbaseT is becoming a defacto standard in AV wiring systems.
The answer is yes, and no.
Many would say yes, as more display and transport manufacturers, like early adopter Hall Research and RGB Spectrum are adding HDbaseT as native inputs and outputs to their equipment. Major driver: HDMI poops out at 30′ or less over copper. Not to mention that the video portion of AVB isn’t near finished.
Others would say no, pointing to the idea that AV over networks will eventually displace an inherently point-to-point technology. How many years before that happens? Depends on what the IEEE AVB Bridging Task Group does in the next year. Now I got excited when they renamed the group the Time-Sensitive Networking Task Group, but unfortunately the only thing that is moving faster is data, not the task group. So we wait…
So how will HDbaseT fare in the near future?
We can expect that prices will come down as adoption rises. This can only make it a more stable and familiar technology within the existing integrator community.
One major caveat: new economy oriented manufacturers will be entering the HDbaseT market, and with lower priced manufacturing comes lower quality. HDbaseT is still a complex product to produce, and Valens has established very specific guidelines for it’s manufacture. Not all will conform.
Typical problems that may crop up in lower cost versions of what is still a high tech product? There are a few:
Heat related problems, as the chipset puts off a good amount.
Sub standard PoE.
Not all links will adhere to the 5 play standard.
4K transmission over CATx cables may be much more sensitive to install variables than typical 2k.
Note that these can all cause intermittent problems during installation and operation, which are the bane of integrators.
Finally, HDMI resolutions between 1080p/60 and 4K by 2K/30 are not covered at all. What will integrators do for 2560×1440, 2560×1600, or similar? Back to the toolbox, where Display Port, bridges, adapters and converters await.
Conclusion: good quality HDbaseT equipment produced by known manufacturers has proven reliable and cost effective and will continue to be so. The good news is that the new generation of HDbaseT has definitely raised the bar when it comes to implementing point to point AV over CATx cabling.