HDMI over longer distances

[Coytee]

If it is just the video feed, why not just send it over a DVI cable?

I was (am) under the impression that everything is evolving to using HDMI as the standard, no?

Your not going to use your tv speakers anyhow are you?

Pfffffft... I don't know about you Mr. Special [] but my tv speakers are the best sounding speakers in my house! [^o)]

Ok... maybe I do have an idea about you.... your tv speakers sound pretty bomb too! [Y]

[IndyKlipschFan]

DVI is the HDMI of the Video feed. a hem....

Take the sound specs away and you have it. same thing.. again it will save you some money here.... And work too.

[Coytee]

Roger, you might look at this thread. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/128019.aspx

If DVI is the HDMI of the video feed then I for one wish they'd stop using different terms for perhaps the same item!!

Restricting my understanding to only Blue Ray, from I gather on this other thread and what I've been told, all standards are going to go 'dark' in a year, heading to HDMI and HDMI itself is evolving.

I preface anything I say with "if someone is using a cord NOT BURIED in their walls" then it doesn't really matter what happens because they can always change to a new cord if need be. If however, they are going to bury their cords in their walls like I am, then they might want to read more into that and either lay some conduit so they can pull something else through later on and/or bury some Cat 6 wires (at least a pair) to be used as the trunk line between the two connecting points.

My take on that thread is (at least with blue ray) the standard will become only HDMI and if you use anything less then you will not get any of the benefits of having an HD system.

I might misinterpret something so I'm not trying to cry wolf... but if this is as I understand it, I don't see much "heads up" conversations going on about it so that people can take it in stride and I think it's worth mentioning

[jakeklipsch]

I appreciate everyone's comments here, but I think I'm just going to go with a 40' HDMI cord. I don't have any doubt that either the Blue Jeans cables or the Monoprice cables would work fine to get a signal (like someone said before, they wouldn't sell a 40' cable if it didn't work), but I just wanted to pick the cable that has the best chance of sending a clean 1080p signal. They probably both would work the same in this regard too, but if anyone has any additional insight on that, please let me know! Thanks!

[Cal Blacksmith]

DVI is HDMI without the audio portion of the signal. There should be no problem running DVI to your display from the AVR instead of full HDMI, unless as has been said, you want to run the speakers on the display (TV). If it makes you happy, you can run a full HDMI cable to the TV if you wish, but if you are only going to use the video........

There are wire end adaptors that convert HDMI to DVI, all they do is change the configuration of the plug and discard the audio signal. The Video is the same.

Again, I can't see how they would be able to "shut off or make dark" your exsisting equipment. They can make NEW equipment that may not be compatable with the older equipment but to turn your equipment into door stops, I just don't see how that could happen.

[Youthman]

Good Article - Are There Any Differences Between DVI & HDMI?

[jakeklipsch]

It sounds like I probably can't go wrong then with either the Monoprice or Blue Jeans Cable 40' HDMI cable. The Blue Jeans cable costs quite a bit more though ($110.50 vs $38.20), which confused me a bit.

[MoparBob]

38 dollors for a 40ft HDMI sounds to cheap. It may be fine, but. I don't know how monoprice is made but BGC has been tested and certified and is made with Belden cable and thats good for me. I have a 15' BGC F2 and it's nothing but quality.

[Youthman]

All I know is a 30' monoprice cable has been tested and certified (by me). [] Works great. I don't know how they sell their cables so cheap too. It just tells me the other companies have quite a bit of markup on theirs.

[Coytee]

I copied this from the other thread. I'd like to see how others interpret it. I copied this from their site, these words below are not mine.

Adopter may continue to manufacture and sell an Existing Model in which the implementation of AACS Technology is a Robust Inactive Product after December 31, 2010 provided that when such Robust Inactive Product is activated through a Periodic Update, such Periodic Update results in a Licensed Player that limits analog video outputs for Decrypted AACS Content to SD Interlace Modes only

I interpret it to mean "Manufacturer may contine to make and sell a Blue Ray player in which the result of the AACS handshake not being correct, results in the player displaying only its lowest resolution after our deadline of December 31, 2010 provided that when this Handshake techology is delivered, via inserting a blue ray disk which contains the software update already encrypted on it, to render the player limited to analog video output to standard definition, interlaced only" (think of a flash upgrade encoded onto all blue ray disks as part of the manufacturing agreement)

Not to beat a dead horse but if I'm wrong, then people who have an generic HDMI wire connected from their BR player to their HDTV can sleep. If however, I interpret this correctly, then these same people would simply have to change a wire, or perhaps another HD component... the main reason I'm trying to raise this flag are for those who have (or are going to bury) wires in their walls. I was originally going to toss some HDMI cables behind the drywall but have found that installing the CAT 6 will give me more service since I can transmit the HDMI info across the Cat 6 (which I just installed last night!)

I'd be interested to read other peoples take on the bold paragraph...as to, in your opinion, exactly what they are saying. I might be reading it wrong.

[MoparBob]

That has nothing to do with the HDMI cable, but component cable. They don't you coping a disk. HDMI output is the only one with the hand shake. When they do up date the HDMI code, the older ones still works and has nothing to do with the cable. If you want the want to up date you have to buy a new player, receiver and TV but not the a new cable. They did one up date on the cable early on, but the old one will still work unless your in a high RF area. Most homes are not in a high RF area unless your under tramitter towers.

They have been trying to put a stop to analog HD for 5-7 years now. It was a matter of time and if yor running HDMI your good. you need HDMI for 1080P anyway. Cat6 will work, but as I said before you slow down your video and can add video artifacts. I've run many different types of audio and video converters and some are good and some are not. I have run a $2000 video converter that made the video soft and had motion artifacts. So I don't like to use them if I don't have to. Yes it's only 1 and 0's, but how many are lost or changed in translation. A conveter is a fall back not a first choice.

[jakeklipsch]

Well I ended up going with the Blue Jeans Cable for the 40' run. Hopefully it works out well for me!

[Coytee]

I know I'm beating a dead horse but specifically for those who are burying their wires inside the walls, you might want to read this site. If you are not burying your wires then you'll have access and regardless if I'm right or wrong, you'll be able to easily upgrade. You'll have no worries.

http://www.hdmi.org/index.aspx

Some snippets (emphasis mine). I'm really not trying to intentionally belabour this topic. It simply seems some of these comments by the HDMI people themselves mean something and yet, I don't see too many people seemingly acknowledging the meaning of these comments.

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Can older HDMI (v.1.0 - 1.3) devices be firmware-upgraded to take advantage of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4?

Probably not. Most of the new features introduced in HDMI 1.4 will require a new HDMI chip to enable, and cannot be upgraded via firmware.

My take on this is, if you have a system setup for HDMI 1.3 and have 1.3 wires buried in the wall... when the new 1.4 format comes out (and after this 2010 date) you might have some issues. Then again, perhaps not. I'm simply suggesting it's better to discuss this now and get educated to what's coming down the pipeline rather than to wait and be in the "OMG" business.

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Intelligence: HDMI supports two-way communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality such as automatic configuration and one-touch play. By using HDMI, devices automatically deliver the most effective format (e.g 480p vs 720p, 16:9 vs 4:3) for the display that it is connected to - eliminating the need for the consumer to scroll through all the format options to guess what looks best.

(realize this can work for you AND against you. If the communication is working both ways and you don't have something compliant, then the other half can say "I'm not going to provide you full access to all those nifty features you want")

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Q. Does HDMI accommodate long cable lengths?

Yes. HDMI technology has been designed to use standard copper cable construction at long lengths. In order to allow cable manufacturers to improve their products through the use of new technologies, HDMI specifies the required performance of a cable but does not specify a maximum cable length. We have seen cables pass "Standard Cable" HDMI compliance testing at lengths of up to a maximum of 10 meters without the use of a repeater. 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.

With any long run of an HDMI cable, quality manufactured cables can play a significant role in successfully running HDMI over such longer distances.

Q. How do I run HDMI cables longer than 10 meters?

There are many HDMI Adopters working on HDMI solutions that extend a cable’s effective distance from the typical 10 meter range to much longer lengths. These companies manufacture a variety of solutions that include active cables (active electronics built into cables that boost and extend the cable’s signal), repeaters, amplifiers as well as CAT5/6 and fiber solutions.

This is why I'm running FOUR lines of Cat 6 to my video destination. If I can find a 30/40' run of HDMI 1.4 wire prior to my drywall going up I'll probably throw that into there as well. I can always snip it off if it goes obsolete on me. My wife thinks all these wires I'm running is crazy (and it probably is). I however, keep asking her "will there be an amplifier there?" (she doesn't know) "will it have RCA or XLR inputs?" (she doesn't know), "Will I need simple speaker wire there?" (she doesn't know) "how about a Cat 5/6 port?" (she doesn't know)

Well...neither do I right now!!! So, I then ask her if she'd like me to have various wires running across the room in which I get an emphatic "NO!!!!"

Well then.... it looks to me like I need to plan as best I can for various situations and put the wires up now!

to which of course, she rolls her eyes in acceptance and drops the subject!

[Y]

[IndyKlipschFan]

The good news is that despite their differences, a backward
compatibility for video exists between HDMI and DVI. Because HDMI
evolved from DVI, they are both identical when it comes to video.