At CEDIA 2015, it’s all about 4K. Everything. HDBaseT 4K solutions. IP-based 4K solutions. “Pure” HDMI 4K. 4K Headquarters. 4K test kits and signal managers. 4K extenders. Even 4K footwear, which our sales reps will be sporting thanks to help from Nike! “What the 4K is going on?” you might be thinking.
Well ahead of CEDIA 2015, we’ve put down our thoughts on the current options for residential distribution of 4K UHD content and have suggested why you should drop by and talk to us (Just Add Power at Booth #6423).
There’s an especially good reason to stop by if you’ve previously had thoughts like “Just Add Power… they don’t do 4K so I won’t bother” or better still “Just Add Power, aren’t they just the video wall guys?” In short, no to both questions. At CEDIA 2015 we are entering the 4K war-zone and putting our best 4K sneaker-clad foot forward to officially launch 3G Ultra HD over IP; Just Add Power’s solution for sending 4K 4:2:0 / UHD content with HDCP 2.2 from HDMI 2.0 devices, as well as Full HD 1080p and lower content from HDMI 1.x devices, to multiple displays (HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 1.x) throughout a home – all over a gigabit managed network using standard Cat5e / 6 cabling (or fiber optic if desired).
4K distribution products at CEDIA 2015
You might notice some products at CEDIA 2015 that are advertised, but not necessarily shipping any time soon, with claims to be supporting 4K@60Hz 4:4:4. Those products are mainly using purely HDMI cabling as a rather flimsy backbone. This means you will struggle to take this theoretically “pure” full-bandwidth 4K 18GBPS signal very far at all. If each screen needs to be located a maximum distance of 5m / 16 ft from the matrix to get 4K@60Hz 4:4:4, then call us sceptical but there are very few video distribution jobs this type of system will suit! If your shiny 4K matrix can’t even push a signal to the other side of the living room, much less the far end of the estate, then it’s not of much practical use as a whole-home multi-zone 4K video distribution system.
On the other hand all of the HDBaseT 2.0 systems support a maximum source resolution of 4K@60hz 4:2:0 from HDMI 2.0 devices. In terms of functionality, however, you can do far more with a 4K signal using Just Add Power’s 3G Ultra HD over IP products, which feature our every-growing More-Play™ feature set, than you can ever hope to do if you choose a fixed format and fixed function HDBaseT 2.0 product from the plethora of manufacturers that have bought into this self-proclaimed standard.
The reality is that with an HDBaseT 2.0 product you are currently going to have to replace every HDMI 1.4 or earlier display in your clients’ homes, or spend extra cash purchasing additional signal management boxes in order to make multiple HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 1.4 source accessible on every screen. If you go the signal management route then this means another box stuck in behind each display location that you’ve got to work your hardest to hide away and make look inconspicuous… hardly ideal. Plus with an HDBaseT 2.0 matrix you are always going to be limited to having a fixed number of inputs and outputs, and a fixed function, be it their full 5Play™ version, or one of the even less functional versions. Even with HDBaseT products that claim to offer a modular architecture you are still very much forced to invest in a product with a predetermined maximum capacity of 8×8, 16×16 and so on.
It is also worth noting that the new HDBaseT 2.0 standard has been documented as not being viable to handle the full HDMI 2.0 specification without developing another chip (reference http://www.cepro.com/article/handling_4k_distribution_using_hdbaset_2_0/). If HDBaseT manufacturer history has taught us one thing, that will likely mean once again having to discard everything the HDBaseT customer has in place to realize the benefits of the new chipset standard. Just ask anybody who installed a so called “Already 4K” system in 2014, or any other HDBaseT 1.x system, how much fun that is.
On the other hand, we believe it is viable to deliver an HD over IP system in the future with support for things like 4K 2:2:2 over the same GB Ethernet architecture we have been promoting since HD over IP came into prominence in 2010. We’d encourage you to ask any Just Add Power owner how it feels to know that they can now plug a few of our new 3G devices into the exact same GB Ethernet switching system they may have bought long before HDMI 2.0 was announced, allowing them to easily upgrade their existing system to support the latest and greatest 4K UHD content, with an optional bridge to backwards compatibility. If/when HDMI 2.0 4:4:4 content comes to market, our plan is to develop a “pure” 4K IP-based solution that reflects our proven 20+ year history of evolutionary design and will protect as much as possible the customer’s prior Just Add Power investment.
So why drop by and look at 3G Ultra HD over IP?
At CEDIA 2015, booth #6423, Just Add Power will be demonstrating an immediately available, full function, practical solution for the distribution of 4K signals throughout a home, built to handle all of the 4K consumer content either currently available, or on the foreseeable horizon (i.e. things like the new 4K Blu-Ray players promised to be here for Christmas). Installers need a way RIGHT NOW to make content from a mixture of HDMI 2.0 and 1.x devices accessible in any combination on multiple screens throughout an entire home, regardless of the resolution of the individual screens. The now-shipping 3G Ultra HD over IP Transmitters and Receivers provide the fast, easy, and affordable way to achieve this.
The 3G Ultra HD over IP solution provides one platform for the matrixing of networked HDMI 2.0 and 1.4 devices, with no additional signal hardware boxes, no short-length HDMI runs, and no mandatory upgrade to fiber optic cabling or expensive 10 GB switches. All that is needed to make a UHD-capable HDMI video matrix of any size that has whatever combination of inputs and outputs you need, is one 3G Transmitter per HDMI 2.0 or 1.x device, one 3G Receiver per HDMI 2.0 or 1.x display, a compatible model of Gigabit managed switch and practically any control system- from a simple cloud-based solution like On Controls to the latest and greatest full featured home automation solution from the likes of AMX, Control4, Crestron, Elan, RTI, Savant, URC etc.
At the core of all this is the 3G Ultra HD over IP solution’s incredible 4K-scaling capabilities (provided by the built-in 4K up/down scaler on the Receiver), which gives your clients the freedom to Watch Everything Everywhere™. Watch 4K / HDCP 2.2 content on a 4K-capable HDMI 2.0 display, 2160p downscaled to 1080p on a HDMI 1.x display, 1080p content upscaled to 2160p for a 4K-capable screen and so on. All content is available on every display, whatever its resolution and HDCP version. This is on top of the many other More-Play™ features like optional Dolby downmixing from 5.1 for stereo zones, plus the ability to integrate video walls in both portrait and landscape modes up to 16 x 16 screens over the network. You will not find another 4K-capable video distribution product at CEDIA 2015 that gives you the same flexibility, scalability and comprehensive feature set as Just Add Power’s 3G Ultra HD over IP products.
Visit us on Booth #6423 at CEDIA ‘15 to see a live demo
If you have not seen Just Add Power’s IP-based Ultra HD range of transmitters and receivers with More-Play™ feature set, here is a lengthy of list of what they can do!
*Build any size of network of HDMI devices, with video matrixing applications possible from as small 2×2 to as big as 4000 x 65000.
* 2160P UltraHD resolutions and HDMI 2.0 devices with HDCP 2.2 supported
* Full HD and lower resolutions and HDMI 1.4 and lower devices also supported.
* All 3D video formats supported
* Instant Seamless switching between ANY resolution HDMI source (2160, 1080, 720, 576, 480, interlaced or progressive)
* Mix and match legacy HD monitors with new HDMI 2.0 monitors in the same network thanks to seamless HDCP conversion
* Supports PCM 2.0 Audio
* Supports Standard Multichannel Audio
* Dolby down-mixing from 5.1- 5.1 Audio can optionally be converted to Dolby PLII and output as stereo 2.0 in individual zones.
* Improved Interlaced Video format support – now lossless
* Built-in video wall support from 2×2 to 16×16 in size-now with support for portrait and flipped displays.
* Stereo Audio Extractor with Programmable Delay on TX and RX
* Controllable Analog Audio with Ground Loop Isolator
* MIC-IN and LINE-IN ports on Transmitter (mix w/HDMI)
* Independent RS232 Matrix on LAN
* Real-Time Management Console Interface
* Two-Way or One-Way CEC over IP Communications
* IR over IP
* USB 2.0 over IP Supported for KVM applications
* HTTP Interface with Unique Device Name support
* On Screen Display API
* Image Pop – overlay a full color image/logo on top of the HDMI signal with alpha channel transparency.
* Image Push – upload a background image
* Image Pull – Live Preview snapshot of video from any RX or TX to any web device Lan or Wan
* Image Pause – freeze frame on target displays
*Works with the same Control System Drivers, Ethernet Switches, and Integrator Tools as Just Add Power’s 2G/2G+/2G+AVPro products.
