Kramer Electronics TP-574 HDMI, Bidirectional RS-232 and IR Over Twisted Pair Receiver

The Kramer Electronics TP-574 HDMI, Bi-Directional RS-232 & IR over Twisted Pair Receiver is a device for receiving converted HDMI plus control commands via twisted pair (e.g. CAT-5) cables and converting them back to HDMI, RS-232 and IR signals for output to a display device. Used with a Kramer TP-573 transmitter, the TP-574 receiver extends the range of an HDMI source so that it can feed a display across a facility, for instance. While HDMI cables have an approximate range of 50', CAT-5 cables can carry pristine HDTV video and associated audio signals over distances in the hundreds of feet.

The range of the system's transmission varies based on the signal resolution, graphics card, display and cables used. Kramer has tested the device with their own cables. The device receives signals from up to 295' away at 1080i, or up to 98' at 1080p using shielded BC-DGKat524 cable. With shielded BC-DGKat623 cable, the range extends to 295' at 1080i or up to 230' at 1080p. Using shielded BC-DGKat723 cable the range is up to 330' at 1080i or up to 295' at 1080p.

The TP-574 supports bi-directional RS-232 and infrared signals, which means that a computer source, for example, can be used to control a display device hundreds of feet away and receive data from that device. Control signals are received with converted video and audio signals over the twisted pair cable and outputted to the display device. By supporting HDMI, the TP-574 outputs video and multi-channel audio to an HDMI display such as a plasma or LCD flat-panel TV set or a computer display.