Until Now, Long Distance HDMI™ Cable Runs Meant Slow Speeds, But Not Anymore!

--Introducing Three Revolutionary Long Distance Hyper Speed Cables and Ultra High Speed and High Speed Products for HDMI™ Connectivity With Gennum ActiveConnect Technology-- [The following is a release from Monster Cable and Gennum]

January 16, 2009

Monster, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end cables, accessories, and power conditioning products, today introduced the first Long Distance Hyper-Speed products for HDMI™ created through its partnership with Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND), an alliance that promises unprecedented speeds for multimedia connectivity. In the past, long runs of HDMI would not carry the HD signal at a high enough resolution. Over longer cable runs, high-bandwidth HDMI signals are prone to signal attenuation and timing errors, referred to as “jitter,” which can cause aberrations in the picture, from streaks and flashing pixels to inaccurate color. The new Hyper Speed and Ultra High Speed products from Monster, first in a planned family of HDMI connectivity products created through the Monster-Gennum alliance, are on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show at Monster’s CES booth, Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall, Booth 13306 and Gennum’s booth at the HDMI TechZone, Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 1, Booth 21266. The initial products, to be manufactured and sold by Monster beginning in April 2009, include: • Three new additions to the company’s flagship M Series™ cables, including 50, 65 and 75 foot Hyper Speed rated M2000 cables, delivering 21 Gbps performance (retail price: $1000 to $1800). • Monster® Maximizer for HDMI (estimated retail price: $199), which delivers Ultra High Speed 10.2 Gbps data rate over long distances, securely attaches to the display side of a long HDMI cable run for a worry-free, high-definition connection, featuring LED indicators for trouble-shooting connection and transmission; • High-Definition Audio/Video Over Cat5e/6 Wall Plate (estimated retail price $399.95), which delivers HDMI up to 200 feet at the High Speed rating of 6.68 Gbps, includes LED indicators and features an external power supply; • The new High speed 6.68 Gbps HDMI over dual Cat X System (estimated retail price:$399) ideal for custom installers. Monster’s Cable for Life Replacement Offer Monster’s Hyper Speed Cables for HDMI are designed to bring out the best of today’s high-definition home entertainment devices, as well as those of tomorrow. To back up this promise, like Monster’s 1000 level cable the Hyper Speed Cables will carry Monster’s Cable for Life replacement offer, so if the cable is ever outstripped by the technologies of the displays or sources, Monster will replace the cable at no charge. Monster leveraged Gennum’s ActiveConnect technology to create the new HDMI products, and will utilize the technology in future HDMI cabling and switching solutions. “We selected Gennum’s ActiveConnect because of the unprecedented performance capabilities of the technology, which in turn, enables Monster to deliver the longest reach, highest performance HDMI 1.3 cabling products in the industry,” said Noel Lee, Head Monster. “The products showcased here today reflect our ongoing commitment to not only keep pace with the constantly evolving HDMI technology, but stay ahead of it so that our customers can be confident in their Monster purchases. ActiveConnect plays a critical role in our ability to enable Monster customers to experience the ultimate HD viewing experience.” Gennum’s ActiveConnect, key to achieving this performance, provides a miniature, semiconductor-based solution that is embedded into the cable, wall plate or maximizer. ActiveConnect provides a “clean and restore” function that enables extremely high rates of data to be transported on the cable without losing any of the signal integrity. Monster is currently demonstrating capabilities as high as 21 Gbps at 75 feet for the M2000 cable. “The new products from Monster are a testament to the company’s continued ability to enable consumers to experience the most advanced features offered in high definition TVs, Blu-ray disc players, and other current and emerging CE products, at unprecedented distances in the residential environment,” said Franz Fink, president and CEO, Gennum. “Over the past 30 years Monster has built its brand to represent the highest quality available for CE consumers, and we are thrilled that ActiveConnect is now integrated into several of its elite performance-leading products.” Driving Unprecedented Rates Across Cat-X, Copper Cabling for HDMI Together, Monster and Gennum are committed to delivering rates up to 21 Gbps and beyond—more than twice the 10.2 Gbps required by the current HDMI 1.3 standard—in products that are expected this year. These revolutionary HDMI products will enable customers to install cables and wall plate connectors, with a guarantee that the technology will be viable for many years as the industry adopts 4K2K, 16-bit Deep Color and 3DTV.

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