• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

HDMI or Component?

M

mikeblas

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - May 2006
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Messages
12,777
I'm going to mount my plasma screen at one side of the room, and keep my components on the opposite side of the room. This means the video signal will travel six feet up the wall, across the ceiling for about 19 feet, then about six feet back down the wall for a total of 31 feet.

Should I run HDMI cable, or component cable? My equipment is capable of both signals, so that's not the deciding factor.

Is ten meters too long for reliable HDMI? Will HDMI result in a better picture, anyway, if I use quality cable for the component run?
 
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
 
Actually component tends to look better on CRTs from my experiences with HDTVs, it all depends on what does a better d/a conversion of the video signal, the tv or the source. With LCDs and Plasmas you wanna keep it digital though and stick with HDMI.
 
CrimandEvil said:
Not only that you don't see the same level of signal degradation like he would with an analog connection (component) since HDMI is digital.
Click to expand...

Actually, you do. The HDMI signal is very fragile, and does not have a specific maximum length, which means that a run of 2 feet might not work while my run of 30 feet might work fine.

Component won't degrade badly, particularly if I use good cables and careful wiring. I'm guaranteed to get a signal, but it's possibly not as good a signal as I'd get if HDMI was working over the same distance.

Normally i'd say "it depends" and to test out both connections, but you probably don't feel like having all that spare cable laying around when you're finished. Otherwise check out the feedback on these two hdmi products:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the links, but the reviews here don't tell me much. There's only a couple that mention length, and I think only two that specify both length and signal type. (I'll be using 1080p almost all the time.) The "test results" don't tell me much; there's lots of numbers the poster doesn't describe.

By the way, have you bought from Monoprice? For a purchase like this, they're about 40% cheaper than BlueJeans cable, but I can't find specs for the cables they use on their site.
 
I have a 50' DVI cable from monoprice to run my 2nd LCD down in my home theater. Works perfectly.

I would imagine there HDMI cables are of the same quality.
 
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
 
mikeblas said:
By the way, have you bought from Monoprice? For a purchase like this, they're about 40% cheaper than BlueJeans cable, but I can't find specs for the cables they use on their site.
Click to expand...
Yes, but i've only purchased shorter length runs of their VGA, DVI and hdmi cables, 25 feet or less that is. I do keep an eye out for results on their products though (avsforums). Their 24 guage and 22 guage hdmi products are extremely popular, the only time i've recalled hearing issues was with their 50' length running 1080P, a couple of people have mentioned seeing the dreaded sparklies, but i can't remember if that was due to a poor output signal. Just a guess but i'm thinking the 35ft length would be less prone to errors/anomolies than a 50ft length.

Pardon my ignorance but would a plasma display qualify as analog? In other words I don't know if plasmas convert an incoming digital signal to analog, or does it convert an incoming analog signal to digital? Can't ever recall stumbling upon the answer to that one. But yea i'll agree that analog artifacting is a lot more forgiving than digital. A better quality quad shield RG6 with solid terminators would probably work nicely, won't be very flexible but that may not matter to you.

Unfortunately none of this tells us what your results would look like on your specific equipment (looks like you'll be testing out both solutions ey?) Personally i'd first try HDMI, if you get the itch later you can always try component afterwards.
 
rayman2k2 said:
I've done HDMI runs of over 100 feet for 1080p content. Trust me, you're fine.
Click to expand...
I'm curious to learn how you can make such a bold guarantee without knowing what cable or equipment I'm using.

SJetski71 said:
Pardon my ignorance but would a plasma display qualify as analog? In other words I don't know if plasmas convert an incoming digital signal to analog, or does it convert an incoming analog signal to digital?
Click to expand...
What people commonly call "analog" and "digital" seems rather arbitrary to me. Analog filters and triggers are used to shape and receive a digital signal. Both LCD and plasma displays are converting the signal to analog levels to drive the display before its shown because the pixels aren't either on or off; they've got variable levels of brightness or opacity.

SJetski71 said:
Unfortunately none of this tells us what your results would look like on your specific equipment (looks like you'll be testing out both solutions ey?)
Click to expand...
I'll probably buy both sets of cables and test them on the carpet. If one obviously doesn't work, I won't install it. But I need to do both at the same time because I don't want to open the wall more than once.

Unless, of course, someone provides a definitive answer.
 
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
 
rayman2k2 said:
2. Regardless of what the display does, Component cables take a digital signal, convert it to analog, and converts it back to digital once it reaches the TV
Click to expand...
Cables are just wires; they do no such conversions.
 
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
 
rayman2k2 said:
i cant believe I actually had to write that :rolleyes: you should be smart enough to have known what I meant.
Click to expand...
I have only what you've written. Given what you've written, I can't guess where you think which conversions are done where. Regardless, what you've written--whether I read something intelligent into it or not--doesn't help me with my decision or plan.
 
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
 
Personally myself I would run both HDMI and component. HDMI is a must because of Blu Ray's encryption. I'm not sure if they are forcing users to use it yet. It's nice to have both, if you are running it in the walls or if you need to do some damage while running it I suggest you run all the cables that you think you will ever need. It's much easier running them all at once then it is to run an extra cable later on.

You are going to be paying a lot of money for a 10 meter cable, The cheaper brands of cables usually come in smaller lengths.
 
rayman2k2 said:
EDIT: I dont feel like helping you, its like talking to a stuck up lawyer.
Click to expand...

Don't worry -- you weren't.

switchg3ar said:
Personally myself I would run both HDMI and component.
Click to expand...
Indeed, I think this is where I'll end-up. If HDMI works, then it's a bonus. Even if it only works to certain resolutions, I can use the other line for upgrades or flexibility in switching.

I'm not going to bet on HDMI as "future proof". Instead, since I have the ceiling open anyhow, I'll probably install a 2- or 2.5-inch conduit and some pull string at the same time as I pull the component and HDMI cables.

At BlueJeans, the prices aren't bad at all. $90 for the component cables, and $70 for the HDMI cable. It's nearly the cheapest part of the install, I think. Even the outlet boxes and fittings add up to a little more than that.
 
mikeblas said:
I'll probably install a 2- or 2.5-inch conduit and some pull string at the same time as I pull the component and HDMI cables.
Click to expand...

I don't know your experience with this stuff but don't use sharp 90's with the conduit ie don't use plumbers pipe etc. Electrical pvc is better, or vac pipe if you want it to be cheaper just make sure you don't use sharp 90's it will be a pain in the ass if you want to pull extra wires.
 
I've done it before, but thanks for the tip. 90-degree bends are tedious, but no problem as long as the 90-degree joint includes a pull plate.
 
As for HDMI/Component: Both if you can

While you can buy a nifty receiver to do conversions or a nice external box....component is still used a little (especially the Wii). However, this is going the way of the dodo real quick unless you are a legacy system gamer.

My home system, I’m full conduit (even for speaker wire). While it can be a bit annoying to fish new lines or pull old ones....it is nothing compared not being able to do it at all. The 2.5" conduit really is a good size. You can get about four or five RG-6 cables down it, with connectors, with little to no stress. My rule of the thumb is 0.5" per cable with a 1.5" min (connectors).

As for people that have an existing room that can't run conduit, consider installing a small soffit around the room edge near the ceiling (6”x2”). If you spend just a few dollars, you can really take the edge off of running speaker cables, PJ wires, etc. While not as good as conduit...it at least gives you somewhat stealth methods of getting the wires from point to point. If you do it right, it looks like crown molding. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top