50ft HDMI cable: which brands?

[Jeremy77]

I am getting a Sanyo PLV-Z3 projector (HDMI input) and I am looking at getting a Oppo Digital OPDV971H dvd player (DVI-D output) and was wondering what brands are recommended for HDMI cables? (the distance from the projector to the dvd player will be about 45ft).
So far the least $ I have found was Lenexpo-electronics. 15m (50ft)
HDMI to HDMI cable for $119 and a HDMI to DVI-D adapter for $ 24.99 with free shipping. Does anyone know if this cable is any good?
They also have a 15m (50ft) DVI to HDMI cable for $145.
I think I would like to keep the cable HDMI to HDMI for future use and use a HDMI to DVI adapter for now, if this is advisable?

Thanks for the help!
Jeremy

[Lex]

CAT can get 50 feet DVI, that is about as long as they go. If you are receptive to a non-refudable sale, I will see you one at a good price. I'll have to look it up if y ou are interested. We don't build these in house.

thanks,
Doug

[Chris D]

Whoa, I'd be VERY hesitant with a DVI/HDMI cable of 50 ft for those prices, Jeremy. At the cheaper prices, you're pretty guaranteed to run into signal loss since you're looking at virtually the longest standard length made in those cables. Some of these companies make okay cables for shorter length, but not for longer. I just ran into the same thing with a 30' HDMI from Pacific Cable.

For 50', I think youo're going to have to prepare yourself to pay $250 or more to prevent signal loss and major video errors.

[Jeremy77]

CAT can get 50 feet DVI, that is about as long as they go. If you are receptive to a non-refudable sale, I will see you one at a good price. I'll have to look it up if y ou are interested. We don't build these in house.

Thanks for the help Doug!
I am going to send you a PM

[Jeremy77]

Whoa, I'd be VERY hesitant with a DVI/HDMI cable of 50 ft for those prices, Jeremy. At the cheaper prices, you're pretty guaranteed to run into signal loss since you're looking at virtually the longest standard length made in those cables. Some of these companies make okay cables for shorter length, but not for longer. I just ran into the same thing with a 30' HDMI from Pacific Cable.

For 50', I think youo're going to have to prepare yourself to pay $250 or more to prevent signal loss and major video errors.

Thanks for the info Chris!
I moved some stuff around and I will be able to use a 40ft cable now.
I have a Sanyo PLV-Z3 projector(HDMI input) on order and if I go with the Oppo Digital OPDV971H dvd player (DVI-D output) the cable will be a DVI to HDMI.

This is off-topic:
Chris, I noticed that your avatar is a C-17. Do you fly?

Thanks again for the info
Jeremy

[Snap]

Just an FYI

I am not sure what the Loss on DVI and HDMI is, but the book says 3-6db signal loss per 100 feet on RG6. Running Projectors in a churches and board rooms, I run home runs to projectors 50 feet and closer. Anything over 50 feet I add an amp.

If some one out there knows the signal loss for DVI or HDMI per 100 feet please post.

[Chris D]

This is off-topic:
Chris, I noticed that your avatar is a C-17. Do you fly?
Jeremy

Sure do... I'm a C-17 pilot and A/V geek extraordinaire.

[Snap]

Chris how was NVG school? What thread was this conversation on? Just wondering how that was?

[Snap]

For 50', I think youo're going to have to prepare yourself to pay $250 or more to prevent signal loss and major video errors.

Chris brings up a good point. I should have thought of this before I posted. Sorry. ops:

When I said I run Home Runs for 50 feet or less, I need to point out we are NOT talking HT here. We are talking Power Point, Easy Worship, and other "Presentation" type programs. With the ability to have a movie played from time to time. There is a noticable difference when I do the Home run from 50 feet vs the 25 feet for normal stuff.

If the cable works and you are happy with it then good deal. But I would tend to lean towards what Chris pointed out for long runs. Get a GOOD HIGH doller cable.

I am trying to get with NEC or Eiki which ever will email me back and find out what the signal loss is for SXGA,VGA,DVI and HDMI. None of the Ref stuff that I have give me these specs.

[Jeremy77]

Snap, Chris, & Kingdaddy
I will be able to use a 40ft DVI to HDMI cable instead of 50ft and I found a company that seems to have a good rep. they offer a money back guarantee if the cable does not work Though the cable cost more, 40ft $ is around 160

The company is a sponsor of another forum that I am a member of.

I appreciate the help :T
Jeremy

[jim777]

I got a 35 ft HDMI cable and video goes black for a half second once in a while. Does that mean that the cable is no good?

Thanks

[Brandon B]

Might be. If HDCP is losing handshake than might happen. Seems like you'd see sparklies (bit errors) though if it were bad. Does it go from normal picture, to black, and return to normal picture?

BB

[jim777]

Thats what I don't understand. I never saw a sparkle. As you said, it goes from perfect picture to black to normal again (black for about 1 sec).

At first, everything was ok. Then after a few minutes it started giving me trouble. So I removed the HDMI switch (kept just the cable) and it was still doing it. I then tried 1080i vs 720p and I still had the problem.

But no sparkles.

I have a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR going to a Panasonic PT-AE900U projector.


P.S. the tv stream is OK, this happens even while the image is "paused".

[Lex]

CAT will be forging ahead very soon with quantities of HDMI cables, lengths TBD.

[jim777]

Thats what I don't understand. I never saw a sparkle. As you said, it goes from perfect picture to black to normal again (black for about 1 sec).

At first, everything was ok. Then after a few minutes it started giving me trouble. So I removed the HDMI switch (kept just the cable) and it was still doing it. I then tried 1080i vs 720p and I still had the problem.

But no sparkles.

I have a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD PVR going to a Panasonic PT-AE900U projector.


P.S. the tv stream is OK, this happens even while the image is "paused".

Ok, just to share my experience, I think I got this fixed to a reasonable level. The problem is mostly because of the 8300HD HDMI implementation. It's like it "switches" from 1080i to something back to 1080i for fun. The trick is to go in the advanced HD settings to configure the 8300HD as if the projector can only handle 720p. Then, set the video setting to "fixed" so that only 720p is used. Then hard-reboot the 8300HD after configuring it. I watched some recorded HD all night and everything was fine now. My previous config was pass-through with all resolutions available. So before the pannie was doing all the scaling, now it's the 8300HD.

The cables and cheap passive hdmi switch are fine.

So Brandon, you weren't too far from the truth. Kind of a handshake problem that was eliminated by forcing the 8300HD to a unique output resolution.

[Brandon B]

That's me. Never TOO far from the truth.

BB

[bigburner]

Here is the gospel according to Wikipedia:

A reported problem with HDMI is the maximum cable length. As with all cables, signal attenuation becomes too high at a certain length. For the standard HDMI copper cables at 28 AWG, some users have found signal performance degrades above a cable length of about 5 meters (~16 feet). For front projection televisions and computer hookups, this can result in lost data and the video device compensating in unacceptable ways.

The HDMI Web site, however, disputes the 5 meter limit. "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. Cable manufacturers are expected to sell reasonably priced copper cables at lengths of up to 15 meters." (from the HDMI FAQ page)

One reported way to increase the distance limit is to increase the thickness of the copper cables, effectively decreasing impedance. 24 AWG wire is considered superior to 28 AWG. Another way is to use fiber optic or dual Cat-5 cables instead of standard copper. Some companies also offer amplifiers and repeaters that can string several HDMI cables together.

[eddiem67]

I install 30-50 ft HDMI with no problems, picture looks as good as a 4ft cable

[FerstlerSlim]

With what?

I install 30-50 ft HDMI with no problems, picture looks as good as a 4ft cable

What is your source and what is your destination? I have Nvidia Geforce 7800GTX cards and have tried connecting to epson projectors and samsung lcd monitors and have not been able to display resolution over 800x600, with the 50' Cables i have.

Dave

[riceaterslc]

i dont know the relationship between HDMI and DVI cables in terms of AWG and length, but i have use both (Brand deleted by admin) and monoprice 50' DVI-D cables with no problems. running from both oppo 971/GeForce 7800GT to Optoma H31/Dell 20" ultrasharp (1600x1200). hope that helps..

[Lex]

Ok, this thread that dates to 2005!!!

It's time to wrap it up. I'll finish it saying that CAT Cables now has the beautiful 15 meter HDMI cable available for $199.99. 50 feet is as far as HDMI is recommended to go without amplification.

Doug