WYRESTORM H2 SWITCHERS ADD HDR SUPPORT

With WyreStorm’s unveiling of its H2X matrix switchers comes the announcement that the current H2 matrix line has also gotten an HDR adrenalin shot to meet the demands of emerging 4K content and source devices.

If 2015 was the year of 4K with the announcement of HDMI 2.0 and the UHD Blu-ray standard, 2016 deserves the HDR title with the availability of HDR-compatible content on UHD Blu-ray and the likes of Netflix and Amazon already good and only getting better, and HDR TVs increasing in availability.

WyreStorm’s Marketing Communications Manager, Christian Thomas, sees this as key to its success as a technology in the CI market. “The speed at which a new AV technology or feature is embraced by the consumer lies not only in the availability of content and devices, but also how easily understood it is and how obvious an improvement it is from what is currently available.  With HDR the evidence is up there on the screen for consumers to see.  It’s what 4K should have been when it launched. HDR is set to be a big deal for home AV.”

The next question then is how to reliably distribute and control that HDR content to multiple rooms around the home?

“Signal distribution systems need to be compatible with an ever growing list of standards and technology trends with high frame rates, different display standards for LED and OLED screens, competing HDR technology technologies in HDR10 and Dolby Vision all requiring consideration for the dealer.”

“Though HDBaseT has been the go-to HD video delivery over distance technology for several years now, the 10Gb/s ceiling presents an issue for bandwidth-heavy 4K HDR transmissions when factoring in resolution, refresh rates, chroma subsampling, colour depth, colour standards, so modern HDBaseT signal distribution device has a lot to contend with.”

“The key is understanding the technology, the standards and the bandwidth, and equipment capable of making concessions to keep the bandwidth below the magical 10Gb/s required by HDBaseT to pass an 4K HDR signal over distance.”

The complete line of WyreStorm’s H2 Series of HDMI and HDBaseT 4K matrix switchers now support HDMI 2.0 video for 4K@60Hz and 24Hz, with chroma subsampling rates 4:4:4 and 4:2:0, 8bit and 10bit colour depth, BT.2100, BT.2020, and BT.709.

In terms of HDR, based on 4K industry standards set at 4K@60Hz with subsampling rates of 4:2:0 and 10bit colour depth, WyreStorm’s HDMI-H2 matrix models support local HDR transmissions up to 3840×2160 @ 60Hz/4:2:0/10bit/BT.2020.  Additional features on WyreStorm HDMI-H2 matrix models include: Flexible control options include local push button, IR remote, 3.5mm input to receive local IR commands out of line-of-sight, LAN or serial control systems and a newly integrated Web UI, with source selection per output displayed in gold LED to stand out from the crowd.

WyreStorm HDBT-H2 matrix models feature 2U 6 and eight-way I/O variations offering Class A HDBaseT technology for 5Play convergence of video, audio, two-way IR control, RS-232, Ethernet and PoH technology remotely powering receivers at display zones, and a 1U four-way installer kit combining a 4×4 H2 matrix with 4K HDBaseT receivers.

Included on all six- and eight-way models is QuickSync technology for instantaneous switching between sources and mirrored HDMI outputs for the local zonal connection of displays, projectors or AVR, as well as S/PDIF audio breakout for ARC zones.

As with HDMI-only models, control of HDBT-H2 matrices includes local push button, IR remote, 3.5mm IR extension input, LAN or Serial control systems and an integrated Web UI, with input/output selection indicated in striking blue LED.

More Info:
WyreStorm: www.wyrestorm.com
Australian Distributor: www.hills.com.au