# HDbaseT camera boxes?



## Jay Ashworth (Sep 8, 2016)

I'm talking to a theatre manager about expanding to live video (instead of taped ISO) with something like LiveStream Studio, to give him more capabilities, for rentals if nothing else. He has, for pilot, a set of 3 matched HDMI out prosumer 1080p cams, and I am looking into cabling. Long HDMI cables are stupid expensive. HDMI-SDI isn't bad, though coax would need to be installed, but I'm not sure about capabilities (PL, for example).

I'm wondering if there is, and my google-fu has failed me finding, something like a camera field box that goes HDMI to the camera, HDbase-T back to the control room, and can carry POE for camera power, and maybe some other stuff like return video, PL, and the like.

Anyone here digging/dug into stuff like this?


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## sk8rsdad (Sep 8, 2016)

zeevee.com might have something that can do it. We're using a ZvPro 810 to do HDMI to QAM but they have other products.


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 8, 2016)

sk8rsdad said:


> zeevee.com might have something that can do it. We're using a ZvPro 810 to do HDMI to QAM but they have other products.



A quick look at their product lineup suggests they're filling the "Blonder Tongue" slot, rather than the Telecast/Camplex slot, which is what I'm aiming for. But it is at a college, so I'll keep them in my pocket; thanks.


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## rphilip (Sep 8, 2016)

That would be a very cool product if it existed, I'd probably buy 4-6.

It sound like you're aware of products filling similar needs like real broadcast cameras, (Hiticahi, JVC, Sony,...), fiber based combiners/ Camplex/Telecast, and such.

Other than Black Magic and the above products I think you'll have to settle for multiple lines to each position. I've got some Micro Studio cameras and and have played with their Studio Camera. While they are great for some things they are not even close to what something like a Canon XF, Panasonic PX or similar Sony camera can do.

I think for your demo either HD-SDI or stand alone HDBaseT with return, com, and power run separately is t he only real option.

Philip


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 8, 2016)

Well, we're getting Clear Com Free Speak, so for the demo, we can actually have wireless PL. Just only 4, and I wouldn't necessarily wanna tie them all up.

My real thing is that HDMI capture cards are disproportionately expensive.

But then, so are the combination of HDMI->SDI and 1000ft of Belden.

It's just frustrating to have to spend more per camera for transport than we spent on the damn cameras, y'know?


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## RonHebbard (Sep 8, 2016)

Jay Ashworth said:


> I'm talking to a theatre manager about expanding to live video (instead of taped ISO) with something like LiveStream Studio, to give him more capabilities, for rentals if nothing else. He has, for pilot, a set of 3 matched HDMI out prosumer 1080p cams, and I am looking into cabling. Long HDMI cables are stupid expensive. HDMI-SDI isn't bad, though coax would need to be installed, but I'm not sure about capabilities (PL, for example).
> 
> I'm wondering if there is, and my google-fu has failed me finding, something like a camera field box that goes HDMI to the camera, HDbase-T back to the control room, and can carry POE for camera power, and maybe some other stuff like return video, PL, and the like.
> 
> Anyone here digging/dug into stuff like this?


As you're talking video in theatres, here's another useful / affordable U.S. company to be aware of: http://www.horita.com/home.htm 
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 8, 2016)

RonHebbard said:


> As you're talking video in theatres, here's another useful / affordable U.S. company to be aware of: http://www.horita.com/home.htm


I had forgotten about Horita -- and their cream of 1996 website -- thanks.

They don't, in fact, tread the ground I need here either, though.


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## WVTheatre (Sep 9, 2016)

Depending on what you're trying to do, you would need either coax for SDI, or someone with a little Adobe Premiere knowledge. 

If you're planning on live-streaming for an overflow room, backstage feed, etc, you'd need SDI from the cameras to wherever they're going (as HDMI can only go a max of 30 ft before reclocking is needed); we commonly use a streaming box called a VBrick or Niagara, though many other similar devices exist for a lower price-point. A computer on the other end then receives the stream.

If the intent however is to merely record the performance with multiple camera angles, you could record to media in each camera, and then assemble a multicam sequence in Premiere, which they've now made very easy to do.

~Justyn
Video Pro from Chicago


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 9, 2016)

I'm trying to transport HD-HDMI from camera positions up to 300 cable feet away to a BMD capture card in a Livestream or equiv box, and also carry PL, power and optimally return video back to the camera.

Like a Camplex box, but not on fiber, and not costing twice as much as the camera. 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## rwhealey (Sep 9, 2016)

Jay Ashworth said:


> I'm trying to transport HD-HDMI from camera positions up to 300 cable feet away to a BMD capture card in a Livestream or equiv box, and also carry PL, power and optimally return video back to the camera.
> 
> Like a Camplex box, but not on fiber, and not costing twice as much as the camera.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk



I'm not too familiar with the Livestream. Can it use an H.264 stream as an input? SVSI (now AMX) builds network streaming video boxes that are much more flexible than HDBaseT. One box is a proprietary protocol that would require a encoder/decoder pair but one streams H.264 from the encoder onto a network. Could you pull that into the switcher off the network?


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 9, 2016)

I actually probably could do that without even needing a capture card, which would not suck. I will investigate; I hadn't even pushed that layer onto the stack yet. Thanks.

[ looks ]

A quick look at

http://svsiav.com/video-over-ip-products/encoders/

suggests that their H.264 encoder is not HDMI-in, but this line of investigation will probably still prove fruitful.

[ looks further ]

Well, everything in that category is still $300ish; an HDMI to SDI converter is 80 and an 8-port HDSDI capture is a grand, so I'm still upside down. Owel.


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## Chris15 (Sep 11, 2016)

I think it's important to remember that HDBaseT is a proprietary technology, with the chipsets only made by Valens. As such, the avilable feature set is somewhat standardised across all devices.

The protocol has no inbuilt ability to do either return video or PL, the only way these would be available is to leverage the 10/100 ethernet channel that is in there. Power is doable, but normally is only used to power the conversion box not the end device.

HDBaseT was never really designed for broadcast style video with it's multiplexed services on triax heritage that carries over into the fibre based options...


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 11, 2016)

Not married to it.

(Remembering it, though, would require that I knew it in the first place, and I hadn't, apparently, dived deep enough to realize that yet.)

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## AlexDonkle (Sep 15, 2016)

Jay Ashworth said:


> I'm trying to transport HD-HDMI from camera positions up to 300 cable feet away to a BMD capture card in a Livestream or equiv box, and also carry PL, power and optimally return video back to the camera.
> 
> Like a Camplex box, but not on fiber, and not costing twice as much as the camera.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk



The "not on fiber" part is easy, you can do this on Triax! Just need new cameras, new CCU, new cabling, etc.,


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## Jay Ashworth (Sep 18, 2016)

Smartarse.


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