# Long HDMI cable run



## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Hello, this is my first post. I've been reading for a few days getting some valuable info. I am currently redoing my finished basement to include an Optoma HD 20 projector. The projector arrived before the 50' HDMI cable did so I hooked up a bluray player to it with a short HDMI and it worked great. Then the long cable arrived and I ran it to the dish network receiver and it worked great. I was debating on buying another cable or an HDMI switch, since I could get the switch locally and return it easier I went with it. It worked fine with the satellite but not the Blu ray, so I plugged the 50 ft cable into the Blu ray directly and got colored snow only. I thought since the satellite worked that the cable must be good so I bought a new Blu ray but it does the same thing. I'm wondering why I get such a good picture from one source but not the other. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Chris


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I've got a suggestion: go to monoprice.com and buy a 50ft HDMI cable with Redmere. You can read about the tech on the net with a quick google search... But essentially it is a narrow - flexible(!) - cable that uses two small microchips to make sure the signal is perfect for the length of the cable - no need for repeaters or thick long run HDMI cables. I have one... 50ft... Gets my video (cable/blu ray) signals from my AVR to my projector perfectly with no degradation. It works perfectly and the price is right.

Problem solved! ;-)


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Thanks, sounds like something to try. I have heard some conflicting info on cables and it drives me nuts. Some people say that modern digital signals do not benefit from high dollar cables, others swear by them. They sell 75 and 100 ft cables on Amazon that have no fancy booster or whatever and they claim 1080p capability. The reviews are always about 50/50 between 5 stars and 1 star. People either say they are excellent or don't work at all. Do different devices send out stronger signals? Is that why my satellite works and the bluray doesn't? Is there an actual limit on how far an HDMI cable can carry signal? Do you think I could get by with using one of the redmere cables coming out of my HDMI switch? Or run a cable for each component? The projector has 2 inputs? 

Chris


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hi Chris, I suspect the switch is your problem given it worked fine without it. HDMI carries a signal called High Definition Copy Protocol (HDCP) Or what many call HDMI Handshake and if this signal is lost during the switch change from one source to another the signal will be cut off.


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Actually the only thing that worked with the switch was the satellite, the Blu ray player did not. At first I thought it was the switch but when I plugged the 50 ft cable directly into the blu ray it didn't work either. It gave me colored snow with a tiny bit of terrible quality picture at the top. It seemed to change how bad it was if I touched or slightly moved the connection at the back of the player. This led me to believe the problem was the Blu ray player since when plugged into the satellite it looks fine, but a new Blu ray player was just as bad.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The HDMI connectors are very fragile, also the wire used in a HDMI cable is usually 20-24awg so it could also be a bad connection. but if the cable still works with the satt receiver then i suspect the signal in the BluRay player is just not as strong (yes there can be slight differences in the strength of the signal) and because your using a 50' cable thats getting long for a cable without a booster.


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Do the little "inline" boosters work, or can you recommend a different kind? I have ordered 2 new cables that are 40' instead of 50'. I had ordered these prior to posting on here so if they don't work I'll try the redmere ones mentioned above.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

as I am only using a 35' HDMI cable I have never used a booster so I really dont know what works best. Hopefully someone will chime in with that answer for you soon.


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

What brand is your cable? I am just on the edge of 35' being long enough.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

CSP said:


> Thanks, sounds like something to try. I have heard some conflicting info on cables and it drives me nuts. Some people say that modern digital signals do not benefit from high dollar cables, others swear by them. They sell 75 and 100 ft cables on Amazon that have no fancy booster or whatever and they claim 1080p capability. The reviews are always about 50/50 between 5 stars and 1 star. People either say they are excellent or don't work at all. Do different devices send out stronger signals? Is that why my satellite works and the bluray doesn't? Is there an actual limit on how far an HDMI cable can carry signal? Do you think I could get by with using one of the redmere cables coming out of my HDMI switch? Or run a cable for each component? The projector has 2 inputs?
> 
> Chris


That's exactly correct... digital signals typically do not benefit from high dollar cables. Really $$$ expensive cables are a typically sham unless you begin to factor-in build quality. Also, yes, there is a limit to how far an hdmi signal can travel before you begin to lose information... hence the need for a technology like redmere or a booster box. The HDMI licensing organization has a great FAQ page which indicates that their tests have shown zero signal loss up to about 32 ft of HDMI cable. This of course doesn't mean that some people aren't able to to eek out a bit more! But, generally, you are best off using a signal boosting box after about 30 feet.

As for hdmi signal strength from different components: Yes, I would assume it can vary by device. This is from the HDMI Licensing Organization (concerning the effect of devices receiving a signal):

_"It is not only the cable that factors into how long a cable can successfully carry an HDMI signal, the receiver chip inside the TV or projector also plays a major factor. Receiver chips that include a feature called "cable equalization" are able to compensate for weaker signals thereby extending the potential length of any cable that is used with that device."_

Monoprice.com is widely known as a manufacturer of low cost (decently) high quality cables and they stand by their products. Tons of people use them because they are cheap and reliable. That's the good news for folks like us that want something that's well made and is relatively inexpensive. This new "Redmere" technology eliminates the need for a booster box because each end (the plug portion) of the cable has a small chip-set that draws some power from the device it's attached. The result is a much thinner (more bendable cable) that can send HDMI signals reliably up to 60ft.

The advantage of buying from monoprice comes down to price. A 50ft HDMI Redmere cable sells for $67.00. Compare that to samsung that wants $70 for a 10 ft cable!

Anyhow... looks like you and Tony have a separate conversation going... but if you decided to try a different long run cable, sell yours on ebay and try the redmere. I've had zero issues with my 50ft cable.

Good Luck


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I dont remember what brand any more as its been 4 years but its got that braided cover over the length of the cable haven't had issues with it..


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Thanks so much to both of you. I appreciate the info. So now that I've picked your brains I'll tell you a little more about myself and my setup in case anyone cares. I'm Chris, my wife and I live in southern Indiana. I've been an ER nurse for almost 20 years and raise beef cattle on the side. Built our house about 12 yrs ago initially as a basement home. Had a 60" big screen (whatever they were called back then) with a much nicer Dolby digital 5.1 setup. Built on top of the basement about 4 yrs ago and put a 52" 1080p LCD up there and obviously never went back to the basement to watch TV, lol. Always dreamed of converting the basement into a true HT, so I finally gave in and bought the Optoma HD20. Trying to be fairly budget minded so I'm still using the original Kenwood 5.1 receiver which doesnt have HDMI but does have one optical audio input and one coaxial audio input so I've got Dolby digital from blu ray and dish network. Just have to get my video from the Blu ray to work. Haven't got the projector mounted yet, I'm just working out all the kinks before I run the wires thru the ceiling. Anyway, thanks again for the help and I look forward to learning more and sharing info.

Chris


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Good to meet you, Chris.

You'll love the projector. They really bring some life to movies!

I'm sure you'll get the cable situation worked out --- I think it will be an easy fix.

T


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Just a little bit of an update. I stopped by radio shack today and saw a powered HDMI booster. It was $20 and they said I could bring it back if it didn't work. I ran a 3' HDMI into it and then the 50' out to the projector. Plugged it in and nothing. Not even the occasional colorful snow from my earlier attempts. The thing was called an
AUVIO™ HDMI® In-Line Extender. Package says it will boost signals up to 98'. Taking it back tomorrow. 

Chris


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Hmmm... I might be wrong about this, but I think the booster needs to split the long run... doesn't it?


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Maybe my explanation was confusing. I plugged the splitter in between the 3' and 50' HDMI running from the blu ray to the projector. It is closer to the player. I was thinking that was where to put it since I have good signal at the end of a short cable and it would boost it out to the end. So do you think I should put it at the projector end? I never thought about that. If it worked, it would be ok for now, but when I ceiling mount it's gonna end up having to either be inside the ceiling or somehow else. Hopefully the new cables will be here today or tomorrow to try.

Chris


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

@csp:

If it's a signal booster, then i'd assume that's how it works. However, it can't fix a degraded signal. If, for whatever reason, your 50ft cable is too long for your blu ray signal, then 8 would assume you'd need a 25ft cable... Then the repeater.... Then another 25ft cable. But, I could be wrong.

I'm sure this is all frustrating.


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## CSP (Aug 20, 2012)

Yeah, the 25+25 makes sense. The package said up to 98' so I figured it could take what it was getting from the 3' and push it the next 50'. 

When the 50' is plugged directly between bluray and projector I can occasionally get colorful snow and some recognizable images, with the booster the projector says no signal.


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## jmackovic (Jan 18, 2012)

CSP said:


> Yeah, the 25+25 makes sense. The package said up to 98' so I figured it could take what it was getting from the 3' and push it the next 50'.
> 
> When the 50' is plugged directly between bluray and projector I can occasionally get colorful snow and some recognizable images, with the booster the projector says no signal.


Chris,

HDMI issues can definitely be nerve racking, you may even get it working and later it drops out. I had a customer that had a tv from around 2006/2007 when they were just standardizing the HDCP standards and every time he changed the signal on his cable box the signal would drop out. We ended up having to run component to the tv and tosh link to the AVR in order to get it to work properly. The HDMI cable needs to maintain a 5 volt signal on pin 18 in order to keep the picture. Many lessor quality components fail here and the situation can be complicated with additional devices. I have found that using a quality AVR from a reputable manufacture can actually help the situation. I would recommend checking Amazon for a good reasonably priced AVR, they are cheaper many times than my distributors. You'll want it anyway to get the most out of the current crop of content. The lossless Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master carry, for the first time ever, studio quality audio into our homes. If you would like additional help or industry insight contact me, I am in SE Indiana as well. Good luck!


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## lakata (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm trying to figure out my situation. I have tried every booster/repeater/huge gauge cable/HDMI over CAT6 from monoprice, and I'm about to give up. I am just trying to drive Blu-ray over about 35' of signal to my projector. For some reason, my Roku 2XS at 1080p output works perfect, no noise, no sparkles, but my LG Blu-ray player does not work well; sparkles with 25', 30' major snow, 35' no signal, 35'+ unpowered repeaters some signal but mostly snow, 35' with powered repeater over cat6 minor snow but unacceptable for actual viewing.

Both the Roku and the LG go through the same Onkyo receiver. I would have thought that the Onkyo receiver buffers the video output, but maybe it is a strict analog switch and if bad signal comes in to the Onkyo, then bad signal goes out.

What Blu-ray players have people used that are *known* to work with long runs of HDMI cable (35-50')? And how does HDMI switching technology work? Is it an analog switch or digital switch? Are there different data rates at 1080p, that somehow the Blu-ray is sending more data at 1080p than the Roku?

thanks, Mark


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Did you try HDMI with Redmere from monoprice? I have a 50 ft run that works flawlessly. My bd player is an Oppo 93...


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## lakata (Dec 9, 2012)

What color depth (8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit) are you using, and what frame rate (24 or 60 Hz)? I assume we are talking about 1080p of course.

The weird thing is that my BD player says it is configured for 24Hz frame rate, but the projector claims 60 Hz (actually, 59.99 Hz). So I don't know what the frame rate actually is.

The BD player only says it has "Deep Color" support in the marketing literature, but doesn't let you change anything. The projector displays "12 bits" when it is connected.


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