40M HDMI run

[digidude]

Hi

I have a customer who is about to upgrade to skyHD but has a problem.

his existing sky box is 40M from his plasma screen. and he doesnt want thebox relocated

i have seen 20M cables and signal equalisers etc, could somabody please tell me exactly what id need to acomplish this from UK suppliers (price is no object for this customer)

thank you

[Mark Grant]

Hello Digidude,

Thats a long cable run !

Bettercables make a 40 metre HDMI to HDMI, a bit expensive, athough is still cheaper price than some 20 metre cables.

A forum sponsor here has them:
http://www.tmfsolutions.co.uk/homeci...lifiedhdmi.htm

you will find other UK websites with them also.


You might do the job cheaper with a few shorter cables connected together with equalisers and power supllies etc.
Depends how much time you have to try different options on site etc, and with cables connected together there is the possibility that a cable gets accidently unplugged sometime in the future etc or a powered equaliser looses power etc, that gets you a callback when it does not work etc...


(Always check any make of long HDMI cables work on site with whatever you are connecting before plastering it in the walls etc)


Mark.

[digidude]

the cable is going to be run externally through ducting, as i said price doesnt come into the equation with this guy, but picture quality does and i have heard that 20M is a very extreme push, has anyone used a 40M cable before and do they have any comments please?

thanks for looking

[Alun]

edited because I didnt read marks post properly

[JohnWH]

Originally Posted by digidude

the cable is going to be run externally through ducting, as i said price doesnt come into the equation with this guy, but picture quality does and i have heard that 20M is a very extreme push, has anyone used a 40M cable before and do they have any comments please?

thanks for looking

Any of the optical or cat5 based systems should do the job for you, there's won't be any difference in PQ for teh ones that "work". However, you need to be a little bit careful as I have read of there being some issues with HDCP on some of these cables, so double check it be fore pushing it through the guys trunking!

John.

[Neil Davidson]

If PQ is of importance to the customer then forget CAT5.

DVI Gear (www.dvigear.com) optical cables carry the HDMI signal up to 100m with no problems.

Quite a number of CIs are using this approach now for HD distribution from the equipment cabinet to the rest of the house. Single runs of optical out to the display locations with much more simple wiring in the equipment cabinet. You even have the option of placing a video procesor in series to handle switching and send a 1:1 mapped signal to the display!

HTH

Neil

[Nic Rhodes]

Don't forget the repeater boxes and optical cables, though most of those I have seen are DVI based. Bettercables is a sound choice though.

[Joe Fernand]

Hello digidue

As Nic has already said the 'Amplified' sliver on copper HDMI cables from BetterCables do the job very well and as long as your running them in a conduit the 'external' run is not an issue.

Optical is the other option - Gefen have two formats that work well (though keep in mind you have to be a bit more careful with Optical cables as they can get damaged easier than copper cables).

Quick update - just re-reading through the Gefen HDMIExtreme cable manual, you can run the cable externally as long as the terminations are on the inside of the building. The cable is UV, Water and Fungus resistant - though no mention of little beasts with sharp teeth.

I've attached an image of what you get in the box when you order one of these cables.

The HDMI Extreme cables come in fixed lengths the CAB-HDMIX-150MM is the best match for your 40m run - http://www.gefen.com/kvm/cables/fibe...sp#hdmiextreme

The other Gefen option is the HDMI1000HD Transmitter/Receiver + a set of custom interconnects - http://www.gefen.com/kvm/cables/hdex...s.jsp#hdmi1000

With any of the above you don't require additional Amplification though you will also require an RF cable run alongside the Digital Video/Audio cable if you plan to use an IR Repeater from the 'TV' lounge back to the system cupboard.

Joe

PS These are all tried and tested options with SKY HD.

[JohnWH]

Originally Posted by ceenhad

If PQ is of importance to the customer then forget CAT5.

...

Neil

Why do you say that?

[daveat22]

Digidude
Gefen can do 40Ft without any trouble go onto their site and contact Joseph or Jonathan and they will sort out the best arrangement, their amplified system will handle up to 1080p at this length, and your client should be aiming at 1080p for future plasma or projector as it is stunning.
Dave

[JohnWH]

One minor point of contention, I assume these cables can't support the extra BW required for HDMI1.3 high colour or higher refresh rates? Of course, might not matter for a while given the absence of kit that can make use of it...

John.

[Joe Fernand]

Hello all

daveat22 - the requirement here is for a 40m (131 ft) cable run plus UK supply/support; both of which are easily covered

JohnWH - I think if your hoping to include some form of compatibility with the Dual Link abilities of HDMI 1.3 you would need to avoid a current generation Optical or CAT5 solution.

Best regards

Joe

[JohnWH]

Presumably to future proof things you could just lay down 2x as many CAT5 cables so that when the dual link kit arrives you can just upgrade the terminations.

John.

[Joe Fernand]

Hello JohnWH

The Gefen EXT-HDMI-CAT5X uses 2 x CAT5 cables (1 x Video + 1 x DDC) - I wonder if it would be prudent to assume the Dual Link HDMI 1.3 version will require more than 2 x CAT5 cables.

Joe