Power lead shielding?

[riche21]

I am going to pass my Tv power lead through a hole in the wall along with the HDMI cables and wondered is there any need to shield the power cable somehow to stop any interference?

[deefadog]

I think as hdmi is digital it'll be ok, it analogue that suffers, but let somone else confirm it first

[fredd500]

It may be digital but it is still an electrical signal and therefore subject to RF interference. The only type of digital signal which won't be affected would be an optical digital link (like a 5.1 sound connection for example). The simple reason being that light can't be affected by RF interference.

Digital can be more susceptible to interference and will handle it less well than an analog signal - i.e. instead of a bit of snow or ghosting, you might get visible artifacting, stuttering and sound popping.

Try and keep them seperated by at least 50mm if possible (thats the standard used in Data Cabling - my area of work). If you can't, buy a quality HDMI lead and hope for the best.

[deefadog]

You live and learn thanks!

[gregster10217]

So I shouldn't be running my TV power, rope light power, HMDI, Scart and 3 speaker cables through the same piece of trunking then??? Have got to say that I haven't seen any bad effects on either Sky (scart) or PS3 (HDMI), but then I'm no expert!!!

[fredd500]

Technically no, if you are happy with the results, why worry?

I suspect the standards are based on huge amounts of data being pushed down cables running close to huge power circuits. One of our UPS I have at work is 80KVa and has a input cable that is something like 3" thick! Clearly this is going to be pulling a much greater load (and hence generating much greater interference than a TV and some rope lights)

If you can seperate, do. If not, try and use quality cables to minimise any interference you do pick up.

[dj-dulux]

Rules do exist to ensure class 1 (mains voltage) and class 2 (low voltage) cables are kept separate, for safety. As mentioned 50mm is the separation required and if this can not be ensured a secondary barrier will be needed, plastic trunking etc.

The logic behind this is that class 2 cables are not insulated for class 1 voltages, therefore the insulation could break down. Obviously the class 1 insulation would have to be damaged before this could happen!

Dupe...

[riche21]

Would something like this be of any use?, Guitar pickup self adhesive copper foil tape sheilding on eBay, also Parts, Accessories, Guitars, Musical Instruments (end time 07-Feb-09 12:15:09 GMT)

[riche21]

Any thoughts or suggestions on what to use?