Why You Need Our HDM-GA1

In previous posts, we discussed our HDM-GA1 and the three awards it won during CEDIA 2015 in Dallas.  Awards are great but if our customers do not understand WHY this product is winning awards, then Metra Home is not educating our customers.  Education is key to staying on top of the CI game and here at Metra Home we want to be the go-to resource for CI questions. 

We made our name in the early days of HDMI by providing the first “Made in America” long distance HDMI cable solution, and we have continued to develop and refine these capability with our latest (and still) “Made in America” extender the HDM-GA1.

4K and HDR are real, products will be shipping this Christmas and in the hands of your clients by the first of the year. How will this affect you and more importantly how do you plan your installs to accommodate this expanded bandwidth requirement? 

Well… if your jobs are based around category cable extenders or current Redmere enabled cables, you will be in a world of hurt as neither of these technologies truly support 4K/60 4:4:4 or HDR content.  If instead you use the older style passive HDMI cables (up to 15 meters in length) you can take your jobs forward and include ANY capability that HDMI 2.0A by using our HDM-GA1.

The HDM-GA1 allows the installer to utilize existing in-wall passive HDMI cables up to 15 meters in length to upgrade and support the full 4K/60, 4:4:4, HDR signal soon to be available in many video products.  We know that there are a lot of systems already installed in the real world that have quality passive HDMI cables in them and we also know that as an integrator you must build into the job the best possible avenue for future technology expansion.  Again the HDM-GA1 is the solution, why beat your head against the wall with worry about will a given format support what is coming when we already have the answer.

Here is what the HDM-GA1 will do for you.

1: It will take an existing passive HDMI cable up to 15 meters in length and allow it to support every single option that HDMI 2.0A can provide. That means 4/60, 4:4:4 Color, 3D, all available Multi-Channel Audio Codecs and (most importantly) High Dynamic Resolution [HDR].

2: When (not if) technology exceeds the HDMI 2.0A bandwidth all that you will need to do is replace the HDM-GA1 with the newer, higher bandwidth model.

3: My favorite, “ESD” damage, if you have an active that becomes damaged by “ESD” (electro static discharge) you can just write it off, there is no way to repair this damage and you must replace the cable. However if you are using a passive cable with our HDM-GA1, when this type of damage occurs you need only replace the HSM-GA1 and leave the cable alone.

An easy 4K/HDR upgrade solution.  It. Just. Works.

CEDIA 2015 Wrap Up

In the craziness of returning from Dallas last week - this post was not posted on the blog.  We apologize.  

Whew!  What a whirlwind CEDIA 2105 was in Dallas.  It was the best show Metra Home has had to date and it is largely due to the combination of great products and staff.  Seriously, our staff is the hardest working staff I know and no other company can touch our products.  My co-workers are a great group of people.  As I sat in the front desk during the show, I overheard things being said by staff and attendees and I made up a list:

• ·         WOW nice booth!
• ·         My feet hurt.
• ·         Don’t lean on the front desk.
• ·         Who left coffee on the front desk
• ·         Where is my coffee?
• ·         My feet hurt.
• ·         You sure that is the correct price?
• ·         Are you seriously taking an order on a trashcan?
• ·         I have not eaten all day
• ·         My feet hurt.

I also heard from Attendees the phrase “That’s a problem solver right there” after they saw the demo of the M3B.  This could explain why this product is flying out of the warehouse.  Good problem to have from where I am sitting.  The HDM-GA1 was awarded three awards

 and our first run is all sold out.

The show never slowed down for us and even though we are home – the pace has continued.  Here’s to hoping CES is just a wonderful show.

Part 3 of Construction of a HDMI Cable: Bandwidth and Speed

Bandwidth and Speed are very important when discussing the construction of a HDMI cable.  One has to have a general understanding of how these two words pertain to cables as well as how they play into the cables functional capability.  Bandwidth and Speed are a very difficult and confusing concept for most people to grasp.

What is Bandwidth?  What is speed? 

Although bandwidth and speed have much in common, they are different and are frequently and incorrectly used by both consumers and the manufacturers to express the same thought. 

·         Bandwidth refers to how much data can pass thru a device at the same point and time. 

·         Speed refers to how quickly a device can create the data. 

For example, when discussing the differences in bandwidth needed to produce a 1080P picture (5 Gbps by Spec) and a 4K/60, 4:2:0 picture (9.2 Gbps +/-) what we are really comparing is the width of the high-way and the number of available traffic lanes.  Think of it this way: You send a 100 vehicle convoy between two cities down a 2 lane road at 60 miles an hour, this will give you 2 columns 50 trucks deep. The last truck in line will not arrive at the same time as the first. Now we increase the road to 10 lanes across and we are only 10 trucks deep closing the time gap.  In widening the road, the trucks can now go faster and vehicle speed increases to 120 mph.  A 10 to 1 increase in traffic flow is the result.

The trucks become data and you get our point – wider bandwidth increases the speed of the data in a HDMI cable.

What does this have to do with cables and why is this part of our series?

How fast a HDMI cable sends data is one of the most important facts of a cable and in our opinion must be a part of this series.  There is not one physical part of a cable that increases bandwidth and speed.  Wire gauge and consistency of the twist ratio determine both speed and bandwidth. Better quality product equals better data transfer.  A cable must be well built to be able to produce wider bandwidths and increasing speed. DPL certification on HDMI cables is a good way to know if the cable will provide the best bandwidth and speed. 

DPL certification is neither quick nor cheap. First it takes a while to design and build a cable that meets the DPL standards. Second in order for DPL to maintain “Truth in testing” on going testing is required and DPL does not get this samples from the vendor they come from dealers or distribution, so like “UL” certification there is a yearly fee to keep you (the vendor) up to date.

For the dealer, this is a fantastic resource as well as a great and timely report of what is tested and real.

Part 2 of Construction of a HDMI Cable: Shielding

The second part of this blog series we are discussing the two types of shielding and why they are important.  The two types of shielding that a HDIMI cable should have to provide the best protection are braid and foil.  

A braid shield keeps outside noise from interfering with your HDMI cable by cutting down the 110/60Hz interference.  If outside RF/EMI noise penetrates the HDMI cable it can cause all sorts of havoc. Since pretty much everyone has had some experience with HDMI Cat/x Extender failure due to high voltage switched devices (lights, motors, etc.) cause a short term dropout of the HDMI signal, there is an understanding of this issue.   

Foil shield reduces the high frequency interference and keeps the noise within the cable.  A foil shield also protects components from damage caused by spurious HDMI noise from running amok in your system like a gremlin.   Foil shielding around the TMDS feeds of a HDMI cable also keeps the noise from causing problems with infra-red components and RF control systems.

Here is a cutaway to demonstrate where the shielding is in our Velox cables:

What does this have to do with cables?  Better materials and more coverage within the shielding protects all of the system components and promotes a higher level of performance.

Next week we will discuss bandwidth and speed.  Comment below if you have any questions regarding this blog series so far.  We will do our best to answer you ASAP. 

Why You Need to Visit Our CEDIA Booth 4942

New Videos Are Posted

We are gearing up for CEDIA 2015 in Dallas  and this process includes shooting informational videos.  The first batch of videos are up and ready for viewing.  

Here are the new videos:

HDBaseT and 4K

How to Avoid Thermal Issues

HDCP 2.2 Explained

To go directly to our You Tube channel click here.  We appreciate feedback– so feel free to post a comment or suggest a video topic.  If you are attending CEDIA 2015 in Dallas, put booth # 4942 on your agenda.  We have some exciting products debuting this year.

Top Five Products and the Problems They Solve

Lists are always popular on blogs but lists can also be boring.  This list is informative and important, just like our staff!  Please leave comments and let us know if you agree. 

1.       HDM-DAD

What it does – verifies that all the EDID signals have the necessary integrity.

Problems Solved – Provides analysis of the Low Speed Data Stream which includes the 5 volt feed from the source to the display, the Hot Plug Detect return voltage from the display to the course, the Data line and Clock feed. The LED display lights on the top of the case indicate the status of these EDID components. If there are issues with any of these feed the DAD will repair them.

2.       HDM-JR

What it does – Less expensive EDID repair tool to leave at the job site to solve all the same issues of

the HDM-DAD.

Problems Solved - Audio drop outs, long sync times between sources, “HDCP not supported” issues on your display screen, “Mode not supported” on your display screen, “Mode out of range” on your display screen, black screen on your display and Picture and Sound drop out for a few seconds and then returns are all solved by this product.  The HDM-VI2 is fully HDMI 2.0, 18 Gbps compatible meaning this product will fulfill your needs of today and into the future.

3.      

HDM-VI2

What it does – repairs some common HDMI problems.

Problems Solved – It fixes the 5 Volt and Hot Plug supply failures; resolves the common problem of the Display returning its Hot Plug Detect signal before the AVR (or Matrix) is prepared to hear it.

The HDM-VI2 is fully HDMI 2.0, 18 Gbps compatible meaning this product will fulfill your needs of today and into the future.

4.      

HDMI SP2

What is does – help reduce the chance of your HDMI electronics being damaged by Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) spikes up to 8000 Volts.

Problems Solved – act as the final defense against ESD damage to your devices. The HDM-VI2 is fully HDMI 2.0, 18 Gbps compatible meaning this product will fulfill your needs of today and into the future.

5.       CS-DAC

What it does – Takes the 2 channel (PCM) data stream from the digital source and converts it to the analog RCA format for the distribution system.

Problem solved – Connecting sources without analog audio outputs to house audio systems. 

This and other products can be found here. 

Our Annual Lunch and Learn Event

Space is limited so reserve your chair and complementary lunch today.  Click here to reserve your seat.

This is a very well attended event and there will be limited standing room.