1080p connections

[ratso]

i am planning a future home theater and have a question that it seems i should know the answer to, but i don't. i see a lot of exotic HT setups with giant rooms and expensive projectors. how do you cable these? obviously these projectors are full HD and are a pretty long ways away (some look like 40-50 ft. or more) from the AVR. i know you can amplify HDMI signals but i don't think that is a really good "videophile" solution, is it? you must lose/alter the signal i would think? coax wouldn't give you 1080p? just run component?

 

[markw]

Thanks to copyright laws, not technical reasons, you cannot pass 1080p through component (coax) video connections. You can pass 1080i and lower, but not 1080p. For that, you must use HDMI.

While you may not consider HDMI boosters "videophile", if you want a long run with HDMI, you've got no choice here. Besides, it's a digital format so corruption really isn't an issue here.

 

[ratso]

thanx, i was partly guessing and partly going on a few things i saw online concerning amplifying HDMI (i read a thing on it saying it amplifies the signal noise also. not sure how much "noise" would be present in a digital signal to start with). i guess people are satisfied with this setup as there are no other options really and i don't see a ton of complaints online about it.

 

[ratso]

hmmm uh-oh. OTOH:

"There are, of course, "active" HDMI cables on the market also. These typically involve use of a powered amplifier which may or may not incorporate an EQ unit to compensate for the loss of high-frequency information. We don't know what the longest lengths passing compliance testing are in products of that type, though we have seen active connectivity solutions which run considerable distances, the longest of them using fiber optic cable and costing a bundle. Our attitude toward active solutions has generally been that it's better to do without, if one can. These amplifiers and EQs provide new potential points for failure in signal delivery, and make diagnosis of problems more complex; still, if you need to run extreme distances, these types of solutions may work for you."

How Long Can HDMI Cable be Run? -- Blue Jeans Cable

 

[BMXTRIX]

With quality cables (not expensive!) you can run 1080p up to, and beyond, 50' without issue.

A few years ago I tested a 50' HDMI cable coupled to a 35' HDMI cable without amplification and passed 1080p video from my PS3 to a 1080p projector without issue.

The cables I used were these:
For only $50.25 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 50ft 22AWG CL2 Standard Speed HDMI Cable - Black | Professional 22AWG HDMI Standard Speed Male to Male Cables
and this...
For only $35.78 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 35ft 22AWG CL2 Standard Speed HDMI Cable - Black | Professional 22AWG HDMI Standard Speed Male to Male Cables
...with this as a coupler between them...
For only $2.90 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Two-Piece Inset Wall Plate with 4 Inch Built-in Flexible Extension Cables for High Speed HDMI w/ Ethernet - Single Port (1P) - White | HDMI Wall Plates

Now, I would run it over cat-5/6 cabling instead of HDMI I expect. I am currently running my PS3 to my Samsung 64" plasma using this extender, then using the 50' HDMI cable linked above. The total run length is in excess of 100' and there is absolutely no sparkling effect at all with the image. Since, sparklies are the most obvious sign of HDMI signal degradation, I concluded that there is no problem at all with this signal path.

I have personally tested this HDMI over cat-5/6 extender at 300' with 6 separate pieces of cat-5 (not cat 6!) using 1080p material for 8 hours straight.

For only $190.50 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDMI & Ethernet Extender Using Cat5e or CAT6 Cable - Extend Upto 328ft | Video Extenders

These extenders tend to sell out rather quickly, but the ability to use one piece of cat 5/6 cable which you can customize to the exact length you need is a real plus. It is also using the cat base HD standard, which is supposed to be a true industry wide standard. In theory, we may actually see some displays start to be produced with cat base HD connectors on them! So, instead of using two converters, you can use a cat base HD transmitter, and plug the other end of the cat-5/6 directly into the display and it'll receive the video just fine. I'm very excited about that (as an installer) because it means that if you need a cable 28.5' long, you can make it yourself to the exact length, and cat-5 is much easier to retrofit into installations, which HDMI is very difficult to install in anything other than new construction.

Anyway, running 50' of HDMI has been possible for a while. Going much further has recently gotten much easier.

 

[ratso]

cat6, eh? now THAT'S what i'm talkin bout

 

[BMXTRIX]

In all fairness, I've only tested that with cat-5 at 300', so cat-6 may only do better.

I actually have one I use in my home, one I installed at a client's, and one spare, so I may test the spare unit with 300' of cat-6 sometime in the next couple of weeks. I have a Samsung 3D player sitting around right now and a bunch of cat-6 as well. Would be interesting to see.