HDMI: Some thoughts (both informal and expert) on the new connectivity (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Mike,
You can do what you describe. My TivoHD sends HDMI video to my TV and TOSlink audio to my receiver. I've read elsewhere that this works with Blu Ray players, and I plan to do so: HDMI video to TV and coax digital to receiver (pending upcoming Blu Ray player).

 

[Mike Frezon]

Thanks, Dave! What I'm reading is that HDMI provides the best video possible while 5.1 analog outs from my Blu-ray player is currently the best audio I can muster...so that's what I'm hoping to accomplish.

Meanwhile I've got a Dish Network box that will do HDMI out. I hope to use HDMI for video with that as well as optical out for audio. Members are letting me know I should be fine with this plan.

How exciting to be crawling into a new technology! Now I've just got to pull the trigger on the new set.

 

[Bob_L]

I had an old Monoprice 4x1 switch sitting around which I purchased about 2 years ago for about $120 and never needed so I gave it to him to try out. Guess what - only two of the four HDMI inputs functioned at all, and even then there were problems with suddenly dropped signals, audio, random flashing screens, etc.

FWIW, I purchased a 4x2 HDMI switcher from Monoprice about a year ago. The first one I got had dead inputs and malfunctioned. They immediately sent another that has worked perfectly. So your situation may have been related to a specific unit, as mine was.

 

[JediFonger]

didn't read through the thread but i wanted to know about max cable length. our church has a DVDO iScan VP30 and we're gonna run the HDMI output there to projectors that are @least 100FT away. the max length that we've seen is 50FT HDMI cables, we'll connect 2x50FT cables to make that 100FT run, will there be connection issues?

 

[DaveF]

Mike, that echoes what I've read. Though I now plan to use coax digital out for simplicity: I already have that cable connected for my DVD player.

JediFonger: Blue Jean's Cables sells a 100' HDMI cable for $261. That suggests that that length will work.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Jedifonger:

Check out this page at monoprice.com for several runs of 100' of HDMI. There's even 1 run of 131-feet(?!?).

 

[JediFonger]

thank you Mike, i was thinking more of DVI cables... but there are many DVI->HDMI adapters...

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

But, like you say..[url=http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419].there's a whole page of adapters for you!

 

[JediFonger]

i hope those adapters/couplers do not flake out the HDCP required for playing BDs.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Don't know the HDMI spec limits, but you might want to doublecheck that before spending the $$$ on a 100ft run of cabling. Also, might be good to find some actual user reports on the various brands for such long runs.

I get the feeling 100ft is coming close enough to the max, if not exceeding it, (and also costly enough) to take some extra care w/ the decision.

No idea how accurate this Wikipedia entry is, but it seems to suggest that 15m/49ft would be the max for Cat-2 HDMI cables though the limit can possibly be higher for higher quality cables:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Cable_length

Hmmm... Maybe the 100ft ones you're looking at are "active" cables w/ built-in extenders.

One other thing. If you're gonna use a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, I wonder if that won't attenuate the signal enough to be a problem since you're already dealing w/ very long runs that likely require some form of extender/repeater.

_Man_

 

[JediFonger]

thanks MFW, i think i might do a repeater just in case =P.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I know RAF hasn't posted in this thread in nearly a year, but I'm still in the market to learn more about HDMI connectivity and would like to find his original white paper on the subject.

Or, can someone point me to a primer elsewhere that'll give me the basics?

Thanks!

 

[RAF]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

I know RAF hasn't posted in this thread in nearly a year, but I'm still in the market to learn more about HDMI connectivity and would like to find his original white paper on the subject.

Or, can someone point me to a primer elsewhere that'll give me the basics?

Thanks!

Mike,

This link should get you to the original paper (assuming that it's the one you were talking about). Please remember that the piece is now over two years old and while the basics remain the same a lot of the products listed and the prices are either obsolete or far different. Hope that this helps you out.

[COLOR= #0000ff]P.S. The original link in the first message in this thread was obviously a casualty of when we moved from HTF 1.0 to HTF 2.0. I think that the original reference linked to the old HTF servers which, of course, are no longer applicable. I've fixed that now (I think) so that any newcomers won't be left in the dark regarding the topic under discussion.

Thanks for the heads up.[/COLOR]

 

[Mike Frezon]

Robert: Thanks...VERY much!

I look forward to an evening of recreational reading.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

didn't read through the thread but i wanted to know about max cable length. our church has a DVDO iScan VP30 and we're gonna run the HDMI output there to projectors that are @least 100FT away. the max length that we've seen is 50FT HDMI cables, we'll connect 2x50FT cables to make that 100FT run, will there be connection issues?

Jedi: If you read through RAF's paper (linked in Post #73) you'll see info like the following:

The bottom line with HDMI cables is that as long as you are talking about normal lengths (under 15’) then don’t waste your money on the expensive spread. More important is that the connectors are secure so that the cable won’t work its way loose. That said, if you are going to traverse long distances (like from an A/V Receiver or pre/pro to a front projector) then distance might play a small role. The problem is that even digital signals will weaken over distances and if the threshold between the “On” and “Off” state gets too close the equipment might no longer be able to distinguish between the “ones” and the “zeros.” Not to worry. There’s a little device known as a repeater that comes to the rescue. By definition, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. That says it all. If you a dealing with front projection length HDMI cables be sure there is a repeater involved (usually it’s built into the jack at one end.) Works like a champ. I currently use a 60 foot Ultrarun cable from ACCELL with absolutely no problems (feeding a 1080p signal from a DVDO VP-50 video processor to the 1080p input of a JVC DLA-RS1 FP for those who want specifics.) This won’t apply for the majority of home installations.

 

[RAF]

For what it's worth, I currently have my 60 foot ACCELL Ultrarun cable connected from my pre/pro (a Denon AVP1) to my projector (A JVC RS-1) and recently I've begun to experience a couple of signal issues, i.e. loss of HDMI sync to the projector at random times. I'm not sure whether it's a question of aging components (there is a repeater built into one end of the cable to boost the signal) or just some wires working their way loose. This is not a major issue at this point but if it starts happening with more frequency I'm going to have to look into finding a solution to the problem. When I get the signal to sync once again I'm usually fine for the rest of the night regardless of which source(s) I switch to.

 

[JediFonger]

how about one of those HDMI->cat5e or 6 converter boxes? u can run 350+FT w/those using ethernet cables.