Hitachi Cable, Ltd. has announced the development and release of extended distance Active Optical HDMI cables (Note 1) which transmit image signals such as full HD (Note 2), 3D, and 4K2K (Note 3) through optical fibers for digital signage. Sales of this product will start in June.
Digital signage, in which large format high definition thin displays are used as signboards, has become common in recent years in public and commercial facilities. The cables used in digital signage must be compatible with high speed interfaces such as HDMI in order to display high resolution images. Unlike ordinary consumer household metal HDMI cables that have short transmission lengths of 10 meters or less, commercial signage applications require long transmission distances, and in some cases requires UL Plenum rated cable.
In order to respond to such needs, Hitachi Cable has developed long and thin Active Optical HDMI cables which transmit full HD image signals via optical fibers, and will introduce them to the market in June.
The Active Optical HDMI cable being released has a built-in photoelectric converter in the connector. Hitachi Cable developed this small photoelectric converter using the active optical component technologies that the company has accumulated through the development of various optical devices; and has mounted it within the connector to realize the same handling as ordinary HDMI connectors.
Hitachi Cable used optical fiber as the high-speed signal wire in the cable, realizing up to 100 meters of transmission distance, and achieved a small outer diameter of 5.9 mm by using a correction circuit for the low speed signal wire to prevent signal attenuation. The cable is also Plenum rated and compliant with the fire resistance standard UL444, which is required in the United States for wiring in spaces with a constant air flow due to air handling, such as under floors in data centers, and plenum areas in commercial buildings.
These features will reduce the procedures and costs of installation work and further promote the use of digital signage.
Hitachi Cable will put even more effort into producing longer and thinner Active Optical HDMI, and other high-speed data cables, to expand the product lineup as quickly as possible.
| Main specifications of the optical HDMI cable | ||
| Item | Specification | |
| Outer diameter of the cable | 5.9 mm | |
| Cable length | 20 m, 30 m, 50 m, 70 m, 100 m | |
| Transmission speed | Compatible specification: HDMI (High Speed) 3.4 Gbit/s/ch × 4 ch | |
| Connector size | 45 mm (length) × 12 mm (thickness) × 19 mm (width) (in compliance with the HDMI standard) | |
| Non-flammability | UL444 (Plenum grade) | |
| Power consumption | 140 mW or less at most (as the total of 4 ch) | |
| Other | Certified as HDMI Converter Cable | |
| (Note 1) | HDMI is an abbreviation of High Definition Multimedia Interface, a registered trademark of HDMI Licensing, LLC. | |
| (Note 2) | Full HD is an abbreviation of “full high definition,” an image signal with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. | |
| (Note 3) | 4K2K is an image signal with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. |
Contacts
Hitachi Cable, Ltd.
Masayuki Yoshihara, +81-3-6381-1050
Corporate Communication Section
FAX: +81-3-5256-3240
http://www.hitachi-cable.com/
Source: Hitachi Cable
