How to convert HD-SDI to HDMI?

Many HD broadcasting cameras are pushing out a HD-SDI signal that needs to be viewed using a HDMI connection on the other end. You'll need a HD-SDI to HDMI convertor, these converters are compliant with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standard of 292M and 296M. These standards support data rates up to 1.485 Gb/s.

Everfocus model number EHA-SRX is capable of receiving HD-SDI digital video signal up to 1920x1080 resolution over 75ohm coax cable. This converter will provide a complete solution for the transmission and display of both interlaced and progressive scan HD-SDI digital video. Yes Everfocus is a security camera manufacture but don't worry, this will work for your broadcasting cameras too!

Let's get a look at it from our YouTube Channel



Features:

* Accepts HD-SDI digital video at 720p/60, 1080i/60 and 1080p/30 formats/frame rates

* Processes HD-SDI standard SMPTE 292M and 296M at 1.4585 Gb/s data rate

* Provides standard HDMI output for HD TV monitor display

* Integrated cable equalizer for long distance video transmission without loss of quality

* Capable of receiving HD-CCTV digital video over 75ohm coax cable at distanced over 100 Meters

* High quality digital video and audio transmission with zero latency

Now let's dig into the cable transmission. The EHA-SRX allows a total signal attenuation of up to 43.56 dB along the cable between devices. The actual maximum cable length depends on the attenuation characteristic of the particular cable being used. So if you have a long coax run make sure you have a kick ass quality cable so you have a lower signal attenuation.

I feel like I nailed this blog post, reminded myself of Kirk Lazarus from Tropic Thunder "I don't read the scrip, the scrip reads me."

"By Mercy Salinas"

How to Test an HDMI Cable?

Recently we had a contractor customer ask us, "What do you have for testing HDMI cables?" I then asked if he was making his own and if so I have a tester in mind but he had a couple of concerns. The first was that the end user provided the cable and wanted to make sure the cable worked properly since if there was a problem the customer may point the finger to him and not the cable. Second being that the cable was going to be pulled through a conduit and he wanted to make sure that the connectors were not damaged during the pull.

We recommended the Greenlee Data Shark HDMI Cable Tester.



The Greenlee DataShark HDMI cable tester can test for proper continuity before installation. Also a great diagnostic tool for checking cables already installed. The 1 piece design splits into 2 pieces a transmitter and receiver. The 9 LED readout is easy and very fast to read.

The contractor checked it out and for the price, it was well worth putting another tester into his collection.



"By Mercy Salinas"

HDMI Mini vs HDMI Micro

So what's the difference between the HDMI mini connector and HDMI micro connector? Let's look at some of the specs.

HDMI Mini Connector:

- Type C HDMI
- 10.42 mm × 2.42 mm
- Defined in the HDMI 1.3 specification
- 19-pin configuration

HDMI Micro Connector:

- Type D HDMI
- 6.4mm x 2.8 mm
- Defined in the HDMI 1.4 specification
- 19-pin configuration

As you can see, they both employ the 19-pin configuration, but the Mini HDMI (Type C) is different because all positive signals of the differential pairs are swapped with their corresponding shield, the DDC/CEC Ground is assigned to pin 13 instead of pin 17, the CEC is assigned to pin 14 instead of pin 13, and the reserved pin is 17 instead of pin 14. The Micro (Type D) uses the same pin configuration as the standard HDMI (Type A).

Mini HDMI (Type C) to Standard HDMI (Type A) cables are generally used for connecting your HD camcorder to your HDTV.

Micro HDMI (Type D) to Standard HDMI (Type A) cables are used for connecting smart phones like the Motorola Droid X and Sprint HTC Evo to HDTVs.

Video shows the Motorola Droid X getting hooked up to an HDTV via the HDMI Micro cable:

Common HDMI Cable Terms for your TV cable

Common HDMI Terms:

First things first, what is HDMI?
HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first and only industry supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI delivers a crystal clear, all-digital audio and video signal through a single cable, greatly simplifying the cabling process and provides a high quality home theater experience. An HDMI cable provides an interface between any audio/video source (DVD player, DVR, Gaming console) and an audio and/or video monitor (Television, PC).

What are "Gold Plated" connectors?
Gold plating refers to the connectors. Most HDMI connectors nowadays have gold plated, corrosion resistant connectors. The main purpose is to reduce corrosion that would impede signal transfer.

What's the difference between HDMI and DVI?
HDMI and DVI are the exact same as one another, image-quality-wise. The principal differences being that HDMI carries audio and uses a different type of connector. HDMI can be a big advantage since your only running 1 wire, making your installation easier and with less clutter. I personally prefer to work with the HDMI cables as well, since the connector is smaller and easier to work with. Here you can see the size difference:

What is AWG?
AWG (American Wire Gauge) is a standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 for the diameter of wire. The lower the number, the larger the size of the cable. For example, a 22awg wire is significantly larger than a 28awg wire.

What size AWG should I use?
As a general rule of thumb, HDMI cables 15ft or less can use a 28awg wire, while anything longer than that would benefit from a 22 or 24 awg wire. That will insure you don't have any signal loss.

What are Ferrite Cores and what do they do?
Ferrite cores are are a barrel shaped device (see picture below) that assists in signal transfer and help eliminate interference.

1080i vs 1080p
1080 refers to the vertical lines of resolution (1920 x 1080). Both 1080i and 1080p have 1,080 lines of resolution, but the way the picture gets conveyed onto the screen is different. 1080i conveys the images in an interlaced format. As the picture is being "painted" on the screen, the odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines--all within 1/30 of a second. 1080p conveys all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially when watching sports and other motion-intensive content.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the carrying capacity of a data. High-bandwidth connections are also known as high-speed connections, because they can transmit large quantities of data very quickly. HDMI has extremely high bandwidth capacity: up to 10.2 gigabits per second.

Component Cable
Component video cables are commonly referred to as R, G, B (red, green, blue) and consists of 3 separate cables (usually connected together) that distribute the 3 primary color components to the display.

Compression
Technologies designed to increase the carrying capacity of a data connection by compacting the data stream at one end and re-expanding it at the other end. One of the advantages of HDMI over other connection technologies is its enormous carrying capacity, which makes compression unnecessary.

Deep Color
The expanded bandwidth of HDMI 1.3 is allowing manufacturers to design displays with much greater Color Depth. These new “Deep Color” monitors will be capable of rendering many more distinct hues than current displays – up to trillions of colors rather than thousands or millions.

DTV
Digital televisions, the successor technology to analog TV, are televisions capable of receiveing a ditigal terrestrial or cable broadcast signal.

HD
HD (High Definition) is usually used to describe any device capable of generating or displaying a signal with a resolution of at least 720 vertical lines.


HDCP
HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a form of digital copy protection, developed by Intel to prevent copyrighted audiovisual content.

HD-DVD
High-definition DVD, one of two potential successor technologies to the DVD. A high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of high-definition video. HDMI is the interconnect standard for HD-DVD players.

HDMI Repeater
An HDMI repeater is a device that both receives and sends HDMI signals, such as an AV receiver. A/V receivers are considered HDMI repeaters.

HDMI Source
HDMI source refers to a device that sends an HDMI signal. Examples would be a DVD player or Set-top box.

HDMI Version 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4?
HDMI devices are manufactured to adhere to various versions of the specification, in which each version is given a number. Each subsequent version of the specification is backward-compatible and uses the same kind of cable but increases the bandwidth and/or capabilities of what can be transmitted over the cable. A product listed as having an HDMI version does not necessarily mean that it will have all of the features that are listed for that version, since some HDMI features are optional, such as Deep Color and xvYCC.


HDTV
An HDTV (High Definition Television) is a TV capable of displaying a 720p signal or better.


Mini HDMI Connector
A miniature HDMI connector, introduced in HDMI 1.3, designed for use in mobile and hand held products where space is at a premium. The Mini HDMI Connector is pin-for-pin compatible with the larger Standard HDMI Connector and completely compatible as well. The Mini HDMI Connector is referred to as the Type C Connector in the HDMI specification.

MPEG
MPEG is part of a family of audio/video codecs developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group. The majority of TV content, including cable, broadcast, and satellite, is currently transmitted in the MPEG-2 format. HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc players, along with some recently launched satellites, rely on the newer and more powerful MPEG-4 format.

NTSC
The legacy analog television broadcast system used in the US, being replaced by the ATSC digital system.

Refresh Rate
The frequency with which a video image is refreshed, expressed as either frames per second (i.e. 60 fps) or as an equivalent frequency (i.e. 60 Hz). Faster refresh rates tend to render smoother motion sequences. Refresh rates for broadcast TV vary by region – for example, European HD systems run at 50 Hz.

Set-top Box
A device for decoding incoming AV signals, such as programs from a cable or satellite TV network. Many models also include DVR (digital video recorder) technology. Virtually all STBs now rely on HDMI output.


YCbCr Color
A family of color spaces, used in some HD applications, where color is expressed using a luma component plus red and blue chroma components, rather than by describing absolute color values, as in the RGB color model. Also known as YPbPr color. 

 Now you know it all and where to get your HDMI cables from.

Thanks!

"By Mercy Salinas"

HDMI Cables - Featured Product of the Week

Discount Low Voltage certified High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable is the latest generation in audio/video connectivity. HDMI is the first and only industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. These version 1.3 cables can be used with HDTV's, DVR's, DVD players and gaming consoles.

What is Version 1.3?

- Higher speed: Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p signals, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.

- Deep Color: HDMI 1.3 supports 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 8-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.

- Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 adds support for “x.v.Color™” (which is the consumer name describing the IEC 61966-2-4 xvYCC color standard), which removes current color space limitations and enables the display of any color viewable by the human eye.

- New HD lossless audio formats: In addition to HDMI’s current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby® Digital and DTS®), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new lossless compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™.

- Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates automatic audio synching capabilities that allow devices to perform this synchronization automatically with total accuracy.

- New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.

- Why buy your HDMI Cables from Discount Low Voltage.com? That's simple. Because your getting the same thing you would find on the shelves of Best Buy for a fraction of the price. Don't be fooled into thinking you have to buy a $50 HDMI Cable to get High Definition. We Guarantee our cables to work just as good or your money back.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

If your not completely satisfied with our HDMI cables, you can return it to us for a full refund of the product price - no questions asked.




















Click the following link for our complete stock list of HDMI cables.

Through our many manufacturer contacts we have access to other types of audio and video cables that are not listed on this website. There are too many part numbers to list, but we can get you almost any type of HDMI, DVI, component video, audio cable, digital coaxial cable, toslink audio cable, and other types of RCA audio and video cables.

For more information and pricing on any of these, email us at sales@discount-low-voltage.com

When you order this and other items from Discount-Low-Voltage.com, you're benefiting from our combined 20+ years of vendor relationships, so you will be rewarded with great pricing and service on high quality products.