HDBaseT Automotive enables the tunneling of up to 6Gbps of simultaneous streams of high-definition video & audio, data, USB, and power, over a 15m (50ft) single, unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable. HDBaseT Automotive also allows for daisy-chaining and multistreaming, to simplify and optimize in-vehicle connectivity.

ADAS use case for HDBase T. Click to enlarge.

HDBaseT relies on Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM). Basically, this is the same technology that is used to code Ethernet signals into twisted pair cabling, where digital data is represented as a coding scheme using different levels of DC voltage at fairly high rates. However, HDBaseT uses a patented proprietary version of the PAM modulation, enabling its feature-set to be converged into a up to 100m single CAT cable, without the electrical characteristics of the wire affecting performance. It is important to note that, while HDBaseT uses the same coding technology as Ethernet and have an Ethernet channel, it is neither Ethernet nor packet based. It just relies on the same cabling, thus providing the inherent benefits of the cost-effective CAT infrastructure.

HDBaseT uses an asymmetric method, sending video, audio, Ethernet and controls from source to sink, but only 100Mb are transferred back (Ethernet and controls). Unlike conventional data communication which is a symmetrical application by nature, with required a bit error rate (BER) of at least 10 to the minus 12, the asymmetric nature of HDBaseT is based on an innovative DSP engine and an AFE (Application Front End) architecture.

A special line coding scheme was developed to provide a better transfer quality to some kinds of data (audio, controls, Ethernet) without the need for the protecting overhead for the video content which consumes most of the bandwidth.

The cornerstone of HDBaseT technology is 5Play, a feature set that converges uncompressed ultra-HD digital video and audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, USB 2.0, up to 100W of power over cable, and various control signals through a single LAN cable for up to 100 meters/328 feet.

In June, Valens unveiled the VA600T—the first silicon to demonstrate the transmission of high-throughput, time-sensitive applications over an HDBaseT Automotive link.

Valens founded the HDBaseT Alliance in 2010 to drive the mass adoption of HDBaseT in the consumer electronics and pro-AV sector. In 2016, the Alliance’s Automotive Working Group was established to advance the development and adoption of HDBaseT Automotive technology, including among its members: GM, Daimler, Delphi, Mitsubishi Electric, HARMAN, LG, Samsung and Panasonic.