| Liberty, Justice, and High Def For AllThe conversation | | | | has more specks and sparkles than tinkerbell. If its |
| subject of high definition is no longer segregated to the | | | | because of long runs of DVI or HDMI cables, there are |
| dark smokey rooms of the cultural elite, the same | | | | solutions. Gefen, a leader in the industry, manufacturers |
| rooms where gas price conspiracies, global domination | | | | perhaps the most respected and prolific digital |
| rituals, and secret handshakes are created. No friends, | | | | extenders for both home and professional A/V.There |
| high definition is now available to bond and free, to all | | | | are two basic ways to extend HDMI and DVI. Extend |
| races and creeds, to rich and, well, semi-rich.Pick Your | | | | over a CAT5 cable, or just get a booster (similar in |
| PoisonHDMI and DVI are the two digital interfaces that | | | | many ways to a repeater).Cat5 ExtensionThis style of |
| are quickly becoming the prefered vessels of High | | | | digital video extension uses two little boxes: a receiver |
| Definition. Just as a quick recap...DVI: Short for Digital | | | | and a sender. By "little", I mean a few inches by a few |
| Video Interface, came into fruition to convert analog | | | | inches, by a few more inches. The sender sits near |
| signals into video signals to accomodate both analog | | | | your source (such as a computer, a set-top box, a |
| and digital monitors. DVI-A is an analog signal, DVI-D is | | | | DVD player). An included cable connects your DVI or |
| a digital signal, and DVI-I is an integrated analog and | | | | HDMI source to the sender. The sender sits near your |
| digital solution. This quickly became a popular interface | | | | video source and sends the signal long distances over |
| because the integrity of the signal remains true through | | | | a tidy and economic Cat5 cable. The receiver sits near |
| any transmission, unlike its analog grandfather, who | | | | the display and receives the signal that has travelled |
| loses little bits of data here and there because of too | | | | over long distances unscathed from video corruption. |
| many treks through the snow as a kid.HDMI: Short for | | | | The receiver feeds the perfect image (with the |
| High-Definition Multimedia Interface, this digital interface | | | | resolution also preserved) to your display via your DVI |
| is perfectly suited for the consumer electronics market. | | | | or HDMI cable. The Cat5 Extension option is very |
| It supports uncompressed high definition video plus | | | | attractive because Cat5 cables are very inexpensive |
| multi-channel audio in a single cable, simplifying the install | | | | and are neater than the fat (no matter how phat) |
| process for you and me. It does all this with a smaller | | | | video cables. I highly recommend Gefen products for |
| connector than its DVI cousin.Length LimitsBoth DVI | | | | their industrial strength, aesthetic attraction, and reliability |
| and HDMI signals begin to degrade in quality when sent | | | | in important video extension projects.Boosters and |
| over copper wire after about 5 meters. Although | | | | RepeatersAlthough not entirely identical, boosters and |
| sometimes a well-made copper HDMI or DVI cable | | | | repeaters accomplish the same job and in a similar |
| can send the signal further than that without | | | | manner. Boosters and repeaters only require one box |
| corruptions visible by the naked eye, you will often | | | | to sit at the end of a long run of DVI or HDMI cable. |
| encounter specks and glitter in the display, plus a host | | | | The unit simply corrects any signal corruption that has |
| of other possible problems if the voltage level isn't | | | | occurred over long runs of copper cable. This option is |
| preserved and stable.Below is some basic information | | | | most appealing to those who already bought a long |
| about what is available for DVI Extension and HDMI | | | | run of DVI or HDMI cable. Boosters and repeaters are |
| extension.ExtensionSo, you've sold the farm to buy | | | | also good for chaining multiple runs of cable together. |
| your HDTV display and source boxes, but the picture | | | | |