What cable and equipment should I use

[happyhero]

I keep reading but I am still confused about a few issues, I want to send a signal from my Sky HD on the ground floor to a projector in my bedroom on the 1st floor, I have worked out a route which is about 15m, which is better to use ie is there a decent not silly expensive HDMI cable for this distance that keeps it simple and just plugs in each end or is Cat6 a better way to go?

As I have Sky HD I would like the ability to watch 1080P in my bedroom as well.

Do I need to power anything for this distance?

How do I split the HDMI from my Sky HD is this splitter what I need, it seems to get great reviews and looks like something I would need?

Is this splitter powered, I keep asking about power because I keep reading about powered units.

Do I need any other equipment?

I already have a coaxial cable running from my Sky box to my bedroom with a magic eye so I was thinking of leaving that as it is just so I can control the Sky, is that good or should I be thinking of doing this through the HDMI somehow?

I am decorating the bedroom so I am ready now to run what ever is needed.

I would appreciate some guidance as I don't want to start buying stuff and find out I have bought a load of not very compatible pieces, so I'd rather get the advice here as to what combination of things I need. At the moment I darn't get anything without the advice, as the more I read the more unsure I am.

Any help appreciated.

 

[noiseboy72]

15M will easily turn into 20M when you pull the cable in, and this is pushing it for 1080p.

That being said, Sky is 1080i anyway, and this is lower bandwidth, so you should get away with it.

You would be spending about £50 on a decent, heavy gauge HDMI cable, so this is cheaper than a set of Cat5/6 convertors, but you might want to pull a couple of these cables in just in case things change in the future. I would not worry about an amplified cable, as these can cause their own problems and are not as future proof.

Buy a powered splitter as the self powered ones do not play nicely with Sky or for that matter, a lot of kit! It need not be expensive, just having its own PSU.

Other than that, you sound like you are on the right track!

 

[jammyb2004]

Easy peasy.

Run in a 15m HDMI cable AND 2x 15m runs of cat6.

Why?

Because if the HDMI cable works fine [9/10 times they do] then all you'll need is a splitter box.

Yes you can use your co-ax cable to use for magic eye but have a look at these.

Inject IR over HDMI - Buy online from HD Connectivity

I use these to control my freesat box, XBMC media player and HDMI Matrix box from the bedroom all off universal remote! It's got a good blaster on it!

Back to the splitter. Get this one

HDMI Splitter and Amplifier 2 Port | Cables & Leads

If you have to use the cat6 due to probs with the HDMI cable. Then make sure you have an extra socket at the source end to power it.

 

[happyhero]

Hi guys thanks for the help but the cable you are suggesting is only 10m and that company doesn't seem to do a bigger version, i.e. I need a 15m minimum, so I am confused again why you are pointing me to this particular site or cable.

Also you mention £50 plus which I would think tolerable for a decent cable but the one you point to is just short of £100, do I really need to pay that much?

I can believe and understand that there is a quality difference in the cables but is a cable for £100 really going to be so much different to a quality cable of say £50, thats like saying to the person who just spent quite a bit for what they think is a quality cable that £50 buys you a load of rubbish, and if they are no good, god knows what the £20 ones or less are like.

Assuming that as you say you need to pay £50 to get a decent 15m cable, if you can point me to a good make then I can search for the best price I can get it for.

Hope you guys take this right, I am not being awkward but just trying to understand etc.

 

[jammyb2004]

Hang on bud. When you make a post. The forum auto inserts links over certain words.

Neither me nor noiseboy linked to any HDMI cables.

I linked to an IR injector and splitter.

Budget wise for HDMI cable is I won't spend more than a pound per metre. Never served me wrong [bought off eBay etc] but if you do delve into 15+ metre runs. You'll definitely be nearer the need of a booster at the telly end. And that might need additional power.

 

[noiseboy72]

I use these: NL2HD-120 - NEWLINK - LEAD, HDMI V1.4, OFC, 20M, BLUE | CPC as they are a good thick cable and I have yet to break one, and that is using them on exhibitions and shows, under floors, wrapped up in walls, that sort of thing.

CPC also do some cheaper Pro-Signal ones, but I have damaged a few end on these as I don't think the moulded strain relief is as good.

 

[Joe Fernand]

‘I want to send a signal from my Sky HD on the ground floor to a projector in my bedroom on the 1st floor’ – you don’t mention what you are doing for audio in the bedroom, that is going to have a bearing on the cabling!

Joe

 

[happyhero]

‘I want to send a signal from my Sky HD on the ground floor to a projector in my bedroom on the 1st floor’ – you don’t mention what you are doing for audio in the bedroom, that is going to have a bearing on the cabling!

Joe

Hi Joe, I don't want anything fancy for sound in the bedroom so 2 speakers, a left and a right of decent quality sound would do me. I am assuming most projectors have a built in sound speaker (I am a beginner with projectors) so I am not sure how good that is but but I am thinking of having the projector at high level and a couple of speakers at ear level. Looking online at some projectors it looks like most have 2 phono-outs that would cope with this, have I got this all correct and any speakers you would suggest and should this effect the cable at all???

To explain, my main watching area is the lounge which is where we watch TV the most and so want the best picture and sound quality, the bedroom will be a secondary watching area so we would like quite good quality but don't want to spend too much on this area.

 

[Joe Fernand]

Speakers in a Projector (assuming they have any - most Home Theatre models don't) are pretty nasty and you would quickly tire of listening via them.

More usually you would take the HDMI signal to an HDMI equipped Amp and then pass just the video via HDMI Out on the Amp to the Projector.

You can have an HDMI equipped 2.1 system (2 x Sats + a Sub) for under £250 - with provision to plug in additional 'local' Sources via HDMI.

Joe

 

[happyhero]

Speakers in a Projector (assuming they have any - most Home Theatre models don't) are pretty nasty and you would quickly tire of listening via them.

More usually you would take the HDMI signal to an HDMI equipped Amp and then pass just the video via HDMI Out on the Amp to the Projector.

You can have an HDMI equipped 2.1 system (2 x Sats + a Sub) for under £250 - with provision to plug in additional 'local' Sources via HDMI.

Joe

Cheers for that Joe, so how does all this plug in, does the HDMI from my Sky go to the amplifier first and then to the projector or does the HDMI need splitting somehow or do I run separate cables for the sound from the Sky box?

I had not realised I needed to deal with sound so I was assuming I would simply run a HDMI straight to my projector.

One irritation I see here is my wife will enjoy watching the projector but wont be that keen on loads of remotes etc, i.e. having to turn on the picture and the sound separately, it would have been nice to turn on the projector like a TV and everything just works, at least for her anyway. I am hoping to make the screen come down as the projector is turned on, I see that is a possibility.