Increasing Burden on AV Infrastructure Calls for Better Bandwidth

Engstrom adds that one thing to keep in mind pertaining to RF is that certain content may not be subject to the intellectual property right protection, which may help dealers deliver AV distribution systems in more wide-reaching applications.

“The primary focus for 4K standards and protection applies to entertainment content for good reason; in-house commercial digital RF systems primarily distribute news, information, weather and non-proprietary content, so the new standards aren’t mission critical,” he says.

Playing the Game-Changer

Besides its impact on the dealer channel, arguably no segment of the electronics industry is affected more by evolving formats and technologies than cable manufacturers, which must keep pace with the technological changes as well as the commensurate copyright protection that accompanies next-generation formats.

Robert D’Addario, president, managing director, Cleerline Technology Group, explains that the ever-increasing bandwidth requirements of these formats necessitates new engineering solutions to ensure cable reliability.

“Specific to the integration market there are two trends driving our product sales. One is 4K/2K and the horizon of 8K/4K, high-bandwidth video that is pushing copper out of the design,” he comments. “Fiber gives our customers the most flexibility for the future. An integrator might be able to find a copper solution that works today, but we can guarantee installed bulk fiber will have a much longer lifespan and horizon to sup-port the technologies of tomorrow, which seem to be coming faster and faster.”

(The other trend D’Addario sees doesn’t relate to the management and distribution of AV content, but it’s still relevant to dealers nevertheless: the Internet of Things, whose impact is only starting to be realized and mainly right now on the residential side.)

When it comes to AV distribution, D’Addario says the constant change that is happening with high-definition copyright protection (HDCP) realistically means that what works today may not work for tomorrow’s needs, and this is where the bandwidth capabilities help support future technologies.

“The hybrid HDMI is a very good alternative to bulk fiber, and we are working on incorporating SSF [fiber cable product line] into product like that in the very near future, especially to replace our current active HDMI cables branded Planet Waves,” he says. “But I’m big advocate of putting in an infrastructure that you know you’ll be able to utilize regardless of the format in the future. Traditionally that was coax, then Cat-5e and after that it was Cat-6. Now we’re saying emphatically fiber. Fiber is the best medium for designing an infrastructure for the long term; through media conversion you can make any IP-based product work inexpensively and reliably.”

Expanding on D’Addario’s points, Iselli says that integrators not only need to use quality hardware and cabling solutions, they must follow industry recommendations in how they handle hardware and cables in order to support a complete end-to-end solution that delivers longterm customer satisfaction.

“Ultra HD/4K at 60Hz puts strain on electronics; 8-bit color requires more than 14Gbps,” he emphasizes. “Using good cables is only part of the solution in delivering 4K signals. Care of cables is needed to stay with their bend radius, etc. Dealers must follow guidelines with cable runs to ensure performance and reliability.”