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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: DVI cable lengths
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 06-20-2009 11:57 AM
Okay....here is the scoop...again.
DVI and HDMI rules of thumb... 15' on straight cables with no other electronic means...anything longer and you are gambling, unless you know your cable manufacturer as well as the source and the display since they ALL must be working within their spec.
If your cable manufacturer does not have their prices go up geometrically after 15-feet...be very suspicious. I highly recommend Extron cables as one goes longer as they really do perform as claimed...they are not merely longer cables. Under 15-feet...most cables should work, by design.
So how to break the 15-foot barrier?
There are cable equalizers that will let one use a DVI cable up to about 200-feet! Mind you, that 200' cable is going to set you back many hundreds (if it is worth using) and then you are going to add another $250 or so for the equalizer to make it actually work.
There are the Cat 5 solutions. I can certainly testify that Extron's definitely work though you should/must use SHIELDED Cat 5 cable as well as shielded ends. I've successfully gone nearly 200-feet with them (720p) without problems. It is nice to be able to move both picture and sound (via HDMI) over just two Cat 5e cables. 1080p/60 signals would be limited to just 100-feet though.
If you really want to work long distance...there is but one sure-fire solution...fiber optics. There are solutions from Extron, Gefen and others that will let you go over 1,500 feet. The tooling is still a bit pricey to make one's own fiber ends but there are sources for pre-terminated fiber optic cables. Then again, with bandwidths going up...having the ability to make fiber cables is going to be essential.
Depending on the source...one could convert DVI to HDSDI and run just a single RG-6 cable too. I like HDSDI...great images, easy to work with cable, not too costly, can have video and audio over the same cable.
Steve
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Julio Roberto
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 938
From: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2008
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posted 06-28-2009 05:01 AM
Well, a lot of these "audiophiles" sites/magazines/tests want to insist on the notion that a $10 cable is "worse" than a $1000 cable and that they can hear/see the difference.
And sometimes they'll even argue POWER cables, that hook say an amplifier to the plug in your house, make a huge difference.
But after all the hoola, and considering how they "spent months" readying their "experiment", the conclusions are pretty much what everybody should know by now.
In my own words: "for short lenghts, say under 12 feet, any non defective cable, manufactured to meet the intended specs, will produce 100% perfect indistinguishable results". Over that, you need to start worrying about specs A BIT. Over around +35 feet and you REALLY need to worry about specs. Specs DOES NOT equal price and there is no need for any cable, no matter how long, to be too expensive, although they often are, but only because of mark up, not because of true cost, but you can find cheap ones that do just the same job.
And in their words in this article:
quote:
Your take-away from all this should be the following:
At lengths less than 4 meters you can just about use silly string (OK, not really) and get HDMI to pass at any current resolution. At less than 3 meters you'll even extend that to 12-bit color and possibly the next crazy idea HDMI Licensing decides to throw at consumers. Don't spend a lot on these cables and if you want to save money you won't let anyone at a big box store talk you into buying from them.
At long lengths (over 10 meters) you really need to pay attention to the manufacturer if you don't want to risk running into potential problems with 1080p and future formats such as Deep Color. With that said, just about any cable at or under 10 meters will pass 720p/1080i and nearly everyone will pass 1080p at 8-bit color as well.
If you have an existing HDMI cable and are running into problems, we'd suggest at least attempting the insertion of an active component at the sink (display) side. This is going to be far cheaper than ripping out your walls and re-running new cables - and likely just as effective.
HDMI has proven to be a moving target and there is no telling what crazy (likely unnecessary) format they will try to push down the cable next. Due to this, it's always good to "overbuild" your cable install, especially if it's a longer distance and going to end up behind drywall.
If you're not prone to upgraditis and think 1080p will be your maximum resolution for the life of your install, don't sweat it...
Of course there are entire industries, magazines, and leagues of people that breathe on expensive cables, so they are gonna tell you otherwise. Oh well, only thing at stake is money if they are chosen to be believed.
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