We are back with show 023, this week looking at HDMI extenders:

[mp3]http://media.libsyn.com/media/iandixon/TDL_Custom_20100104_023.mp3[/mp3]

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We start to get back on track with our series on HDMI by diving into HDMI Extenders, one of my favourite topics.  We started the discussion at the end of the last Installment and pick up with the details this time.  We review some of the wiring considerations, which I think are an integral part of a successful HDMI Extender implementation.  Once again, I will use the Honeywell CURxE line for my examples because I think they are a great example of how a product should be designed and I understand the engineering internals fairly well.  I will add, however, that their current implementation still does not support full Deep Color bit depths though.  Keep an eye out in the April time frame for some products that should overcome this limitation.  Also note that I emphasize (once again) using dual CAT-6 cables over CAT-5s, which increases your headroom and reduces the possibilities of DDC corruption by reducing crosstalk, the influence of capacitance, and both the inter and intra pair skew.  It also allows for slightly longer cable runs at a little higher bandwidth.  Your mileage may vary more when using CAT-5 cables.  Even at 200 feet, the mask margin on the eye is better than 14 percent for CAT-6, so 1080P definitely is not a problem at that length.  remember that there really are two functions performed within HDMI.  One is the video itself (and the bandwidth to support the resolutions, etc.) via the TMDS lines.  The other is the handshaking (the Display Data Channel is the main one, with the CEC line being another).  The video transmissions use one of the CAT-6 cables between the units.  The DDC and CEC lines use the other.

Make sure you read the rest of Derek’s post for all the details

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