HDBaseT: Why It's A Better Option Than Coaxial for Your Home Theater

If you are thinking about installing a new home theater system, you may be wondering what the best means is for distributing video throughout your home. For this reason, this article compares the features and benefits of the two most popular distribution systems: HD Coaxial and HDBaseT. It also gives some reasons as to why we think HDBaseT is the best of the two options.

HD Coaxial.

In an HD Coaxial system, the various video sources (satellite receivers, cable boxes, blu-ray players, DVRs, etc.)  That are used in the house are placed into one location inside a single room. Each source is then connected to an RF Modulator, which is a device that takes the video signal from the source and encodes it into a particular channel to be broadcast through coaxial cable. A separate RF modulator must be used for each source that is connected to the system.

After the signal goes through the modulator, it is connected to a "combiner", which combines the signals from all of the sources into one. Coaxial cable is then strung through the walls and into each room. Within each room, the coaxial cable is plugged into the television, and the television is tuned to the particular channel representing the source that the user wants to see. For example, one channel on the television may allow the user to watch a particular blu-ray player while another channel may allow the user to watch a particular satellite receiver.

An HD coaxial system can provide great advantages if there are no other options available. As a video distribution system, it does allow multiple users in different rooms to watch the same source. And it's certainly cheaper than buying a separate source for every room.

However, HD coaxial systems also have one big disadvantage. The biggest problem with a coaxial distribution system is the difficulty of controlling the sources. While a user can change the channel on the television in order to switch sources, he or she cannot change the source itself using just the TV remote. For example, if a person in the bedroom wants to change the television to receive a signal from a cable box located in the living room, he or she can do so. But he or she cannot change the channel of the cable box itself, since the cable box is not physically located in the bedroom.

In order to solve this problem, a home-theater installer has to add an IR repeater to the bedroom. This repeater must then be connected through the walls into the living room in order to send an IR signal to the cable box. This allows the person in the bedroom to change the channel of the cable box by aiming the remote at the IR repeater. However, this is a complicated and expensive option. And, as a result, many families opt to simply leave out IR repeaters when they install the system. This forces family members to move to other rooms in order to change channels on the video sources.

But there is another option.

HDBaseT.

In an HDBaseT system, there are no RF modulators or combiners. Instead, each source is plugged into an HDBaseTMatrix or HDBaseT extender using HDMI cable. From there, the signal is carried along by Cat5e or Cat6 cable, also known as "Ethernet" cable. At the other end, an HDBaseT receiver converts the signal back into HDMI to be displayed on the television. Because Ethernet cable is capable of carrying computer data signals as well as audio/video, this does away with the need for IR repeaters and allows the user to control the sources through PCs, laptops, or smart phones instead.

If you'd like more info about an HDBaseT system, check out this complete set that allows up to 11 sources to be displayed on up to 11 different televisions.