HDbaseT - Is the power feature a fire hazzard?

There is some buzz since middle of last year about HDbaseT as the next best thing to replace HDMI. A lot of people were confused about what it really is and that it is really a sort of booster technology for HDMI rather than a replacement. I think this is just because HDMI is so bad that people are just being hopeful.
So I've looked into it and although I think it has some benefits in combining signals like Ethernet (which HDMI is also supposed to do by itself), there is one area that I still can't buy into: Power.

HDbaseT marketing is claiming 100W of power to run a 40" TV, over Cat5 cable. That sounds like a lot of power, and it is, so my concern is can the Cat5 cable handle this. I found a web calculator to help:
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
Now I am not an engineer (and I don't play one on TV), but I know the basics. Cat5 is 24 gauge wire normally, but I've seen it from 22 to 26 gauge. So according to the calculator, over 34% of the power could be lost in the cable. So for 100W that is 34W heating up of the cable. So HDbaseT is:

• Very innefficient, not green friendly
• Not safe - I don't want 34W burning away inside my walls

After reading the Valens/HDbaseT website a lot more, I see that they don't actually have any chips to provide the power solution. So basically it looks like they just made that part up and the manufacturers are on thier own to make it work. A quick survey of some manufacturers that claim they are working on HDbaseT products shows nothing about power.
As a second issue to this, I discussed this with my local town's building inspector. He had not heard of this, but in a nutshell, he would not sign off on anything that is not UL approved, and in his own opinion he felt there is no way anyone would get UL approval on sending 100W over Cat5 cables.
In conclusion, although I have been anticipating this technology, digging into it has surprised me a bit to think that in reality we are going to simply have HDMI 2 with all the same problems.

Is Crestron going to get the FTC smackdown?

This ad may very well get Crestron in some trouble, according to some sources. The issue is that they clearly indicate that analog will go away at the end of this year, which is simply not true. Anyone familiar with the analog sunset provisions for Bluray players knows that it will downrez next year, then actually be gone in 2014, but this also ignores analog on everything else in the world, which has no end dates, and is not subject to any analog sunset.

Richard Gunther writes:

It’s baffling to me that Crestron would resort to such deceptive advertising practices. I understand that times are tough, but is misleading customers really the solution? These ads likely violate the Federal Trade Commission’s truth-in-advertising rules...

This will be entertaining. Get some popcorn and keep an eye on FTC activity over early next year.

UPDATE: Seems like there are already eyes on Crestron for anti-competitive moves.

Savant alleges that Crestron has "repeatedly published knowingly false statements about Savant and its products, all with the intent to unfairly compete with Savant."
"We believe that Crestron's conduct has grown progressively worse," says Robert Madonna, Savant's CEO.

FTC's New Technologist

Now that the FTC annoucement is out, I can talk about this openly. I am honestly surpised that this was able to happen for Ed. He's worked hard for many years fighting for our digital rights.
The word is that there is going to be some big changes on how the US treats DRM. The FTC and the FCC are no longer friends to big Hollywood and their constant campaign against the piracy boogeyman.
So expect to see this shortly:

Preservation of analog video interfaces - Not only component video, but standard def video as well will be mandatory for anything that wants to be labeled as 'HDTV'. The FCC has already have stated that analog interfaces are here to stay on cable and sat boxes, but with FTC coordination they can extend that to all consumer devices including Blu-Ray Disc. The Chinese manufacturers are forcing this because the current contracts and liscening is anti-consumer and a burden to all, so we may even see encryption free HDMI.

DMCA overhaul - This may take longer, but the Whitehouse administration, the FCC, and certainly now the FTC, all feel that the DMCA shall not restrict non-infringing uses of technology. Previously the FTC has not really  got involved in technology issues like this, but with Ed Felten as Chief Technologist, they will be deep in it soon.

There is a lot more that I can't discuss, but I will update as I am allowed to say more.

FTC's first Chief Technologist: DRM basher Ed Felten

Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten today was tapped for a one-year stint at the FTC in a decision so shockingly sane that it's still a bit hard to believe. Felten has a terrific reputation as both a researcher and advocate, someone with deep technical knowledge, a pro-consumer/pro-openness/pro-tinkering bias, and an aversion to posturing and zealotry.

Congratulations to Ed!

Story link:

Obama laments loss of privacy as president

Obama lamented the loss of "privacy and anonymity" that comes with the job.
The president said it used to be that when he came to Europe, he could wander down to a cafe, have a glass of wine and watch the sun set.
Now, he says, "I'm in hotel rooms all the time," surrounded by security.

Ironically, we also lament the loss of privacy with all this DRM technology. So Obama, how about we work on that?

Full Story...

Blu-Ray DRM scheme cracked

Pirates of the Caribbean? Antigua Firm Cracks Blu-ray DRM

SlySoft has announced AnyDVD HD, a program it says can break Blu-ray discs free of the complicated BD+ system they use for copy protection. The company says the system is intended to enable disc owners to make backup copies for personal use. However, breaking digital rights management systems also enables piracy.

So if we can rip a Blu-Ray disc, what is the importance of having any other DRM past the Blu-Ray player?

Story link here

HDMI Licensing issues guidelines to communicate features to consumers

HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI) specification, has announced the release of Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines creating a consistent way for manufacturers to describe the HDMI-enabled functionality of their products. By providing a consistent set of terminology for HDMI-enabled features..

OK, so we know HDMI sucks, and one of those reasons is all thes edifferent versions. Now it looks like they are going to rename everything so it's as clear as mud. Got it?

Here's the story