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Hitachi unspools new cabling for digital signage

June 7, 2012

Hitachi Cable Ltd. has announced the development and release of its extended distance Active Optical HDMI cables which transmit image signals such as full HD, 3D, and 4K2K through optical fibers for digital signage.

The cables used in digital signage must be compatible with high speed interfaces such as HDMI in order to display high resolution images. Unlike ordinary consumer household metal HDMI cables that have short transmission lengths of 10 meters or less, commercial signage applications require long transmission distances, and in some cases requires UL Plenum-rated cable.

In order to respond to such needs, Hitachi Cable said, it has developed long and thin Active Optical HDMI cables which transmit full HD image signals via optical fibers, and will introduce them to the market this month.

The Active Optical HDMI cable being released has a built-in photoelectric converter in the connector. Hitachi Cable developed this small photoelectric converter using the active optical component technologies that the company has accumulated through the development of various optical devices, and has mounted it within the connector to realize the same handling as ordinary HDMI connectors.

Hitachi Cable used optical fiber as the high-speed signal wire in the cable, realizing up to 100 meters of transmission distance, and achieved a small outer diameter of 5.9 mm by using a correction circuit for the low speed signal wire to prevent signal attenuation. The cable is also Plenum rated and compliant with the fire resistance standard UL444, which is required in the U.S. for wiring in spaces with a constant air flow due to air handling, such as under floors in data centers, and plenum areas in commercial buildings.

These features will reduce the procedures and costs of installation work and further promote the use of digital signage, the company said.

Hitachi Cable also said in the announcement it will put even more effort into producing longer and thinner Active Optical HDMI, and other high-speed data cables, to expand the product lineup as quickly as possible.

Read more about digital signage hardware.