Breakout the champagne: Polycom announces HDMI breakout adapters for digital
With the new Polycom RealPresence Group series (300, 500, 700) codecs comes the ability to utilise both analog (RGBHV, as found in the previous generation EagleEye III cameras) or the new digital EagleEye IV cameras, which come in both 4x and 12x optical zoom variants.
One of the most compelling use cases that I have seen with the EagleEye III was the ability to breakout and extend the video and PTZ control signals via a Polycom HDCI analog breakout cable (P/N 2457-23521-001) and this part has been commonly used in large auditorium and lecture theatre type deployments of Polycom codecs to date.
With the move away from the EagleEye III to the all-digital EagleEye IV cameras it was no longer possible to utilise the above part code to convert the camera and codec cabling into an end-user extensible format and due to complex international emissions regulations. This is where the Polycom EagleEye Digital Extender (P/N 2215-64200-001) came into play, allowing the digital signals and power (including audio on the EagleEye Acoustic camera) to be converted to signaling that was able to be carried over Cat5e (or better) cabling meaning the usable distance from the camera went from 3m (supplied cable) up to 100m.
As of this week Polycom are happy to announce there is another option available to assist room integrators with enabling EagleEye IV cameras, especially where including a matrix switcher for multiple camera input source selection. The new parts are known (collectively) as the Polycom Digital Breakout Adapter (DBA) and will convert the mini-HDCI connector at the camera end to standard TMDS HDMI and DB9 serial connections, as well as re-converging these two formats to the proprietary HDCI interface at the codec end. The new parts are almost entirely passive and therefore are available at a remarkably low price point. Integrators will need to be aware that power is not being carried through the interface/s and therefore a local power supply will be required at the camera end. Additionally a codec-extender cable (mini-HDCI to HDCI) will need to be ordered in order to round out the deployment.
The new part numbers for the DBA adapters can be summarised as follows:
- 7200-68518-125 at the camera (Includes 2215-68518-001 DBA and 1465-52748-040 power supply)
- 7200-68524-125 at the codec end
- 2457-64356-018 HDCI to mini-HDCI M-M cable 18" (1m and 3m also available, talk to your friendly Polycom representative for more info)