Home theater fans who have been looking for a way to push their high-definition video around their systems (and to different rooms) without the hassles of stringing cables (or drilling holes in the walls) have faced a choice between Ultra WideBand (UWB) and Amimon’s Wireless HDMI (WHDI) technology. Although WHDI has been garnering industry support recently, video connectivity developer Gefen has gotten tired of waiting for a resolution, so it has decided to offer both UWB and WHDI products for folks who just can’t wait to be wireless.
Tag Archive: Gefen
Gefen TV Switcher Wrangles 4 HDMI Inputs
When you have four HDMI cables headed to one TV, you know you’ve got a complex home theater install on your hands, and probably a headache in the works as well. A new switchbox from Gefen is designed to alleviate the problem of running multiple cables to the TV by automatically switching between four HDMI inputs and forwarding signals through to a single output.
Automatic switching restores the last video choice at the time over power down when the unit powers back up, while manual switching is accomplished with a small handheld remote. The unit also temporarily switches to new sources whenever signals from them are detected, as a way to verify that they work. Besides switching signals, the box also amplifies them, and passes on HDCP encoding.
Pulse-LINK Wins Popular Mechanics Award
Let’s face it, Popular Mechanics is a gold standard, and has been for generations. So when they give out awards, the winning items need to be lookat seriously. At this year’s CES, the magazine has given it’s Editor’s Choice Award to Pulse-LINK’s CWave UWB technology in the newly debuted Gefen HDMI Over Coax Extender. "We analyze hundreds of productsat CES to select the 20 Editor’s Choice Award winning products that we think represent significant technological breakthroughs," said James Meigs, Popular Mechanics editor-in-chief. "Thisevent is the perfect forum for Popular Mechanics to recognize an innovation like the Pulse-LINK and Gefen solution – two companies making the HD experience much more accessible to homeowners." The Pulse-LINK technology powers the Gefen HDMI Over Coax Extender, which extends the reach of HDMI connectivity from room to room. It provides an infrared back channel that enables consumersto use the same remote that controls their set-top box, DVR, Blu-ray or HD DVD player, in all rooms throughout the connected home. The no-new-wires solution offers Gigabit data rates and is capableof simultaneous delivery of high quality, visually lossless video along with multi-channel digital audio.
Gefen Wireless USB Extender Goes 100 Feet
Peripheral and accessory maker Gefen has introduced a new four-port Wireless USB 2.0 Extender that enables users to locate USB 2.0 peripheral up to 100 feet away from their CPUs without running (lots!) of awkward cable. The extender operates using 802.11 wireless technology, so (in theory!) it shouldn’t interfere with local Wi-Fi networks, cordless phones, or other wireless systems.
Gefen’s wireless extender is compatible with Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux, operates without drivers, and offers a simple one-cable setup on the hosting CPU. Users simply connect the transmitter their CPU’s USB port, and then connect peripherals to the receiver, wherever they want it to be. Both the transmitter and receivers operate off 5 Volt power supplies.
Gefen HD Mate Scaler Hooks Up Your DVI
Peripheral and accessory maker Gefen has taken the wraps off its HD Mate Scaler, a new video switching system which enables users to combine three different standard and high-definition video sources and output them all to any DVI display. We know it looks like a Mac mini, but it’s more than just a video-savvy KVM switch, though, the HD Mate Scaler also handles audio and, perhaps most significantly, handles digital video scaling all the way from 480i to 1080p.
Gefen Device Extends DVI, Sound
Gefen, a maker of home theatre multi-platform extension, switching, distribution and conversion devices, today announced a new product which focuses on extending analog and digital audio in addition to HD video. The new DVI Audio Extender is priced at $649 and should be available now.
The Gefen DVI Audio Extender, said Gefen, includes six-foot DVI and audio RCA cables in addition to two external power supplies (one on each end) and the sender/receiver units. The idea behind this device is to extend your DVI and digital/analog audio up to 150 feet away from your HDTV DVI or HDMI source using CAT-5 cables.
Gefen Adds HDMI Adapters
Gefen last week announced two new adapters which are designed to link DVI and digital audio and component sources to HDMI displays. The new DVI Audio to HDMI Adapter and Component Audio to HDMI Adapter are priced at $299 and $199 respectively and should be available shortly.
The DVI Audio to HDMI Adapter, said Gefen, allows one to send HD video to a display with digital audio in TOSlink and S/PDIF formats. It comes equipped with one DVI, one TOSlink and one S/PDIF input. The Component Audio to HDMI Adapter, meanwhile, connects component sources or VGA computers to an HDMI display, bringing HD video together with two channels of audio (left and right) to the display.





