HTPC Video Cabling Question

Bill Wise · 05-02-2003, 04:41 PM

Gang,

I'm a computer hardware nerd by trade and an HT newbie, so the concept of the HTPC intrigues me no end. What I'm wondering is, how do you physically connect the PC to the TV/PJ if they're not in close physical proximity to each other?

For instance, I can envision a scenario that would have an HTPC and a RAID array tucked away in a 19" rack in my furnace room for noise reasons. Or, the HTPC is in the equipment rack at the front of the room but the projector unit is 20' away hanging from the ceiling.

How are you able to get a signal to the display devices over these distances?

Thanks,

Bill

Vince Maskeeper · 05-02-2003, 05:58 PM

Well, some people, who do what you say, use the raid array machine as a file server- and still have a machine near the Screen (silenced of course). If not, VGA and DVI cables can be purchased to do long runs.

-Vince

Tekara · 05-02-2003, 06:59 PM

hehe, my computer is currently in the my basement/den area and my home theater is in the living room. for the connection i use a 50ft svid cable and a 50ft rca for the digital coax connection. for controlling the pc I use a RF remote (ati remote wonder) and I do have a wireless keyboard and mouse but haven't tried them at that distance.
works great, good picture, great sound.

Bill Wise · 05-02-2003, 11:29 PM

Vince - I was under the impression that DVI had a distance limitation of 10m and I've not had good luck with VGA cables longer than about 20', but those have been purely in computing environments. Are you saying that a higher quality custom cable would overcome those limitations?

Rob - Does the 50' S-Vid run provide the same quality picture as a VGA or DVI connection? I'd have thought there'd be significant degredation.

Thanks for the info, guys. Much appreciated.

Bill

Vince Maskeeper · 05-03-2003, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Vince - I was under the impression that DVI had a distance limitation of 10m and I've not had good luck with VGA cables longer than about 20', but those have been purely in computing environments. Are you saying that a higher quality custom cable would overcome those limitations?

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Tekara · 05-03-2003, 04:08 PM

actually the cable carries a 1024x768 signal from my ATI all-in-wonder card (it's what I've set it to). If I owned a HD-TV I would use three runs of 50' RCA for component video which the ALL-in-wonder card will let carry even higher resolution signals. Now yes the TV I own is only able to display a 480i signal but the degradation is less noticeable with this setup imo. less loss going from higher to lower then from same to same. the picture is quite stunning for just a regular ol' TV.

if you can run a length of DVI or RGB cabling then that should be prefered as the signal is much better over them, but don't discount a good TV-out and a svid cable if your on a budget.

Vince Maskeeper · 05-04-2003, 09:20 AM

Quote:

actually the cable carries a 1024x768 signal from my ATI all-in-wonder card (it's what I've set it to).

KenE · 05-08-2003, 11:09 AM

An elegant solution would be to pass information digitally over distance rather than via analog cabling. Build a small, silent, inconspicuous machine next to your ht and connect it to your data sources via ethernet. You don't have to deal in exotic cabling, signal amps, infrared bouncers, etc., that way.