Jordan O'BrienHDanywhere has several new stories to tell this year at ISE 2015. Best known for its HDMI/HDBaseT matrix switches, the company is expanding into audio, adding DarbeeVision Visual Presence technology to switches, and promising to integrate with Kickstarter home automation darling Neeo.
Let’s start with the easy stuff: HDanywhere began life with a modular HDBaseT switcher, but later added mHub – an all-in-on unit – to its portfolio.
The latest version, the mHub 4K will be shipping “soon” with HDCP 2.2 support, according to managing director Chris Pinder.
The product features HDMI CEC and webOS for Web-based control.
As for the modular “Blue” HDanywhere products, you can expect HDCP 2.2 support for that as well because … it’s modular.
“The good thing about modular is that you only need to use it [4K with HDCP 2.2] wherever you need it, says Pinder.
As for the latest innovations at HDanywhere, the company is launching at ISE a new series of products called Layer Cake (details in the video below).
The A/V stack represents HDanywhere’s foray into audio with an audio switch and amplifier.
But the 8×8 video component of the stack also has something new. Pinder says it is the first to incorporate DarbeeVision’s Visual Presence technology. A handful of video components, such as an Oppo Blu-ray player, incorporate the technology, but never before has Visual Presence found its way into a multizone switch.
DarbeeVision’s processing purportedly delivers more depth and realism to a picture through the company’s patented algorithm.
Finally, at ISE Pinder told me that HDanywhere would be supported in Neeo, the start-up remote control and home automation system that so far has raised more than $1.5 million on Kickstarter.
At launch, Neeo should be able to control Layer Cake via IP communications.