Latin America. There was a time when the year 2020 sounded distant and futuristic, but here we are. We are definitely in a time of rapid technological evolution and upheaval, and a lot of social trends influencing what we want and do. At CEDIA we continue to keep a close eye on news and updates on technology and standards.
Interrupting AV distribution
This sounds like an episode title of The Big Bang Theory, but it's a big theme that impacts most designers and integrators of technological systems. At the ISE, CEDIA organized a "Death Match" panel discussion on HDMI, HDBaseT, AV-over-IP and fiber optics as methods of AV transport and distribution, which benefited the entire room of attendees and panelists alike, including updates to the standards.
At CES in January HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. announced the new ultra-high-speed cable label, the big news is the mandatory single cable test (previously optional). But at press time there is still no HDMI 2.1 Compliance Test Specification (CTS) on which to base these tests, so don't expect to see these cables on the market yet.
There's also some news from HDBaseT, with the Alliance Board just approving Specification 3.0 supporting the equivalent of 18Gbps uncompressed HDMI, and selectable streaming or receiving features. Several manufacturers are already prototyping the new technology, with some work samples demonstrated at the ISE.
Meanwhile, the AV-over-IP continues its growth, particularly in the commercial space. Interestingly, manufacturers' approaches and innovations drive this category more than standards, with SDVoE being the only multi-vendor solution.
For more information, see the recently published white paper, "AV-over-IP Systems," and the upcoming "HDBaseT for 4K and 8K HDR Video," available through cedia.net.
8K Video
Michael Heiss of M Heiss Consulting, and co-founder of CEDIA's Technology Advisory Board, shared some news from the February HPA Technology Retreat in LA. Warner Bros. and a few other studios teamed up to conduct a consumption test of the benefits of 8K video. Using 88-inch screens with viewers sitting at typical distances, a variety of 4K and 8K HDR content was played.
Overall "8K was rated at best as 'slightly better' than 4K, although most found 4K and 8K to be the same." Those with vision greater than 20/20 were more likely to see the difference, but even then it was only moderate.
So the real benefits of 8K don't come (ironically) with 8K content, but with the growl of screen processing and the ability to augment lower-resolution content. If 4K looks almost as good as 8K, hey, I'll stick with it!
CEDIA/CTA standards reaffirmed
This is a reminder of two important and old CTA/CEDIA standards, which were revised and reaffirmed by the ANSI-accredited R10 residential systems joint standards body in 2019:
ANSI/CTA/CEDIA-863-B R-2019: Connection Color Codes for Home Theater Systems
ANSI/CTA/CEDIA-2030-A R-2019: Multi-room audio cabling standard
Most of the R10's work is on best practices, but these two are real standards. If you're not familiar with them, it would be a great idea to do so, as they could add more compliance and integrity to your projects and workflows.
R10 has multiple projects underway at any one time. There is always a lot to learn and amazing people to meet, so if you are interested in contributing, please contact CEDIA's Technology and Standards team at [email protected].
Text written by David Meyer de Cedia.
