USB peripherals can be placed at a distance of 150 feet from the source using a USB Extender for connecting the devices. Consisting of a transmitter and a receiver, the former is connected to the input port on the extender and the latter to its output. Once the connections are secured using Category cables and the device is powered on, the unit is ready to operate. It follows plug and play functionality and simple installation procedures and does not require any external power adapters. Since the Cat5 cables are used for connecting the devices, extension is simple and economical. Compliant with USB 1.0 and 1.1 specifications, these devices are compatible with any USB device.

Three models, the Cat5 USB Booster, the fiber optic extender and the Wireless USB extender, are available in the market. Difference between them lies in the distance of extension as well as the mode of connection between the source and display units. While the Cat5 and the fiber optic extenders use wires for securing connections, the wireless device works on wireless 802.11 type connections. Continue reading »

SmartVM now offers wide range of new USB extender products ideal for extending devices like USB cameras, printers, and scanners. This USB Extender over Cat5 breaks the 15 feet USB extension limitation. The USB 2.0 Extender Cat5 will allow you to extend from 1 to 4 USB peripheral devices up to 330 feet via Cat5 / Cat5e / Cat6 UTP cable. The USB standard calls for a maximum range of 5 meters (16.4 feet), but you can stretch this useful protocol to over 100 meters using standard UTP cabling, or as much as 500 meters (1640 feet) by using fiber cable. The latest USB 2.0 Extender is composed of two separate units, the local extender and the remote extender. The user supplies up to 100 meters of Cat5 cable or 500 meters of fiber optic cable to connect the modules. You can extend up to several hundred meters using fiber optic cable. This is made possible through the use of the new USB Extender Modules.

The Cat5 KVM Extender units transmit data and high-resolution video up to 1920 x 1440 @ 60Hz (depending on cable length), and are connected via Cat5 / 6 / 7 UTP cable. In addition to these, there are also fiber optic KVM Extender units that utilize multimode fiber optic cables.

Another new product for SmartVM is the Wireless VGA Extender which enables you to Continue reading »