Happy 1st Anniversary!!!!

Today marks the one year anniversary of our blog.  Here is to another year of great education and commentary from Metra Home Theater Group.  

Education Is Very Important

Education is more important than ever due to the hot button feature everyone is talking about:  High

Dynamic Resolution or HDR for short.  With all the hyperbole about this new technology being thrown around, along with the talk about new cable certifications- one can get confused quickly.  An example of how this confusion can spread happen in our office last week in the form of an email from China.  It read as follows:

“Dear friend,

    Good day. Hope you enjoyed your weekend^_^

Attached is our HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2 100m extender (HDBaseT) quotation to you. Please check for your reference.”

Whoa, wait a minute! HDBaseT has upgraded to HDMI 2.0 and can therefore now support 4k/60, HDR and 4:4:4 color?  Without a clear understanding of HDMI 2.0, 2.0A, 4K and HDR one would think this HDBaseT was something to consider purchasing to use with the new 4K, HDR components because of “HDMI 2.0” listed spec.  This email could cost your business money if you do not fully understand the HDMI 2.0A spec.  HDMI 2.0 (and HDMI 2.0A) has a range of performance capabilities and if a product falls within this range, companies can say it is HDMI 2.0 compliant.   Yet if this product does not support the FULL RANGE of HDMI 2.0A spec, the product will not support 4K/60, HDR and 4:4:4 color.  The specs of this product will tell the full story of just how much of the HDMI 2.0 spec this extender supports.

After reading the header, a laymen’s translation of the above email from China is “Our HDBaseT extenders will support anything that you can throw at it”. Unfortunately this is not the case, HDBaseT will only work with in the older HDMI 1.4 spec, meaning this product will not support the full range of HDMI 2.0 spec up to 18 Gpbs and this full range is important because of HDR. HDR is without question the biggest change to picture quality since the introduction of High Definition. HDR itself is a technique used in imaging to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging techniques, this means that you and your client will see much greater definition in the depth of the picture and its shading.

To validate my comments look at the data listed below that were part of the afore mentioned email, the specs listed is not the full range of HDMI 2.0A you will not see 18 Gbps listed anywhere:

  In conclusion, read the specs when you see HDMI 2.0 on any products to see if you are using the correct products for installations.  If full HDMI 2.0A spec is what you need – make sure that is what you are purchasing.

Have any questions regarding this topic?  Leave a comment.

Construction of a HDMI Cable Part #6: Testing Procedures

If you have made it this far in the series you have seen how important each part of the cable is at least in our option. The real question is, how can this be validated as truth and not just be set aside as the ramblings of a PR/Marketing department?

Let us return for a moment to a contributing factor in what triggered this series, http://www.cnet.com/news/still-more-reasons-why-all-hdmi-cable-are-the-same/ and http://www.cnet.com/news/4k-hdmi-cables-are-nonsense/. The issue here for us is the testing methodology, all that was done to verify the quality of a given cable was (A) borrow a tone generator/scope and sweep/Eye pattern test one channel at a time of the three video channels and (B) plug the cables in between a source and a display. This is not a good or accurate way to test as timing of the 3 channels together is critical and without this concurrent channel testing results will be skewed.

So, how can you know if a cable is worth a damn?  DPL testing that’s how.

In theory, any cable that has the HDMI logo on it has been tested and approved by HDMI LLC.

We all know of course that this is not true (I have seen cables being sold at a price that is lower than the HDMI license fees). As evidence to this just before CEDIA 2015 HDMI LLC announced a new “Premium” certification program.  Apparently the previous “HDMI 1.4 High Speed” certification did not prove to be robust enough of a test to verify and validate the actual bandwidth needed to properly support the HDMI 2.0 feature sets. Also, in the past month was the announcement that “Underwriters Laboratory” was getting into the cable performance testing game.  Now to be fair both of these entities do an acceptable job of high speed video performance testing, unfortunately since each assumes that the bare minimum ATSC test for EDID is good enough neither one push’s the envelope for low speed data.

So “Meh”. Well who can you trust?

For Metra Home Theater Group it is again DPL (Digital Performance Labs), they are recognized as the strictest and most quality consistent testing facility in the AV world. A cable that can show and prove the DPL Seal of Approval is a safe choice for your installation. As mentioned before this could all be a line from marketing but time and many participating companies have proved that DPL knows what they are doing and can be trusted to tell you the truth. If you have any questions about a cable line or length go to http://www.dpllabs.com/ and check on that product. If it is not there ask yourself why.

What does this have to do with cables?

As mentioned in a previous installment of this series, 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”, ongoing testing is required.  DPL does not get these samples from the vendor instead DPL purchases them from dealers and/or distributors to test what is out in the field.  So like “UL” certification DPL has 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.

We hope you enjoyed this blog series – if you have a suggestion on another topic please comment below.

Part 5 of Construction of a HDMI Cable: Termination

In the previous installments of this series, we have discussed everything needed for the best performing HDMI cable and to improve overall performance in a system.  With that being said without the proper termination quality parts will mean nothing and the cable will not provide top performance.

It is very important to control the heat, silver content, quantity and flow of the solder. Less is more in this application and of course “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”.  Extra solder closes the gaps between the connection points and that can/will create its own RF field. To add insult to injury, when it comes to the soldering process ROHS (Federal Lead standards) has mandated that lead be mostly removed from solder for safety reason.  Unfortunately this means that solder most be applied at a higher temperature for it to flow. Higher temps mean a greater chance of thermal damage to any board level components.

What does this have to do with cables?

                                                           

Solder work must be done with the greatest of care and with a very small thermal operating window.   Careful is not cheap and cheap is not careful.

Part 4 of Construction of a HDMI Cable: Silver Content

Now we are starting to get into the more esoteric physics of an HDMI cable. For many years, mainstream analog audio cable manufacturers talked about “Skin Effect” and how higher frequency’s tend to migrate to the surface of a cable and that lower frequencies stayed in the middle.  As it turns out, there is some truth to this statement. Oh, not in the analog audio domain, that is still BS (in our opinion).  However, in the high speed world of HDMI surface silver content and the type of dielectric do play a part in the performance of a HDMI cable.  Now just throwing a thicker cost of silver onto the copper is not the complete answer.   There must be a proper balance. Copper provides a stable high tinsel substrate for the silver plating, this will help the wire to keep its original length and shape which is necessary for the higher bandwidth and speeds (see #1 & #3). 

What does this have to do with cables?

Proper balance between copper and silver is mandatory for consistent performance.

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. 

Get Your HDMI Questions Answered

We pride ourselves on helping to educate our customers and support their business.  It is because of this that we are sponsoring a special webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21 at 2 p.m. EDT featuring Jeff Boccaccio, president of DPL Labs and a columnist of CE Pro's "HDMI Corner". This webinar is free and not intended to sell you on HDMI.  It's designed to help you make the best cabling decisions possible. 

To sign up for the webinar please go here.  Do not miss this opportunity to have all of your questions answered.

Introducing C.I. Scource

In an effort to better engage and inform our customers, Metra Home Theater Group would like to introduce our mascot - C.I. Source ! C.I. Source (appropriately named after the Custom Integrator audience he will serve), is an adorable, approachable, tech-savvy, and slightly frazzled-looking, home theater enthusiast created to provide brand recognition for Metra Home Theater and serve as a tool to educate and provide solutions to our customer base.

To ensure customers fully appreciate our new mascot, we gave C.I. Source a rich history:

C. I. always had a passion for technology dating back to the days of turntables and loudspeakers. While selling Hi-Fi in his college days, C.I. decided to turn his passion into his life’s work. After an illustrious career in the car audio business, he expanded into other areas including home automation. C.I. was right in the middle of the mix when digital came along and changed the home entertainment industry forevermore. Instead of boxes going out the door, customers wanted video and audio in every room, with custom functions ranging from automatic draperies to home monitoring.  This meant new electronics – distribution amplifiers, projectors, switchers –- and it all had to be designed to work seamlessly in the home. C. I. was thrilled to take on this challenge, which would be the first of many as he was faced with wider bandwidths, fascinating new delivery systems and extreme home theater advances. C.I. – who is married to his high school sweetheart, Sandy Tereo aka S.Tereo (now hyphenated Stereo-Source.) They have one son, Di’Gital. C. I. is passionate about making home theater and home automation accessible to all.

Metra Home Theater Group strives to be a problem solving resource for CIs by sharing a wide range of content and actively communicating with our Custom Integrator audience.  By creating C.I. Source, we hope our customers past, present and future will find him an accessible, fun way to get the guidance and support so many crave in setting up and operating their home theater and automation systems exactly to their specifications, needs and wants.

The Confusion Surrounding 4K

Last week, the blog discussed what 4K means to the customer and it caused quite the stir with my CI co-workers.  In an effort to clear things up a little and to add to the controversy of the subject, this post will outline some of the topics discussed in our offices.

Right now, 4K to the CI means confusion. This is because 4K, to most people (consumers), means twice as many pixels horizontally and twice as many pixels vertically to make up the picture on the TV.  4K meant the HD picture quality had to be improved for the consumer wanting bigger and bigger TVs.  Non-4K TVs have a 1080p picture with 1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 pixels vertically.  Since the 4K televisions double both the number of horizontal and vertical pixels, we get: 2 x 1920 = 3840 and 2 x 1080 =2160.  Meaning 3840 x 2160, which equals 4K for the consumer.  This doubling is where the consumer gets the term 4K.  Here is a visual that helps people grasp exactly what that math represents:

However, the term 4K is not interchangeable for both the professional and the consumer version of this technology.  The term “4K” has been pushed on the consumer, but there is a professional 4K, which is totally different. Technically, “4K” is not correct when discussing the professional grade in cinemas and theaters.  The CI using the commercial grade resolution is actually dealing with a picture that is 4096 x 2160 pixels and call this the “real 4K.” This does not sound near as sleek as 4K – I can understand why the marketers wanted to use 4K. It just sounds better, but is confusing the subject.

To distinguish between the two, the Consumer Electronics Association coined the term ULTRA HD, or UHD for short.  For whatever reason, the TV makers stuck with 4K instead. It just sounds better than UHD.  Because it still is confusing to the professional CI to have two terms, things (at least for now) seem to have settled on using the term UHD 4K for consumer TVs.  I guess that is so they can leave room for UHD 8K in the future - which really will make things more confusing.

My question is why couldn’t the /Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) use one term for the consumer (ULTRA HD Anyone) and 4K for the CI?  Like regular gas and premium gas.  I am sure the concept would have caught on and not have confused a soul.

Continuing Education to Build Relationships

On our first post for this blog, we introduced our affiliation with the Installer Institute and the training that it can provide home theater custom integrators. This was not by sheer happenstance. We at Metra Home Theater Group strongly believe in continuing education for our sales staff.  We provide monthly sessions with our entire staff just to touch base and hear what our customers need and are asking for.  In addition, we require all of our sales, product and support people to attend product training, most often on our own time to learn the latest technologies and how it will affect us and our customers.  One of the top reasons to buy from us is that we strive to educate our entire staff so we can pass along this knowledge to you our customer.

One of the ways that we provide continuing education our dealers is thru our “YouTube” video series.  The content ideas for these videos come from our sales people, tech support staff and you the “CI”.  You can see our YouTube channel here.  The playlist titled “How To” is a great collection of videos that were produced with the “CI” in mind (Go here to see this playlist).  Metra Home Theater Group also holds multiple training sessions on the show floor in our booth at the annual CEDIA EXPO. We even include lunch!

It is Metra’s firm belief that building relationship’s and trust with our customer’s is our most important job.