A video source device and a video repeater device cooperatively authenticates said video repeater apparatus to said video source device. In one embodiment, the authentication is performed using an identical authentication process a video sink device would authenticate itself to the video source device. The video repeater device augment the identical process identifying itself as a repeater device. The video repeater device also in cooperation with at least one video sink device authenticates the at least one video sink device. The video repeater device in turn, in cooperation with the video source device, authenticates the at least one video sink device to the video source device. In one embodiment, the video repeater device also in cooperation with another video repeater device, authenticates yet another at least one video sink device to the video repeater device. In like manner, the video repeater device, in cooperation with the video source device, authenticates the yet another at least one video sink device to the video source device. In one embodiment, the video repeater device includes topological information of the video sink devices among the authentication information provided to the video source device. Accordingly, video sink devices may be hierarchically organized to the video source device.