Crack the Code of Home Theater Protocol Compatibility
Home theater owners are likely familiar with a pesky problem involving protocol compatibility. Both the HDMI protocol and its companion HDCP (high definition content protection) are very complex protocols. What has been discovered within the industry is that when products are submitted to an HDMI DCT/ATC (authorized test center) for compliance protocols, implementation problems or issues are uncovered. The good news is that there are steps being taken to help the consumer reduce their frustration levels when shopping for their home theater components.
With such a wide variety of home theater products on the market, incompatibility is a very like possibility. Fortunately, testing laboratories are working to alleviate inoperability among components. Programs for inoperability focus on testing products from multiple manufacturers to ensure that manufacturers’ products are interoperable or compatible, so that when a consumer takes that product home it is a very high-level quality of experience. High definition devices are premium device; therefore, the consumer is especially inclined to have their respective premium devices to be compatible. The authorized test centers ensure that all of the tested premium devices are operable and compatible regardless of the manufacturer.
Often times, all the consumer has to do is to go to any of the Home Theater website discussion forums, type in the term “interoperability,” and pages and pages of “My new DVD player won’t work with my new plasma TV”, “My satellite box won’t work with my receiver”, “This won’t pass the signal to that” and so on are returned in the search results. Authorized testing plans ensure that all home theater components mesh and gel and provide the consumer with the best home theater or digital life experience possible.
Although the testing emphasis is often on HDMI testing, a better term is “interoperability testing.” HDMI testing implies that the testing is only an interface protocol test or a test of a single device. In addition to testing the single device, testing laboratories test devices within a network to make sure they are interoperable as well. There is basically a matrix of multiple manufacturers being tested against other multiple manufacturers for interoperability. Other testing procedures are carried out beyond basic protocol analysis. For example, signal quality is tested along with physical hot plug testing including multiple connects and disconnects. The ultimate need is that all devices work each and every time the consumer uses them without any compatibility or operability issues.
Compatibility is of particular importance to home theater owners seeking the best home theater experience they can achieve. When searching for compatible components, consumers should look for a specific certified compatibility sticker on their selected components to know that, regardless of manufacturer, the components that they are buying are going to work well with all the other toys that they have at home.
Get Hooked On High Def: Hooking Up Your System with HDMI
High definition is emerging as the preferred format in the consumer electronics market. With the growth of HD as a major factor in the quality of the home theater experience, take special note to discover what HDMI is and what makes it better for home theater than other connections.
We all have seen have seen the connections for home theaters progress from Composite to S- Video to Component to DVI and now to HDMI. HDMI is High Definition Multimedia Interface and has quickly become the de facto standard for hookup. The primary purpose of HDMI is to transmit, or convey, between two devices of high definition content in an uncompressed format. The other interfaces are not capable of supporting that.
In addition to the audio/video information in a non-compressed format, it also provides the ability to transmit control functions between devices by creating a control network. It is a combined interface that supports both high definition audio and high definition video. If you look at component it only supports high definition; but not even high definition in terms of 1080p because component only goes up to 1080i. An HDMI interface is required for anything greater than 1080i. It is a single cable solution for non-compressed HD content, whether it is audio or video, as well as control information.
Having un-compressed data is important for home theaters because you don’t want to lose any of the original signal quality through the compression/decompression cycle. With all compression schemes, there exists what is referred to as “signal to noise” as part of the compression/decompression algorithms. With HDMI there is no need to have compression of the content. Players (for example Blu-Ray players) can transmit the HD content and uncompressed format over to the display devise or the television for the best picture and best sound possible.
In order to maximize your home theater experience, Smarter Home Theater recommends that you stay up-to-date on industry standards and the latest technological advancements. HDMI is currently the connection standard to maintain the credibility of the original high definition signal for both audio and video.
