[RndTbl] HDMI extenders

[John Lange]

In my experience, 50ft at 1080p should be no problem with a good quality
HDMI cable (HDMI 2.0 or 2.1) though it is technically over the limit for
distance. That being said, it's highly dependent on the equipment at both
ends. If the sending side has a weak signal, or the receiving side is poor
quality, then distance will be reduced. (and just to be technically
correct: BOTH sides send and receive, but most of the data flows in one
direction).

HDMI is very much like Ethernet in that the length and quality of the HDMI
cable is dependent on the "speed" you need. HDMI in 4K needs a higher class
of cable (2.0) and distance is shorter, just like 1G ethernet needs CAT6
and has shorter distance than 10Meg ethernet.

So unfortunately what I'm saying is you won't know for sure until you try.

But to answer your original question, "yes" HDMI extenders work but they
are another point of failure so I'd avoid them if you can. Sometimes you
have to reboot them to get signal back.

That being said, HDMI cables are unwieldy and difficult to run especially
if you have to fish them under floors and through walls, and the connectors
don't fit through small openings. If that is a consideration then CAT6 is
much easier. It is for this reason that we always use extenders rather than
running long HDMI cables. Plus, ethernet cable is "generic" and can
(hopefully) be used for other technology in the future for example USB
extenders if needed, or just a regular network drop if needed.

Another option is something called an "Active HDMI" cable. These convert
copper to fiber and back to increase distance. I personally would use
extenders rather than this, but just thought I'd mention it.

Small side note: if you are doing this in a commercial building you should
only use "plenum rated" cable. That is fire code.

John


On Thu, Mar 9, 2023 at 8:09 AM Kevin McGregor <kevin.a.mcgregor at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Here's another question I was going to ask at the meeting but forgot
> about. It's not UNIX/Linux-related but I was hoping for some input.
>
> Does anyone have experience with HDMI-over-Ethernet extenders? Do they
> work? Do the less-expensive ones work? :-)  Should I just get a really long
> HDMI cable? What's the upper length limit for HDMI cables (1080p)? It would
> be under 50 ft.
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-- 
John Lange
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