HDM-GA1 Gigabit Accelerator Makes 4K Upgrades Easy

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – December 1, 2015 – Metra Home Theater Group, a leading provider of home theater products and accessories, announces the Ethereal HDM-GA1 to its lineup of products. The Ethereal HDM-GA1 Gigabit Accelerator allows the installer to utilize existing in-wall passive HDMI® cables up to 15 meters in length to upgrade and support the full 4K/60, 4:4:4, HDR signal now available in many video products.

The compact in-line Gigabit Accelerator has a 2” by 1” aluminum chassis that is powered from an external USB power supply through a USB mini connector - and is simple for anyone to install. The HDM-GA1 rebuilds the video channels to a level that exceeds the HDMI 2.0A standard while repairing the data timing clock channel. The simple ‘plug and play’ device from Metra takes micro-technology and transforms any quality 24-gauge passive cable up to 15 meters to 4K with full signal integrity. This new innovation from Metra gives dealers with a very simple way to upgrade current installations to the latest 4K technology, meeting 4K/60, 4:4:4, HDR standards with existing HDMI cables.

Updated and new products to debut

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – January 04, 2015 – Metra Home Theater Group, a leading provider of home theater products and accessories, announces additional features to the award winning Ethereal HDM-GA1 and Velox Cables along with new Helios mounts.

The Residential Systems CEDIA EXPO Best of Show and CE Pro Best award winning HDM-GA1 Gigabit Accelerator now supports in-wall cables extending up to 17 meters. The Ethereal HDM-GA1 allows the installer to utilize existing in-wall passive HDMI® cables to upgrade and support the full 4K/60, 4:4:4, HDR signal now available in many video products. The compact in-line Gigabit Accelerator has a 2” by 1” aluminum chassis that is powered from an external USB power supply through a USB mini connector - and is simple for anyone to install.

The Velox Cables from Ethereal are now available in various sizes up to 15 meters, compared to the previous 12 meters. The evolutionary designed cables support the latest generation of HD, Ultra-HD and 4K video applications with the new Targa 1 Module developed in In-Visions Technology, Inc. The Velox UHD cables support 18 Gb/s HD signal for higher resolutions, frame rates and colors over HD digital interconnects. Like the Ethereal HDM-GA1, the Velox Cables are proudly assembled in the USA.

New surveillance cameras and accessories featured at CES 2016

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – December 14, 2015 – Metra Home Theater Group, a leading provider of home theater products and accessories, announces new Spyclops cameras, DVRs and power distribution boxes to their growing lineup of security products at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new NVR Kit 4 wireless 720p bullet cameras features a four-channel wireless connection with high-definition 720p resolution, VGA and HDMI® outputs and 3.6 mm fixed lens. The IP66 rated camera can be viewed simply on Android and iOS apps and include 1 terabyte of hard-drive space. The NVR Kit requires only a singular Ethernet cable to provide power and data to the entire unit making it an easy install option for any home or office.

The new Hybrid Security DVRs include 4-channel capabilities with embedded LINUX operating system that supports analog 960H, 720p, 1080p and IP (up to 1080p) cameras. The Hybrid Security DVR’s playback in the recorded resolution with a multi-camera view, up to 30 frames per second recording per camera and feature 1080p on all channels.

Metra Home featured their Ethereal™, Helios™, Spyclops™ and EHD™ brands at ISE 2016 last week. Featured products included the new Velox cables up to 15 meters for UHD and 4k, robust Helios TV mounts for displays up to 90”, the award winning M3B system — transmitter and receiver, which enables integrators to install either a flexible multi-source HD video distribution system into any home using the existing coax and splitters, as well as a point to point long distance wireless system, and the HDM-GA1, which allows installers to utilize existing in-wall passive HDMI® cables up to 17 meters in length to upgrade and support the full 4k/60, 4:4:, HDR signal.

Two industry technical sales pros outline key considerations for 4K Ultra HD, including HDBaseT, HDMI® 2.0, HDCP 2.2, high dynamic range (HDR) and some problem–solving tips and tools.

Fred Harding and Brent McCall — March 4, 2016

4K, UHD, HDCP 2.2, HDMI 2.0, HDR, HDBaseT … It’s complicated. Two of the industry’s most popular techies — Fred Harding of Capitol Sales and Brent McCall of Metra Home Theater — lay it all out for integrators, highlighting the benefits of 4K–related technologies and the challenges of creating an end–to–end UHD experience for the consumer.

Fred and Brent wanted to keep this piece free from product ads, but since CE Pro feels it’s important to talk about specific products where warranted, with Fred’s permission we have inserted them into the story. As always, we thank Fred and Brent for their contributions. – CE Pro

THE NEXT BIG THING IN THE WORLD OF VIDEO is Ultra High Definition video, aka 4K. The concept is simple – or at least it should be: essentially delivering four times the resolution as 1080p, a widely accepted standard for high definition television.

To implement a 4K signal, lots of things need to happen. First, the display needs to be capable of producing an image with 3,940 x 2,160 pixels. (For discussion purposes, we’ll refer to the device that the picture is seen on as the display; it could be a projector providing the image, or a flat or curved panel using LED, OLED, or some other technology.)