Blackweb HDMI -> Ethernet

[taz420nj]

So I found these on clearance at Walmart for $10. I was wondering if anyone has done any looking under the hood to see if there is any way they can be used over an IP network or if they are some proprietary pinout/protocol. They come as a sender/receiver pair, and I got two.. They do seem to work well as a point to point extender, but I am very hesitant to plug them into my network blindly to do any playing around until I know it's not going to smoke my switch. If they will work over a network (or even through a pin-pin splitter) I do have an application in mind to use them for running two or three displays off a single source. The only thing I could find googling them was a Hackaday article that someone had found another extender in the same price range ($40 3 years ago) was an HDMI to RTP converter, but I don't know if they all work in a similar manner.

Blackweb HDMI Extender Cat 6 Over IR 1080P - Walmart.com

Free 2-day shipping. Buy Blackweb HDMI Extender Cat 6 Over IR 1080P at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[lexluthermiester]

So I found these on clearance at Walmart for $10. I was wondering if anyone has done any looking under the hood to see if there is any way they can be used over an IP network or if they are some proprietary pinout/protocol. They come as a sender/receiver pair, and I got two.. They do seem to work well as a point to point extender, but I am very hesitant to plug them into my network blindly to do any playing around until I know it's not going to smoke my switch. If they will work over a network (or even through a pin-pin splitter) I do have an application in mind to use them for running two or three displays off a single source. The only thing I could find googling them was a Hackaday article that someone had found another extender in the same price range ($40 3 years ago) was an HDMI to RTP converter, but I don't know if they all work in a similar manner.

Blackweb HDMI Extender Cat 6 Over IR 1080P - Walmart.com

Free 2-day shipping. Buy Blackweb HDMI Extender Cat 6 Over IR 1080P at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

In theory this will work fine. The technology is a proven one, but the brand isn't. Walmart does have a good return policy, so giving it a try should be a safe endeavor.

 

[Mussels]

they dont use a network protocol, they just converted HDMI over to a better voltage/whatever to work on the ethernet cables, before converting back.

Shouldnt smoke the switch, but wont work either as they have no IP address/network technology to pass through anything other than direct cable to each other

 

[Durvelle27]

I been looking for one of these forever

 

[newtekie1]

they dont use a network protocol, they just converted HDMI over to a better voltage/whatever to work on the ethernet cables, before converting back.

Shouldnt smoke the switch, but wont work either as they have no IP address/network technology to pass through anything other than direct cable to each other

I haven't use the specific ones from Walmart, and given how cheap they are, I imagine you are right about those.

However, I've used one in the past that work over an IP network just fine. These work on normal networks, for anyone interested: https://smile.amazon.com/Mirabox-Extender-Ethernet-Network-HSV373/dp/B00T76THZ2/

 

[Mussels]

^ Those specify they work over IP networks, the OP's ones don't. biiiiig difference.

 

[Bill_Bright]

If I were stuck using those Walmart extenders, I would make sure I used the best CAT-6 cable and connectors I could find, then make my own cables to the length I needed. I have learned (the hard way) not to trust factory made Ethernet cables.

That said, I possible, I would use the true TCP IP extenders newtekie1 linked to ensure better stability signal strength.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

What the linked device likely does is strip all pins except TMDS Clock+/-, Data0+/-, Data1+/-, and Data2+/- which it places on CAT6 twisted pairs and on the other end, puts it back together. It is not IPv4 compliant at all. It's simply using the superior design of CAT6 cables (mandatory twists per foot with divider between pairs) to get longer range than HDMI which was never intended to be used over 15' without boosting.

If you want to send video over an IPv4 network, use hardware-based encoding like ReLive, ShadowPlay, or Steam Link. It converts the display into a streaming-friendly format (HDMI/TMDS is not).

 

[taz420nj]

What the linked device likely does is strip all pins except TMDS Clock+/-, Data0+/-, Data1+/-, and Data2+/- which it places on CAT6 twisted pairs and on the other end, puts it back together. It is not IPv4 compliant at all. It's simply using the superior design of CAT6 cables (mandatory twists per foot with divider between pairs) to get longer range than HDMI which was never intended to be used over 15' without boosting.

If you want to send video over an IPv4 network, use hardware-based encoding like ReLive, ShadowPlay, or Steam Link. It converts the display into a streaming-friendly format (HDMI/TMDS is not).

I just opened one up, and there is an awful lot of circuitry in there to be just a HDMI to RJ45 "jack adapter". Looks like a SoC, but any ID numbers have been sanded except for an "A7" by pin 20 (and it's definitely not a Cortex A7).

My goal is not to send video over IPv4. I have a 3 monitor install in a building that needs one of the HDMI cables replaced due to a broken male end. The monitors are fed from the sources through a 4 way HDMI splitter. The cable in question runs 75' through a barely accessible attic over a vaulted ceiling, and I don't particularly care to climb through there again if I can avoid it. When I did the initial install I did pull CAT6 to each TV location to accommodate smart features, so I could just use the extender pair as is. But I was just wondering if rather than adding another device, I could simplify things by feeding the sender into the network, and having three receivers all "listen" to it. Or, have one sender run through a jack splitter to three receivers. That way I can avoid further issues when (not if) another equally pain-in-the-ass-to-replace cable fails.

I haven't use the specific ones from Walmart, and given how cheap they are, I imagine you are right about those.

However, I've used one in the past that work over an IP network just fine. These work on normal networks, for anyone interested: https://smile.amazon.com/Mirabox-Extender-Ethernet-Network-HSV373/dp/B00T76THZ2/

Can more than one receiver "tune" to a single sender? Or is it 1:1?

 

[Grog6]

That looks like it takes 4 digital signals off the HDMI port, boosts the signal, and terminates the output while capacitively coupling the output to the Ethernet cable out.

It's an amplifier/booster for digital signals.

Even Cat6 isn't very flat frequency wise, so presumably the other end squares it back up, and fixes a lot of the distortions.

I'd bet this sux, lol.
ICBW; post a pic on about 50 feet of cable, and we'll see.

It won't work if you neatly coil the cable, that really messes things up.