A/V Use of 30' Monster HDMI cables on 50" Plasma TV

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by OceanJan, 11 Feb 2007.

  1. OceanJan

    OceanJan What's a Dremel?

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    Hi,

    Can you help, please. Am about to have my 50" Samsung Plasma TV installed. But got conflicting info on HDMI cables. I was planning to use 2 30' Monster HDMI cables. However, one installer said that video is ok that length, but not video. In other words, will the video signal be degraded if the HDMI cables are 30-35'? If so, what is the longest HDMI cable for video that maintains best signal? Thanks! OceanJan
     
    Last edited: 11 Feb 2007
  2. cpemma

    cpemma Ecky thump

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    YMMV.
     
  3. DougEdey

    DougEdey I pwn all your storage

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    Get a wireless extender.
     
  4. Fod

    Fod what is the cheesecake?

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    try it and see. the thing with digital is it's all or nothing - you won't get degradation (btw there's no point buying 'expensive' hdmi cables, since they're digital interconnects it makes literally no difference), just a blank screen, if they don't work. then you can just claim ignorance and say they don't work, and get a refund. (and DON'T get a wireless extender. if anything, buy a repeater box)
     
  5. Cabe

    Cabe What's a Dremel?

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    you can still get interferance on a digital signal.

    Say (for instance) that 0v represents a 0 and 5v represents a 1.

    if you have a 0 on the line and it get some crosstalk (linear inductance from nearby wires in this case) to an amplitude of 2.5v or more you end up with a 1 being read at the other end. You can also have destructive interference that can cause a 1 to be read as a 0.

    These bits getting lost can change say, a single pixels colour value leading to digital noise (this is the exact effect seen on digital cameras in low light conditions where they have to amp up the signal causing crosstalk). Bottom line only optical transmission is immune to external electrical interference (I'm of course ignoring mechanical interference in both cases).

    As Cpemma said YMMV some places you can push HDMI 25m without an extender, and some places are so god damned electrically noisy you still get image wobble at 2m.
     
  6. Fod

    Fod what is the cheesecake?

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    well in theory a flipped bit would cause a pixel to change colour, but in my experience with DVI and HDMI, i've never seen that - i've just seen the picture cut out (and this ain't no CCD!). remember we're running error correction on these things so with some interference you should be fine.
     
  7. Cabe

    Cabe What's a Dremel?

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    Granted for a given level of interference a digital signal will maintain its image much better, but they can exhibit "analog like" problems, there is no error correction in the DVI spec (and by extention the HDMI spec) to compensate for these problems.

    http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/hdmi-cable.html for a basic read on the subject.

    I suppose I really should answer the question of the original poster, premium cables will (should, thats thier job) offer better signal paths end to end. So you are more likely to get a clean signal out the other end of a long run over cheap maplin/rat shack no-names. Skys the limit on spending though.
     
  8. Gooey_GUI

    Gooey_GUI Wanted: Red Shirts

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    I was faced with those same questions.

    1) What was the quality of signal v.s. length of HDMI cable?

    2) Did I want to pay for the steep price of Monster cables?

    I found that anything less than 50 ft was negligible when using any copper core/gold plated cables.

    As far as paying for Monster cables goes, at monster prices, there was a commercial e-store that I found. Look up their prices because they are less than 1/3 the price you pay for the name "Monster."

    Monoprice

    Here is the cable that I decided upon. Note the guage. That is important. There is no discernable difference between Monster and these. Everybody seems very happy with them.

    HDMI Tin-Plated Copper CL2 Rated (For In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) - 35ft

    I don't know where you are from, but they ship anywhere related to the US and Canada.

    I hope this saves you a few hundred dollars. :thumb:
     
    Last edited: 13 Feb 2007
  9. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    The other option is to get a couple of HDMI-Cat 5 baluns and keep your HDMI cables short, or a HDMI signal booster.
    Basically, stay away from anything with the name "Monster" on it, as Gooey said, you pay a premium just for having their name on the box.
     
  10. The_Pope

    The_Pope Geoff Richards Super Moderator

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    I can't really help with any advice, but I'm curious as to what kind of setup would require a cable of that length?
     
  11. Sp!

    Sp! Minimodder

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    In the office we plugged a DVD player into a TV with 2 40' HDMI cable joined together and we had no porblem, but that's not to say it will work for you with a different device on either end,

    I guess you just need to give it a go to find out as it'll be outside the specifiaction of the devices and the cables but chances are it'll probably work fine
     

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