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DrQuine
Is it by chance the case that HDbaseT uses a compatible connector and standard ...
kdboyce
The retail cost of decent HDMI cables is fairly high, so that could be a factor, ...
HDBaseT inventor snags $14 million in funding
Dylan McGrath
7/6/2011 11:05 AM EDT
NEW YORK—Israel's Valens Semiconductor Ltd., inventor of HDBaseT connectivity technology for transmitting high-definition content, said Wednesday (July 6) it closed $14 million in a second round of funding from a group of investment firms.
Valens, which markets HDBaseT chip sets, said the series B funding came from new investors, including Taiwan-based Pegatron and Japan-based Mitsui & Co. Global Investment Ltd., as well as Amiti Ventures, Aviv Venture Capital and previous Valens investors Genesis Partners and Magma Venture Partners. The company said it would use the funding to accelerate the development of follow-on products.
Valens, formed in 2006, emerged a few years ago to promote HDBaseT as one several wired alternatives to the high definition multimedia interface (HDMI). Last year, Valens established the HDBaseT Alliance with Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and LG Electronics.
"The quality of investors engaged in this round of financing speaks to the success of our HDBaseT technology and signals trust in our vision and our ability to further penetrate the CE market," said Dror Jerushalmi, Valens CEO, in a statement. "These partnerships significantly enhance our ability to strengthen our foothold in the home-networking marketplace. We are ramping up production to deliver HDBaseT chipsets to global ODMs, OEMs and CE manufacturers along with added presence in the Japanese marketplace."
Valens, which markets HDBaseT chip sets, said the series B funding came from new investors, including Taiwan-based Pegatron and Japan-based Mitsui & Co. Global Investment Ltd., as well as Amiti Ventures, Aviv Venture Capital and previous Valens investors Genesis Partners and Magma Venture Partners. The company said it would use the funding to accelerate the development of follow-on products.
Valens, formed in 2006, emerged a few years ago to promote HDBaseT as one several wired alternatives to the high definition multimedia interface (HDMI). Last year, Valens established the HDBaseT Alliance with Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and LG Electronics.
"The quality of investors engaged in this round of financing speaks to the success of our HDBaseT technology and signals trust in our vision and our ability to further penetrate the CE market," said Dror Jerushalmi, Valens CEO, in a statement. "These partnerships significantly enhance our ability to strengthen our foothold in the home-networking marketplace. We are ramping up production to deliver HDBaseT chipsets to global ODMs, OEMs and CE manufacturers along with added presence in the Japanese marketplace."
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selinz
7/6/2011 5:07 PM EDT
It's interesting to see something that competes with the already entrenched, already inexpensive HDMI getting such signficant funding...Dylan, what is the draw?
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chanj
7/6/2011 7:33 PM EDT
HDoverT may have a couple advantage over HDMI. Firstly, it does not only target video but also home networking. As a result, HDoverT aims at delivering signal over regular Cat5e/ Cat6 cabling using RJ45 connector. I find this feature is really helpful in market acceptance. PoE is attractive as well. However, I have same question as Selinz. The company is getting quite significant funding in developing a 10Gbps Ethernet over copper to compete against an already adopted media interface.
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chanj
7/6/2011 7:34 PM EDT
HDoverT may have a couple advantage over HDMI. Firstly, it does not only target video but also home networking. As a result, HDoverT aims at delivering signal over regular Cat5e/ Cat6 cabling using RJ45 connector. I find this feature is really helpful in market acceptance. PoE is attractive as well. However, I have same question as Selinz. The company is getting quite significant funding in developing a 10Gbps Ethernet over copper to compete against an already adopted media interface.
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kdboyce
7/8/2011 11:14 PM EDT
The retail cost of decent HDMI cables is fairly high, so that could be a factor, albeit a short lived on.
My suspicion is that if you have internet connected TV (non-wireless), the you already have a Cat5/6 cable connection.
And who really likes a sleek, slim, no bezel TV hanging on the wall with a whole bunch of cables dangling from it? I know, bury the cables in the wall when you install it but that is another bunch of work most of us won't want to do.
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DrQuine
7/10/2011 3:13 PM EDT
Is it by chance the case that HDbaseT uses a compatible connector and standard to HDMI? If (as I assume is the case) they are not, then it would seem that another incompatible standard would create islands of technology in the home and drive product obsolescence. It is bad enough when competing product standards (Beta vs VHS video) create incompatibilities but having the interconnections be the sticking point would seem especially frustrating.
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