HDBaseT is complementary to digital connectivity standards such as
HDMI technology. HDBaseT connects and networks commercial, industrial or CE devices such as
set-top boxes, media streamers,
DVD players,
Blu-ray Disc players,
personal computers (PCs),
video game consoles, and
AV receivers to compatible
digital audio devices,
computer monitors,
multi-touch displays, digital televisions, and digital
video projectors. A primary differentiator with HDBaseT technology is its 5Play feature set. The five features of 5Play vary with each HDBaseT specification, but center around audiovisual (AV) media, Ethernet, USB, Control Signals, and Power-over-HDBaseT (PoH).
AV DVI/HDMI format AV Supports
uncompressed video to a network of devices or as a point-to-point connection to accurately render gaming graphics and features such as
electronic program guides, and does not degrade video quality. Supports
TV and
PC video formats, including standard, enhanced, high-definition, Ultra-HD (UHD, up to 4K), and 3D video. HDBaseT 1.0 and 2.0 can support uncompressed video up to (): • 4K at 30 Hz with 8-bit 4:4:4 color coding, • 4K at 30 Hz with up to 12-bit 4:2:2 and
high dynamic range (HDR), • 4K at 30 Hz with Dolby Vision standard mode, • 4K at 60 Hz with 8-bit 4:2:0 color coding. HDBaseT 3.0 can support uncompressed video up to (): • 4K at 60 Hz with 8-bit 4:4:4 color coding, • 4K at 60 Hz with up to 12-bit 4:2:2 and
high dynamic range (HDR), • 4K at 60 Hz with Dolby Vision standard mode. Audio is embedded with the video in HDMI, so all standard HDMI audio formats are supported. This includes up to 32 channels of high-resolution 24-bit 192 kHz audio, either compressed or uncompressed, or 2-channel audio with a sampling frequency up to 1536 kHz.
Bidirectional S/PDIF HDBaseT 2.0 introduced additional support for separate bi-directional S/PDIF audio, the upstream channel of which can optionally be used to carry HDMI
Audio Return Channel, a feature introduced with the
HDMI 1.4 specification. The bandwidth increase with HDBaseT 3.0 enables it to optionally support HDMI enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), for all of the same audio formats upstream as what is already available in the main HDMI downstream signal, including immersive/object-based audio such as
Dolby Atmos or
DTS:X.
Near zero latency The specification allows for negligible latency: less than 100 μs over 100 m of cable. As a point of comparison, a 60 Hz refresh rate means a full image is displayed after 16.67 ms. Adding 0.1 ms is only a 0.6% increase in the signal latency.
Ethernet HDBaseT 1.0 and 2.0 supports the
100 Mbit/s version of Ethernet, implemented as part of HDBaseT auxiliary datastream, independent from conventional
Ethernet over twisted pair. This can provide
Internet access to devices such as
smart TVs, or enable computers and other CE devices to communicate with each other and access multimedia content on the local network. HDBaseT 3.0 increases this capability to 1000 Base-T (Gigabit) Ethernet.
USB HDBaseT 2.0 introduced support for
USB 2.0, with a capacity for the simultaneous connection of up to 7 USB devices and a transfer rate up to . HDBaseT 3.0 increases this to .
Control signals HDBaseT delivers HDMI
Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocol signals that control basic functionality such as power-on, power-off and play/stop, along with
RS-232 and
consumer IR (remote control) commands.
Power HDBaseT can provide a variation of
Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) standard called
power-over-HDBaseT (PoH). This can provision up to 100 W of operating DC power to CE devices, such as monitors and TVs. In practice, if a display (typically up to 60" in size) is enabled as a 100W powered device (PD), and is connected to a matching PoH transmitter (power sourcing equipment, PSE), the display will be able to draw its operating power through the HDBaseT link and not require a separate power connection. == Versions ==