Radiient Technologies Select-4 HDMI Switcher/Repeater Review

Radiient Technologies Select-4 Introduction

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) equipped audio/video devices are gaining popularity and like them or not they are quickly becoming the industry standard now and for the foreseeable future. Manufacturers of A/V receivers, pre-amps, fixed pixel display devices, front projectors, DVD players, cable boxes, satellite receivers and other devices are quickly adopting and implementing the HDMI connection on their products.

Terminating your system with HDMI connections is a very effective and neat solution for high-resolution audio/video signal transfer and system level switching. What happens when you run out of HDMI inputs or have a receiver or pre-amp that you really love that doesn't have HDMI inputs? Another common problem is many HDMI sources will not transfer high-resolution audio/video signals long distances without introducing signal degradation.

Radiient Technologies, a manufacturer located in the Silicon Valley of California has recently introduced a cost effective solution for those that have HDMI deficiencies in their systems. Radiient Technologies teams of engineers are comprised of industry veterans from many well know manufacturers such as: Silicon Image, DVDO, Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, Alpha Smart and other others. The Radiient team has authored more than thirty US patents in the consumer electronics field.

Radiient Technologies Select-4 Features, Setup, and Remotes

The Radiient Select-4 is a high-performance HDMI switching center. The Select-4's sleek, compact, elegant design is a feature-rich and well-constructed device which is made in the USA. The front faceplate of the Select-4 incorporates a power button, manual input select button, four LED input indicators that change color from blue to orange when on an active input, and a green power indicator LED. The top of the switcher has a molded depression in the plastic chassis for convenient storage of the supplied remote control. The back of the Select-4 features four well-spaced HDMI inputs, one HDMI output, + 6volt DV power input and an RS-232 port for advanced control with systems like Creston. The bottom of the switcher has four square rubberized feet to prevent movement when many cables are connected to the switcher.

HDMI Quick Facts

HDMI is an industry-supported uncompressed digital audio/video interface. HDMI supports standard, enhanced and high definition video. The HDMI interface also supports eight-channel 192kHz uncompressed audio. The current HDMI standard version implemented in current manufactured products is version 1.2.The HDMI standard version 1.3 was released on 22 June 2006 and is expected to make its way into products by the end of the year. The new version will support HD-DVD, Blue-ray DVD, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. HDMI version 1.3 will also have broader color space with a wider color gamut The new version is said to have enough bandwidth headroom for future software developments and will incorporate automatic lip sync timing compensation. As of this writing there is not a single source or display device that is HDMI 1.3 compliant. The Radiient Select-4 is currently HDMI version 1.2 compliant, but the manufacturer claims HDMI 1.3 compatibility. Obviously we have no way to test the Select-4 with HDMI 1.3 because there are no products on the market that incorporate the new HDMI standard.

HDCP

HDPC (High bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a form of digital anti piracy protection developed by the Intel Corporation. High definition digital video content must be restricted to standard DVD quality 480p on all non-HDCP compliant video outputs. Each HDCP compliant devices has a set of 40 keys called KSV (Key Selection Vector). During the authentication process each device exchanges KSV's then encryption is preformed by a stream cipher. If a device is compromised, non-HDCP compliant it's KSV's are revoked. During the authentication process, if the device is found to have a revoked KSV, the HD data will not be sent resulting in an HDCP error.

Remote Controls

The Radiient Select-4 ships from the factory with two credit card sized non-backlit remote controls.

The installer's remote features a Power On/Off button, four Input select buttons labeled 1 - 4, Manual Input select button up and down, Auto Input search button On/Off, display On/Off, and a secondary On/Off button. The user remote is simplistic; offering only On/Off and input select buttons. All buttons are "membrane-style" and seemed to be durable and easy to operate.

The I/R remote's buttons are easily identified and are nicely arranged. The buttons are spaced far enough apart to prevent double pushes and the remote fits comfortably in the palm of the hand. The remotes have an effective range of about 40ft when pointed directly at the Select-4 and had perfect operation when used this way.

Cable Up

Radiient Technologies included two of their optional two-meter HDMI cables for evaluating the Select-4. The two-meter cable is available for $34.99 including shipping. Radiient Technologies also offers a 0.5 meter and 5 meter cable. The cable construction and build quality is pretty decent considering the price. Flexibility and molded plastic HDMI shell are what you would expect at this price point. The cables fit tightly into the Select-4 HDMI inputs and output and required a moderate amount of effort to pull out.

Installation

We wanted to evaluate the Select-4 in various configurations to verify its performance and flexibility. Using the Radiient 2 meter cables, we connected one cable to the HDMI output of our Toshiba SD-K860 DVD player and terminated it to input 1 on the Select-4. We used the Direct TV H-10 satellite receiver as our second source and terminated the second HDMI cable to input 2. We connected a 50-foot HDMI cable from the Select-4 HDMI output and terminated it to our Panasonic PT-44LCX-65 HDTV. This installation configuration would simulate the need for HDMI switching from multiple sources directly to a display device. We set both sources to output 720p through the Select-4 and began our evaluation.

Radiient Technologies Select-4 Evaluation and Conclusion

The Radiient Select-4 has an auto input search feature that searches the inputs for an active signal and locks on to it. If two source devices are active, the Select-4 will use input one as the default. Utilizing Avia Guide to Home Theater, we selected Chapter 7's Resolution test. The Select-4 automatically recognized the active signal on the number 1 input and displayed the 100TVL image on our HDTV.

The unconverted 720p resolution image was perfectly displayed on our Panasonic HDTV. Horizontal and vertical resolution wedges were crisp, clear and easily discernable. The 6.75 MHz line structure looked flawless; all lines were straight and sharp. Dissecting the displayed test image, we were unable to detect any signal degradation, ringing or noise in the unconverted image passed through the Select-4 switcher.

Proceeding with the evaluation we turned off the DVD player, immediately the Select-4 auto searched for an active input and synced up with our H-10 satellite receiver. We noted that the auto sync was very fast with an average automatic sync time of about 5 seconds.

Now that we had a beautiful HDTV signal displayed on our HDTV, we wondered if we could confuse or trip up the Select-4 by switching the resolution on the satellite receiver to 1080i while maintaining the 720p resolution on the DVD player. Auto switching between the two different sources displayed at different resolutions, the Select-4 switcher operated flawlessly. It never once failed to recognize the active input of 1080i or 720p even after numerous input and On/Off cycles.

Having too few HDMI inputs on a receiver or preamp would be another possible reason to utilize an HDMI switcher. With this installation consideration in mind, we decided to evaluate the Select-4 with the incorporation of our Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver. We connected our Denon DVD-2910 to one of our Yamaha RX-V4600's HDMI inputs and selected a 720p-unconverted resolution. We then connected an HDMI cable from the RXV-4600 monitor out to the Select-4 HDMI input number three leaving the components from our first evaluation connected to input number one and two.

What we are effectively doing here is passing through unconverted 720p signal from the Denon DVD-2910 through the Yamaha RX-V4600 and then switching between sources with the Select-4.This would enable the use of the A/V receiver to switch HDMI sources in conjunction with the Select-4 thus increasing the number of HDMI inputs available.

Powering up all source components then shutting them off and turning them back on, the Select-4 recognized all the active inputs and switched the unconverted signal from the Yamaha RX-V4600 to our HDTV perfectly.

HDMI connections also have the ability to transmit high-resolution digital sound tracks simultaneously with the high-resolution video. We tested the Select-4's ability to transmit both signals using the Denon DVD-2910 HDMI input connected to the Select-4's number three input, then connecting an HDMI cable to the Select-4's HDMI output and terminating it to the RX-V4600's HDMI DVD input. Finally, we connected an HDMI cable from the RX-V4600's HDMI monitor output to our HDTV.

King Kong DVD
We used the new version of King Kong to evaluate audio/video signal transfer through the Select-4 switcher. Viewing the movie in its entirety we had perfect HDMI video and audio signal transfer. At no time during the evaluation did we experience any signal drop out, degradation, or video/audio lip sync timing issues.

With the perfect HDMI switching performance we obtained in our initial evaluations, we wanted to see how the Select-4 would perform as a HDMI signal repeater. The Select-4 is marketed for use as a repeater and the manufacturer claims undistorted signal transfer up to 100ft.

We decided to put this claim to the test by using a 50-foot HDMI cable connected to our Toshiba SD-K860 DVD player terminated to the input one on the Select-4 switcher and then using an additional 50-foot HDMI cable connected the output of the Select-4 switcher's output, terminated to DVI input of our Sharp DT-400 front projector's DVI input utilizing an HDMI to DVI converter.

We thought a direct A/B comparison using the HQV Color Bar and Detail resolution tests with the repeated 100ft signal run compared to a standard direct 35ft HDMI cable run would be a good way to evaluate the Select-4's HDMI signal repeating capabilities.

First, we conducted the test with the repeated 100ft signal run and recorded all the test scores. Next, we connected the 35ft HDMI cable to the Toshiba DVD player and Sharp projector then repeated the tests recording the test results. We also tested several motion tests to make sure the Select-4 wasn't inhibiting anything that involved more significant bandwidth.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

720p unconverted HDMI connection 100ft repeated signal through Select-4 switcher

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

720p unconverted HDMI connection 35ft direct connection from DVD player to projector

Comments on HQV Testing

We were not surprised to see that there were no differences in the HQV test results. The significance of the test indicates that the Select-4 introduced no signal degradation even with a very long 100ft HDMI repeated cable run. The actual test scores are insignificant; the importance of the test is that it validates the ability of the Select-4 to transmit HDMI signals over long distances exactly the way they are produced by the source. In the future Audioholics will run more detailed resolution tests to compare both switchers and digital video cables for distance capabilities and performance minimums.

Conclusion

The Radiient Technologies Select-4 HDMI switcher-repeater is an engineering marvel. There is little doubt that the Radiient Technologies design and engineering teams have a strong grasp of what the consumers want and need from an HDMI switcher. Careful thought and planning were definitely involved in the development of the Select-4. Excellent build quality, elegant design, flawless high performance, ease of use and features make this an easy recommendation. The fact that the Select-4 is built in the USA makes it even more compelling. Adding, expanding or sending HDMI signal long distances can be tricky business. Fortunately Radiient Technologies has an ace up its sleeve with the Select-4 switcher that can solve most HDMI deficiencies - five stars and highly recommended.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Video Performance
Build Quality
Ease of Setup/Programming/Integration
Features
Performance
Value