Frequently Asked Questions - General
General questions about ZeeVee's Commercial and Residential / Light Commercial products. Click on a question to show or hide the answer.
We could easily put an HDMI connector on ZvBoxes, but HDMI standards wouldn’t let it pass copy-protected content. That means it wouldn’t work with most programming from cable boxes, satellite boxes, or Blu-ray players. Here’s why….
The vast majority of content that comes over an HDMI connector is copy-protected using HDCP, or HD Copy Protection. Part of the HDMI standard is to make sure that each device in the chain of reproduction maintains HDCP; a special ‘digital handshake’ over the HDMI cable is used to establish an encrypted link. Since ZvBoxes broadcast an HDTV channel over a coax cable to an unknown number of displays, no “handshake” takes place.
In short, the HDMI connection will only work for non-HDCP content. All other HDCP content (from Set Top Boxes, Blu-ray, etc) will go ‘dark’ without the handshake, rendering the connection almost useless.
Component video connectors are another story. For quite some time there has been a fear that Component HD outputs are going away altogether. The media companies were arguing that unencrypted outputs make content theft too easy, and they wanted them shut off - especially for ‘best of the best’ content. But in May 2010 the FCC made a very important ruling that assures the longevity of Component HD output. They ruled that the media companies can shut off the Component outputs for *first run movies that have not yet been released to DVD and are within 90 days of the theatrical release*. All other content (ESPN, HBO except for pre-DVD, Discovery, etc.) will *continue to be available on component outputs*. This is a major win for consumers, and the HD video distribution industry.
One can make the final argument that says that a Digital connection will always be a better signal than an Analog connection. Technically that’s true, but the difference is practically unnoticeable. Why are most computer monitors still connected to VGA (analog) connections? Because it’s the most popular connection in the world, and it looks just fine! A pure digital connection might be a little cheaper, but it won’t work with many sources. Component is the most commonly available form of HD in the industry!
The bottom line: If you want to distribute premium HD video content to a lot of displays, the component connector is the way to go.
Is a ZvBox like the old RF modulators (from Channel Vision, etc.) that were used a few years ago to deliver video over coax, like for security cameras? Is it set up the same way?
The ZvBox™ is an RF modulator, except that it works in HD. It’s set up much the same way as those old analog modulators:
- Connect an AV source to ZvBox
- Connect ZvBox to the coax cabling in the building
- Find an empty RF channel you can use for broadcast (ZvBox helps you do this)
- Set the ZvBox to broadcast on the selected channel
- Tune in the channel on the HDTVs
Those are the basics, so if you installed analog RF modulators years ago, you already know most of what you need to know to work with ZvBoxes.
Yes, but you’ll probably want to amplify the ZvBox signal. Typical commercial analog modulators have about +45 dB of output, and ZvBoxes have +25 dB. Adding a simple +20 dB RF amplifier to the output of the ZvBox will make sure all the channels are balanced and easy for the TVs to receive.