Neothings and OWLink Give a Reason to Prewire with Fiber

Neothings and partner OWLink may single-handedly revive fiber-in-the-home, a movement that fizzled about five years ago.

At EHX Spring 2009, Neothings debuted the Neopro LightSpider, which delivers HDMI, stereo audio, and control signals over 300 feet or more over a single fiber optic cable.

We previewed the product – which uses technology from OWLink -- before EHX, but didn't have a price at that time. At EHX, Neothings CEO Bill Paul said the product (transmitter plus receiver) would retail for $1,299.

That may seem pricey for a point-to-point solution; however, for longer distances, it should end up cheaper than Cat 5-based HDMI extenders, which require repeaters and other signal-enhancement devices.

Paul said a light-bulb went off in the heads of several integrators who visited the Neothings booth at EHX.

"Dealers were pulling fiber five years ago and then stopped because the products never materialized," he says. "They're saying, 'Now I can go back and use the fiber.'"

Plenum-rated fiber costs about twice as much as Cat 5+, says Paul, so it's worthwhile to prewire with it, especially to media-intensive locales.

More Fiber Products to Come

The LightSpider HDMI extender, expected to ship in about two months, is just one of the products in Neothings' fiber portfolio. At EHX, the company showed a component video version of the product. It offers a pass-through so users can stack multiple devices.

Neothings also plans to deliver an HDMI-only (no stereo audio) solution that will cost less than the LightSpider's $1,299.

In addition, Neothings is working on a LightSpider model that adds 100 Mbps Ethernet support to the HDMI/stereo/control solution – and still requires only a single run of fiber.

OWLink assures us that other companies besides Neothings -- some especially large CE firms, they tell us -- are rising to the fiber cause.

OWLink representatives at EHX say they expect to launch the DLI Consortium soon, with prominent firms who plan to implement OWLink's Digital Light Interface in a broad range of products.

OWLink says it is unique in its ability to pass HDMI with HDCP over a single fiber. Other solutions, the say, require both fiber and Cat 5 cables.

Fiber Ideal for Retrofit

It's possible that fiber solutions will make more sense for retrofit than their wireless counterparts.

Wireless HDMI solutions currently cost about the same as Neothings' LightSpider, but they are less reliable and certainly cannot support the long distances that fiber can.

Because a single fiber optic cable is so thin, it can easily be hidden along baseboards, door frames and molding. Plus, fiber can tolerate extreme bends, unlike Cat 5 and other types of cable.

Best yet, OWLink offers transparent fiber that practically disappears against a wall.

The company suggests the transparent fiber be used, among other things, for flat screens TVs mounted above a fireplace.

Do You Do Fiber?

What do integrators think? Are you currently prewiring with fiber? Using it for retrofit? Considering it?

Please leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.