NeoPro Introduces NeoStar Fiber Optic Matrix Switcher

If you want the very best audio and video distributed throughout a very large house, you'll want to use fiber optic cable.

At CEDIA 2009, NeoPro will debut NeoStar, a fiber-optic switch designed to deliver eight streams of 1080p HDMI video and six additional audio sources to eight video and four audio-only zones.

The audio/video content can reach as far as 1,000 feet over fiber optics.

Last year, NeoPro introduced LightSpider, a point-to-point fiber optic solution. This year, the company is going all the way, again using Digital Light Interface (DLI) technology from OWLink Technology, Inc.

DLI uses advanced optical wave division multiplexing (WDM) to transmit uncompressed video/audio and other data. With OWLink’s patented technology, DLI allows the transmission of high-speed HD digital video, high quality digital audio, IR remote control information, USB, LAN, RS232 and other control and data information, all through a thin, single fiber.
The NeoStar can serve as a hub for NeoPro's LightSpider nodes.

“Digital video is obviously the future, but until now, it has not been practical to use as a whole-house solution," says NeoPro CEO Bill Paul. "We believe that the basic cabling infrastructure of the home can be completely fiber with DLI."

Pricing has not been finalized for NeoStar, but Paul says it will likely list betweent $10,000 to $12,000 -- probably what you'd pay for fancy HDMI extender kits, and a whole lot easier.


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