In wall HDMI

[griffinconst]

Does anyone make a HDMI wire that goes in the wall? I'd like to install it in a house I'm building, so all that would show is the wall plate with the plug in it. Is there such a thing?

 

[Adam]

I know that Monoprice.com has that. Others certainly do, too.

How long of a cable run will you have?

 

[Adam]

I think that this is an interesting product.

 

[griffinconst]

Thanks for that link.
I don't know much about this. It refers to a pair of cat 5/6 cables to HDMI plug plates. Does that mean there are two sets of wires that end in a single HDMI plug? Does one wire carry sound and the other picture?

 

[Adam]

I couldn't tell you without reading up on it. I just saw it and thought it was interesting.

 

[TLS Guy]

Does anyone make a HDMI wire that goes in the wall? I'd like to install it in a house I'm building, so all that would show is the wall plate with the plug in it. Is there such a thing?

If you are going to put HDNI cable in a wall, then in my view conduit is mandatory.

HDMI cables are relatively fragile and there are frequent changes in spec. You absolutely need to be able to easily pull replacement cable.

Personally I think anyone who puts any audio cable in a wall without placing conduit is not thinking clearly.

 

[Rickster71]

Thanks for that link.
I don't know much about this. It refers to a pair of cat 5/6 cables to HDMI plug plates. Does that mean there are two sets of wires that end in a single HDMI plug? Does one wire carry sound and the other picture?

There are eight pins on a mod jack, so you would need two CAT5 runs and two jacks, to match up all the pins on an HDMI.
Sounds like a great way to get more distance than a typical HDMI cable.
I've heard CAT-6 gets you even more distance, and may help future proof the installation a little more.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks for that link.
I don't know much about this. It refers to a pair of cat 5/6 cables to HDMI plug plates. Does that mean there are two sets of wires that end in a single HDMI plug? Does one wire carry sound and the other picture?

No, it is digital, so one carries zeroes and the other carries ones.

HDMI doesn't work like traditional A/V wiring, there is a lot more than audio and video, and none of it is analog, so it works differently.

For wiring, you should run CAT-6 wiring in your home and pull at least TWO pieces of CAT-6 to every location where you want to connect HDMI to. I would STRONGLY recommend that you run conduit as well so you can add component later if you need it.

I am using the Monoprice cat-6/HDMI adapters listed on the link above (2 of them) to connect my PS3 to my rack, to an HDMI splitter, to my projector and plasma. Total length of run: About 110 feet. I used prefabricated CAT-6 cabling from Monoprice...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10232&cs_id=1023213&p_id=2325&seq=1&format=3#specification

But, you can use raw cat-6 and terminate it yourself...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10234

You just take two pieces of CAT-6, terminate it normally (568B), and plug it into the back of the HDMI extender on both ends (transmit/receive) and it works well.

I have several more that are going to be installed in my home and I may end up pairing it with a 8x8 HDMI matrix switcher to see what I can really get out of HDMI in general.

 

[Highbar]

There used to be a company that had all sorts of wall brackets and a single cable that ran the data between them, I can't remember the name of the company. You can also run an HDMI cable straight in the wall as long as it's rated for it, but you are usually distance limited which is why companies are using other types of wire like Cat5/6. If you have long runs I would probably go with one of those solutions. And as everyone has said, the 2 cables is just because there are so many wires in an HDMI cable.

 

[j_garcia]

I think that this is an interesting product.

Damnit; I wish I would have known about that one sooner because I could have used it in my dad's house.

 

[Adam]

There used to be a company that had all sorts of wall brackets and a single cable that ran the data between them, I can't remember the name of the company.

The one that I know about is called RapidRun (it's been reviewed on AH) and is from Impact Acoustics. I almost mentioned that stuff, but it's a bit pricey.

 

[j_garcia]

The one that I know about is called RapidRun (it's been reviewed on AH) and is from Impact Acoustics. I almost mentioned that stuff, but it's a bit pricey.

Parts Express sells it as well under the same name.

 

[griffinconst]

The one that I know about is called RapidRun (it's been reviewed on AH) and is from Impact Acoustics. I almost mentioned that stuff, but it's a bit pricey.

Thanks for not just coming right out and saying I'm cheap.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks for not just coming right out and saying I'm cheap.

Rapid Run is overpriced IMO, and if you have money to waste, feel free to buy it. The problem is that it is more typical of HDMI cabling and has similar distance issues and limitatons.

I spent about $70 (including shipping) to get two 50' HDMI runs and they work. Call me cheap till the day I die... as long as it works this well, I'm definitely in!

 

[Adam]

Thanks for not just coming right out and saying I'm cheap.

It was actually a reflection of how cheap I am...not you.

 

[poni02]

Hi everyone if I can be of any help, but since I'm new to this post I can't post a link.
Google it- RapidRun
The system is called RapidRun and it is a totally modular. The bad thing about running cat5e for use with an hdmi balun (fancy name for that converter you talked about) is that it doesn't perform well over long distances. I have used them plenty of times in retrofit installations, where customer had Cat5e pulled through the wall and I have to tell you that at about 150ft picture quality is terribly diminished. This RapidRun system is a thick bundle of cables, insulated in a thick layer or rubber- and the best thing about it is that the connector (hdmi or any other one- like component video with digital coax etc.)gets attached after the costruction phase is complete. This ensures that nothing gets damaged along the way. I have found this to be the best solution. Unfortunately, not the cheapest one... But I encourage you to check it out.

 

[BMXTRIX]

The system is called RapidRun and it is a totally modular.

Not really totally modular as you have to pick between analog and digital runners. The digital runners are also limited in length to 65'. That's pretty measily, and with digital video running 100' with ZERO issue on my end, it's a completely different scenario than what you understand things as.

The bad thing about running cat5e for use with an hdmi balun (fancy name for that converter you talked about) is that it doesn't perform well over long distances.

That's not entirely true. A passive video balun simply puts video onto the cat-5 cable, but does nothing else. Active video baluns actually balance the video and then transmit it, and on the receiving end, unbalance the video back to a normalized feed. They are more expensive, but can reach hundreds of feet without issue and can carry composite (rare), VGA (more often), or HDMI (more often).

For example...
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4504

That's over twice the length which Rapid Run offers for 1080p video.

I have used them plenty of times in retrofit installations, where customer had Cat5e pulled through the wall and I have to tell you that at about 150ft picture quality is terribly diminished.

Yes, it would be with a balun.

Try this next time: http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4448
or this...
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4141

or this...
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=3960

No cable to retrofit, and you actually get a very clean final signal.

I have found this to be the best solution. Unfortunately, not the cheapest one... But I encourage you to check it out.

I've used both, and Rapid Run is neither the best, nor the cheapest and rarely has made sense in any installation that I've seen.

 

[Highbar]

The one that I know about is called RapidRun (it's been reviewed on AH) and is from Impact Acoustics. I almost mentioned that stuff, but it's a bit pricey.

Thanks for the name. I searched AH but since I couldn't remember the name I didn't find it.