Neothings LightSpider takes HDMI signals 300 feet over fiber

by Darren Murph posted Mar 10th 2009 at 2:18AM

Gefen has already taken the wind out of Neothings' sails somewhat with its HDMI v1.3 Fiber Extender, but if you're not quite ready to drop the coin required to take HDMI signals 1,000 feet over fiber optics, this here device may be the perfect solution. Dubbed LightSpider, this bridge can take HDMI, RS-232 and analog audio around 300 feet on a single fiber cable utilizing OWLink's Digital Light Interface technology. The company is quick to point out that the unit's integrated support for HDCP is a big win for those passing along protected material, though it won't go so far as to provide a price. Reportedly, the company will be on hand at EHX Spring to showcase it to HD junkies and home theater installers, after which we fully expect to hear more details on how to actually procure this thing.

Filed under: Cables, Ports, Switches

Tags: DLI, ehx, extender, fiber, hdmi, hdmi extender, HdmiExtender, LightSpider, neopro, Neothings, OWLink

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Upthewazzu @ Mar 10th 2009 12:29PM

Out of curiosity, what would be an example of a practicle application of this?

Neutral

Casey @ Mar 10th 2009 1:25PM

NeoThings is best known for their matrix video switchers which allow you to route any source AV signal to any or all destinations in the home. Most high end multi-room AV installations locate all equipment in a central rack with audio, video, network and control wiring going from the central rack to each location in the home. This was a fairly simple task with Component video runs as it did not have the distance limitations of HDMI and it just worked (no HDCP garbage). Now that everything is moving to HDMI, integrators must find a way to get HDMI signals from the central equipment rack to the various rooms of the house. When running cables through crawl spaces, basements, walls etc these runs can often reach over 100ft which isn't going to happen with a straight HDMI cable. In comes these converters/extenders by NeoPro, Gefen, Atlona and others who will convert the HDMI signal to dual Cat5 or 1-2 fiber runs for long cable runs. So now the AV signal is carried from the rack full of gear in the basement to the LCD on the wall in the bedroom.

Infinity Ward talking about spin-off game starring Modern Warfare 2's 'Ghost' Activision pursuing 'online monetization models' for Call of Duty franchise Dream Theater adding even more metal to God of War III soundtrack	Yahoo! Messenger 10 now out of beta with video chat and more Mac-clone company Psystar loses big in Apple lawsuit Make your small business sound big with Grasshopper
Sonos adds a portable music player with room filling sound Psystar dealt crushing blow in ongoing legal proceedings with Apple Apple rejects Unity games on the App Store	Weak dollar winner #5: Apple (AAPL) The week in preview: More retail earnings: Gap, Home Depot, Sears, Target ... Weak dollar winner #4: PepsiCo (PEP)
Fight: Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper Nov. 26 in Europe Tweet about Xbox Final Fantasy XIII, win a mystery prize Band Hero clothing and accessories head to Xbox Live Marketplace	Spy Shots: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee out testing in Detroit Rumormill: Bob Lutz drops more Buick Regal GS, high performance wagon hints Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche dishes out advice for Chrysler
New PC Gamer mag has exclusive Dragon Age: Origins level on DVD The Saboteur PC system requirements revealed Shattered Horizon players getting free Steam guest passes	DeAngelo Williams Will Play; Steelers vs. Bengals NFL Live Tweet Redskins Reverse Stadium Sign Policy Ochocinco Takes Steelers Fan on a Shopping Spree