ERDrPC Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I was trolling Cedia 2011 booth videos and stumbled upon this.. Does anyone have more info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'm wondering why we haven't heard more about this?!?*off to do further research* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 http://www.hydraconnect.com/HSS-1/hss-1.htmlOnly sells to dealers, no msrp.Promising product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I just spoke with David Schanin, who is the President of HydraConnect.The units will be shipping in December of this year. It isn't cheap, but if I am reading/understanding this correctly it could easily take the place of a Control4 8Zone amp, because it has analog stereo inputs and matrix switching for that as well.Hopefully this will be my much delayed solution to an HDMI matrix switch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Very exciting, can't wait til its out, I might actually sell my c4 amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I just spoke with David Schanin, who is the President of HydraConnect.The units will be shipping in December of this year. It isn't cheap, but if I am reading/understanding this correctly it could easily take the place of a Control4 8Zone amp, because it has analog stereo inputs and matrix switching for that as well.Hopefully this will be my much delayed solution to an HDMI matrix switch!I don't see any speaker binding posts on the picture, I don't think it will be able to distribute audio to my speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I just spoke with David Schanin' date=' who is the President of HydraConnect.The units will be shipping in December of this year. It isn't cheap, but if I am reading/understanding this correctly it could easily take the place of a Control4 8Zone amp, because it has analog stereo inputs and matrix switching for that as well.Hopefully this will be my much delayed solution to an HDMI matrix switch![/quote']I don't see any speaker binding posts on the picture, I don't think it will be able to distribute audio to my speakers.It requires a separate, low cost amplifier which the sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turls Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 There was a lot of this type of stuff on the show floor. My dealer was not impressed. The switch time seemed pretty laggy. Weren't better solutions shown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I didnt see it on the floor, but from the video I'm not sure why I would go with this instead of Just Add Power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I can tell you that his booth looks pretty ghetto....so does his website.If you've got a top tier product like that, don't you think you could find something nicer than wire shelves to display it on?LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I just watched the video again.He should definitely win an award for most ghetto booth ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I didnt see it on the floor, but from the video I'm not sure why I would go with this instead of Just Add Power?Aren't they two completely different products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I didnt see it on the floor' date=' but from the video I'm not sure why I would go with this instead of Just Add Power?[/quote']Aren't they two completely different products.They're both solutions for HDMI matrix switching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I didnt see it on the floor' date=' but from the video I'm not sure why I would go with this instead of Just Add Power?[/quote']Aren't they two completely different products.They're both solutions for HDMI matrix switching.And both are offering control as well over the single cat5. For example, the new 2G+ has 1080p hdmi, bi-directional RS232, surround sound, and power for the receiver on a single cat cable. *edit* and HDMI CEC if I remember right - the product will launch in a month or so officially.I'm not saying that HyrdaConnect is a bad product, I haven't use it yet - for the record.Also, just read the HydraConnect powerpoint on their site - looks like it's ONLY CEC control commands being sent, which even according to their documentation is hit or miss depending on the equipment brand and how well they support CEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterwilson Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 ^ It's just tough for me personally to invest so much into a product that is essentially propietary. What happens if JAP is not in business in 5 years, do I have to start all over from scratch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turls Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I didnt see it on the floor, but from the video I'm not sure why I would go with this instead of Just Add Power?Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1949live Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hi guys - David Schanin here from HydraConnect. Wanted to clear up a few questions raised by the earlier posters. The Hydra product is unique in that it handles all video and audio and control for a C4 system - HDMI of mixed resolution as well as multi channel and stereo audio and CEC/IP control. It is also tightly integrated into a C4 system through links to Composer. The product design center was to provide a simple plug-and-play HDMI solution for C4 dealers. We were, to my knowledge, the only manufacturer to actually belly up and show a real 8 room system fully operational. The video switch times between sources is usually about 1 second, though real low-end TVs may take 2-3 seconds (they take time to sync to a new video stream - nothing we can do about that). Regarding the question of CEC support, this is really just an added benefit to eliminate the IR blasters, especially on TVs where they tend to look ugly. CEC worked on all the gear in our booth except for power on/off of the LG TV which I expect us to address before first ship. However, because we are plugged into Composer, you can use any control method you are comfortable with - IR, serial, or IP - and the Hydra product will happily co-exist with it but still handle the video and audio distribution. Someone commented about speaker binding posts - the correct answer was supplied in that the HSS requires a simple external amp, not a matrix switch. The HSS does all the volume control.A question was also asked regarding other product out there and comparing it to the HSS. There are lots of other HDMI matrix switches out there, as well as audio switches. Using any of these other products may work fine for you, as long as you are prepared to manage all of the HDMI issues like EDID management, HDCP, HDCP key limitations, etc. What we did was to create a plug-and-play solution for C4. If you count up all the C4 gear that you will no longer need (especially if you use CEC for control), the need to run just a single Ct5e/6 to each TV, and the labor to program and install all extra gear and cables, several dealers have told us we come out ahead for 5 or more TVs. Add in remote access to help avoid a truck roll, and simple 3 button setup, that defines the difference between Hydra and other switches.As to the Ghetto comments, we did have to develop a way to get 8 TVs in one booth without spending >$50K for a full custom booth, so the wire rack solution was the only viable option we could come up with. Next CEDIA we will do better!Thanks for listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I liked their booth setup. Clean and straightforward, and that kind of setup really highlights the *product*, which was the point.The one thing I think they should do better would be to get a little better *placement* at CEDIA. Stuck in a corner was not that good a place...RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1949live Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Ryan - agree on the location problem. We chose the location based on looking at the hall layout and were fooled into thinking that the emergency exit doors (right next to our booth) were really hall entrance doors as they were really labeled poorly. Next year CEDIA is in the same location and we won't make the same mistake twice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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