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Tributaries' HXMini5 extends 1080p HDMI signals up to 100 meters
Forget 130-feet -- how's about 100 meters? The new long-range solution from Tributaries (dubbed HXMini5) extends Full HD video (with audio) just over 300-feet with no loss of quality or reliability. The box can sling 1080p/60Hz HDMI signals up to 100-meters and 1080p/120Hz up to 55-meters, and of course, it's fully HDCP compliant. Being compatible with HDMI v1.3 also gives it the ability to understand Dolby Digital / DTS audio transmissions, and the self-calibrating active amplification and equalization enables it to "automatically adapt to cable length and signal rate." Get your HDMI signals to go further for $450.
Tributaries Cable's HX101 joins the 130-foot HDMI extender club
For all of HDMI's promises of "one cable to rule them all," there sure seem to be large number of accessories to go along with the format, many of them for supporting longer runs. Tributaries Cable has added its HX101 to the growing number of repeaters/extenders that will stretch the not-so-long arm of HDMI to 40-meters (130-feet). The HX101 will pass all kinds of good bits you might be using, like HDMI 1.3 with HDCP, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA; and you can rest easy knowing features you're probably not making any use of -- 1440p resolution, Deep Color and xvYCC -- are just fine, too. Sure, the device is a little more portly than some we've seen recently, but this kind of thing isn't really system showoff material anyways, and the $150 price will save you a little money.
Tributaries offers up HDA140 1-in / 4-out HDMI distribution amplifier
We've got to say, Tributaries' T12 power strip was way more intriguing than this thing, but regardless of your excitement level, you may still need a distribution amplifier to send a single HDMI signal out in four different directions. The HDA140 is a 1-in, 4-out amp which pipes one HDMI signal to four zones up to 100-feet away; as expected, the unit is fully HDMI 1.3 / HDCP compliant and supports 1440p, Deep Color, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and refresh rates up to 120Hz. It's available now for $450.
Tributaries T12 power strip features rotating outlets
Mind you, we've seen some pretty wacky power strips in our day, but the subtle Tributaries T12 is likely one of our favorites. This recently released unit provides eight rotating outlets in order to keep your mess of wires a bit more tidy, and furthermore, it also provides signal-line protection for phone lines, Ethernet, coax cable and antennas. Besides being thoughtfully designed, it also offers up 4,320 joules of surge suppression and noise filtering for AC power, and considering that it can handle up to 1,875-watts of load, all but the zaniest of setups should be manageable. Already feeling the urge? You can check it out right now for $120.
Tributaries coax / Toslink converter
Wouldn't you know it -- just as we bemoan the lack of a coaxial digital output on the Toshiba HD-A30, a device to address that gripe comes along. Tributaries has introduced its AC100 coax/Toslink converter to keep the digital audio bits flowing over either format for times when you either get caught short on cabling or (worse yet) you've run out of appropriate inputs/outputs. Operation of the 2-inch square box is easy enough: plug in the wall-wart, plug in your cables and set the switch for conversion direction. The unit will pass along PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS; so if you're relying on coax or Toslink for audio (no DD+, TrueHD, DTS-HD or DTS-MA) you're covered. The MSRP of $50 is worth the price of a headache saved, if you ask us. While you can get no-name boxes that do the same thing for less, we're hoping the installer market the AC100 is meant for will get treated to higher quality components.
