A Media Enabled Home

TECH: Connecting multiple HD devices over long distances

IF you own more than one High Definition (HD) television and several HD capable ‘toys’ or digital devices, there is a way to connect these all together. High definition is really something to behold – especially on larger screens. The extra cost involved is usually well worth it. But the question is how to connect all these devices together while taking full advantage of their HD capabilities.

One way of accomplishing this is to use a HDMI matrix. These come in a few configurations but the most common ones are 4×2 and 4×4. This means 4 inputs and 2 outputs, and 4 inputs and 4 outputs respectively. A matrix will allow you to connect any input device to any output device. It is also possible to have any combination of input to output. For example, you may have 4 TV’s and 2 skyHD boxes; a matrix will allow you to connect one skyHD box to 3 of the TV’s and the remaining sky box to the other TV.

A HDMI matrix with HDMI ports means you are limited to using HDMI cables, which are unfortunately only usable up to about 15 meters without boosters. This can be a shlep when it comes to locating devices around the home, especially if you want to locate devices in separate rooms. Long HDMI cables are fairly expensive especially you want decent quality ones.

Another option is to use a HDMI over CAT5 enabled matrix. This gives you the ability to send high definition signals over a standard CAT5 networking cable, which is a lot cheaper than a HDMI cable. These devices can also transmit full 1080p over a distance of 50 meters. This should be more than sufficient for most homes. If you’re still not happy with your length, you can get an in-line repeater module which will extend the distance up to 100 meters.

There are now newer devices which can transmit HDMI over IP, but bear in mind that this is not the same as HDMI over CAT (which is essentially just using the CAT cable as a cable with no networking protocol).

The HDMI over IP devices are truly grand in their specifications. They allow a cable to run up to 1000 feet and can transmit to up to 200 compatible devices all using a standard Ethernet infrastructure.

Of course, such power comes at a price and these devices are significantly more expensive than the standard HDMI-only units, so it’s a good idea to do some surveying first before buying either one. However, this is relatively new technology so prices are sure to drop given time.

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Future by Design

IMAGINE living in a house that is permanently dust free, driving a car that automatically repairs itself, travelling at two thousand miles an hour in absolute comfort, and having the chances of getting ill significantly reduced by living in a city that self regulates it’s air and water. These idealistic-sounding goals are more possible than you might imagine …
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Vertical Sync and Antialiasing explained

SMART GAMING: Graphical tweaks to enhance your 3D gaming experience …
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Smart Homes

WHEN people consider their dream home many may think of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, double-story house with a great view — somewhere in the mountains. I think of a house under the sea — one that has a huge window­ looking out into the ocean and one that is fully connected to the outside world … and which cleans itself …
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Fallout 3 Tweaks and Tips

FALLOUT 3 is quite possibly the best game ever made. It won Game Of The Year in 2009 and five riveting mods or add-on packs have been released to date. I confidently believe that Fallout 3 is an ever-evolving game genre and I wanted to propose a few additional tweaks or mod ideas to make the game even better …
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From post to PayPal

BUYING and selling goods and services online is fast becoming the preferred way to shop and conduct business this century, and it recently became easier with the introduction of PayPal to South Africa …
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Human shapes

I’M so un-flexible that I can’t even touch my toes without experiencing pain and agony. Others are double-jointed and can wrap their legs around their shoulders. These super humans below are something else, and can make the most incredible shapes using just their bodies. Below is a one minute video clip of what the human body can do in unison with others. Prepare to be wowed …
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Doraleous & Associates

Doraleous & Associates is a fantastically humorous video series started by The Escapist a few months back. Its first season recently concluded with the serie’s 24^th episode. If you are not yet familiar with the show, below is the first episode of season one. I personally find it to be a great little video break during the working week, but you should appreciate it if you are a fan of fantasy, digital animation and great wit-filled humour …
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Automated governance?

IT was predicted that in the year 2010 planes would consist of a single pilot and a dog. The job of the pilot would be to feed the dog; the reason for the dog is to bite the pilot if he or she touches anything …
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South Africa rolls out Ubuntu in abundance

I WENT on a rant the other day regarding the cost of the 2010 World Cup versus all the critical needs South Africa is facing and whether or not the most vulnerable of this country would gain anything from having the World Cup hosted in their country. At that time, I also had some very positive things to say about our hosts for the 2010 World Cup and I wanted to share that side of the coin as well, because it is equally important …
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Dear World Cup visitors

FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP: Open letter to our foreign media friends …
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EASY PC

The home PC has evolved into what is now considered a modern-day home entertainment system. Capable of behaving like a television, home cinema, game station, work station, music player and much more, the home PC is far more capable than it has ever been before. But with all these capabilities come complexities, and there are several things to consider when investing in any form of home entertainment. This is what Easy PC plans to simplify …
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Playing with fancy food

I never play with my food. I used to find it more fun to dunk my face in a plate of grub rather than try and make words using Alphabetti Spaghetti. But there are some creative people out there who have been playing with funny foodstuffs and have produced some really fun and tasty artworks. check em out …
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Best Games of 2009

2009 was a great year in gaming. Titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Wolfenstein and Fallout 3 are quite simply some of the best games ever developed. If you’re still struggling to keep up with the new 2010 game releases, then why not catch up by playing the following, highly recommended 2009 releases (which are also a lot cheaper now than when they were first released) …
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