Just Add Power Adds RS-232 Control to HDMI over IP

It was just one year ago when Just Add Power surprised the CE Pro community with an HDMI-over-IP distribution system.

At the Electronic House Expo in March of this year, the company introduced some mechanical refinements to the product, and two months later J-A-P showcased the second-generation 2G gigabit series featuring higher bandwidth and improved video compression algorithms.

Finally, at CEDIA Expo 2010, J-A-P will reveal RS-232 pass-through for the 2G series, enabling device control over the same IP network that delivers HD video.

“So, in addition to being able to build an any-sized HDMI over IP matrix, these devices also will allow the custom installer to send/receive two-way RS-232 commands to any devices attached to the matrix,” says J-A-P principal Ed Qualls. “This includes the ability to control all of the attached displays.”

The serial pass-through capability potentially eliminates the need for a separate control module at each end point.

Plus, it’s a great alternative to HDMI’s feeble Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) platform.

Qualls says, “Instead of letting CEC run freely on the matrix (do you really want your Blu-ray player to decide when to turn on the TV?), we are giving the professional installers total control over every aspect of the HDMI matrix solution.”

Better than HDBaseT?

He adds that J-A-P’s new control functionality helps the product compete with AMX’s new UTPro 8x8 matrix switch that utilizes HDBaseT one-wire technology from Valens Semiconductor.

AMX says in its own literature that UTPro beats similar HDMI-over-Cat 5 solutions from Crestron (“Crestra”) and Extron (“Extra”).

In that spirit, Qualls says an 8x8 2G HDMI matrix kit from J-A-P is about 15 percent less than the latest offering from “Amstra.”

While the AMX product retails for $11,900, the J-A-P equivalent would cost less than $10,200, including a 24-port gigabit network switch and eight 2G transmitters and receivers ($599 each), says Qualls.

“Even better,” he adds, “for the same price the system can just as easily be configured as a 5x11, a 3x13, or a 12x4.”

He reminds integrators that the J-A-P solution is not limited to just 16 ports. It can “support practically any imaginable number of screens and sources.”

In addition, J-A-P transmitters/receivers are available with or without PoE functionality.

IR is an Easy Add-On

Unlike the first-generation J-A-P product, 2G does not have built-in IR support. The company decided against it since RS-232-to-IR conversion products are so readily available -- from simple adapters to more sophisticated, turnkey devices like the BitWise BC4 controller, with its on-board IR library.

In addition, says Qualls, "We are already working in the lab with home automation processors like the Control4 HC-300 and the URC MSC-400 to allow their integrated IR/RS232 capabilities to work directly with the Just Add Power 2G devices. We expect to be able to support just about every other control system on the market using the same Just Add Power modules."

IP-based control also is supported in both the first- and second-generation products. "We are providing much more sophisticated IP controls with the 2G models as part of the SDK [software developers kit]," says Qualls.

The RS-232-enabled products, which will be demonstrated for the first time at CEDIA Expo 2010, are expected to ship in October September.