PC to TV via HDMI

sesselpupser

sesselpupser

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neema_t
So does anyone have any experience with these adaptor things?

If you're unaware, they're basically a pair of boxes that split an HDMI source signal into two CAT6 cables so you can have super long HDMI cables. My PC is currently behind the sofa and my TV is, obviously, in front of it and I'd quite like to be able to hook my PC up to the TV for when I'm in a console sort of mood, but the distance from PC to TV is about 15 metres/50 feet and the only way to run the cable would be under the carpet.

So do I go for one of these adaptors (~£30) and two 15 metre CAT6 cables (~£20 each) or one 15 metre flat HDMI cable (~£20, which seems quite cheap)? I'm really not sure if the 15 metre HDMI cable would be able to transmit a 1080p signal. I've been reading about you guys with dedicated tiny PCs and all that and want to get in on the whole using-a-PC-from-the-sofa thing, I just can't afford to build a PC right now.
 
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If you cant afford to build a basic media center PC, i would not go blowing pounds on ethernet wall jacks and cables.

Save it, you never know when something will happen when you need it.
 
Do you wireless mouse/keyboard? Might be better to move PC closer to TV and run cable to PC monitor. Before doing either have you moved PC close enough to see if you like PC picture on TV?
 
Grayfox
If you cant afford to build a basic media center PC, i would not go blowing pounds on ethernet wall jacks and cables.

Save it, you never know when something will happen when you need it.
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Well, when I say I can't afford it, I mean I'm not in the position to spend £1,250 on one gaming PC then build another one in the same room to do the exact same job as the gaming PC does but nowhere near as well because of being hamstrung by the small form factor.

I probably should have made it clearer that this is for gaming, not media, so a cheap PC won't cut it and an expensive one is pointless when I already have an expensive one. I can, however, afford some cables. They'd be running under the carpet, too, so no wall sockets would be involved. I wouldn't want to get into that as I'm pretty sure that would add a good few metres (because of having to run them up the wall and into the ceiling because of the doors and such). And I don't want to do anything that isn't reversible because I don't want to keep my PC where it is forever, it's a bit makeshift at the moment.

opelgt1969
Do you wireless mouse/keyboard? Might be better to move PC closer to TV and run cable to PC monitor. Before doing either have you moved PC close enough to see if you like PC picture on TV?
Click to expand...

As it's for gaming I'd only ever be using a 360 controller, no keyboard or mouse. My PC is connected to three monitors, my G27, an X52, headphones and a load of other devices where it is currently so moving the PC without moving all the other accoutrements is far less practical than running one (or two, if I go with the CAT6 thing) cable. I haven't tried my PC on my TV since I upgraded to the 680 but the 580 worked great for gaming, generally using the PC was horrible otherwise though because text looked like crap.


So, yeah, I was really just asking which option would be better for a 15 metre distance, from what I've read HDMI's absolute maximum is about 15 metres/60ft, but other people say that it sucks beyond 1.5 metres, which is quite a jump. I want to be able to play at 1080p, some say only 1080i is doable with a 15 metre cable... Maybe I should be looking at an HDMI repeater?
 
Pako
If you don't need to go under the carpet, a 50FT cable can be bought pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

I would though, right through the middle of the room too. £20 for a 15 metre flat cable seems reasonable enough, but I wonder if the 3.5mm thickness would be too noticeable through the carpet...

The hardest part is working out how I can conveniently switch between the 5040 x 1680 resolution I run those three normal monitors at (using Surround) and the 1080p of my TV. Hitting a physical switch probably won't do, will it?


But thanks, that helps!
 
You would have to switch in your Display Driver. For me, I had to disable SLI to activate my TV. This was a limitation of the GTX 590's. Not sure if you would have the same issue. I see that the 600 series does not have this issue.

As far as the carpet bulge, I think you would see it unless you cut a section of the under padding out to make a channel for the cable.
 
neema_t
So, yeah, I was really just asking which option would be better for a 15 metre distance, from what I've read HDMI's absolute maximum is about 15 metres/60ft, but other people say that it sucks beyond 1.5 metres, which is quite a jump. I want to be able to play at 1080p, some say only 1080i is doable with a 15 metre cable... Maybe I should be looking at an HDMI repeater?
Click to expand...

Anyone who says it sucks over 1.5m doesn't have a clue what they are on about, HDMI will either work or not, and 1080p will be fine at at that distance (I know of significantly longer runs that have worked just fine).
 
I might suggest just running the cable across the floor for a while and unplug it when not in use, just to see if it's what you'd expect it to be and to see if it's worth the effort. You may find it's more of a novelty than a benefit. If you are like me, however, you want to do it just because you can. :)
 
I'd just do the HDMI cable under the carpet. I'd try it on top first to make sure the quality is there.

I'd cut a little channel out of the padding under the carpet to try and minimize the bulge you would see above the carpet.
 
Yeah, the biggest issue will be how easy it is to switch between 3x1680x1050 Surround and the 1080p TV. I mainly want to do it because my sim rig's seat isn't astoundingly comfortable (and I have to stand on the seat and drop down into it, which gets old), I'd like to be able to play PC games with friends the same way we used to play PS3 games before and I'm thinking about how I could introduce my girlfriend to some games I think she'd like. Also my G27 covers the bottom part of the middle screen which is kind of annoying. And my sofa is as comfortable as it is massive. And the TV is largely unused these days... Actually that's probably a good thing seeing as it's an old, old 58" LCD, I can't imagine how much power it 'uses'!

Pulling up all the carpet to cut the channel might be a pain in the arse. I had been planning on making my own magnetic puller using some hard drive magnets and some cunning*, but if I'm pulling up the carpet I guess it won't matter... Seriously, the surface area of the carpet I'd have to lift would be something like 32m^2! I might be able to hide the cable along the edge of the sofa where it meets the rug so I could probably get away with only plugging it in as required.

I'm now off to investigate the possibility of automatically switching Surround on and off, thanks for the input you lovely gentlemans.
 
I assume that the 20 pound HDMI/CAT6 adapters are passive? If so they're garbage. I used to work doing AV fit outs, and you have to spend some decent money to get decent quality out of CAT5/6 extenders.
 
I have no idea, I just know that they're cheap, suspiciously so. It shouldn't be necessary anyway since 15m sounds like it'll be alright with HDMI, but thanks for the heads up.
 
If you have them available there, see if you can pick up an HDMI with RedMere. Apparently they are able to run 50' and are thinner than a normal HDMI, potential downside being they're directional.
 
TB
If you have them available there, see if you can pick up an HDMI with RedMere. Apparently they are able to run 50' and are thinner than a normal HDMI, potential downside being they're directional.
Click to expand...

... And a 50ft one is £192! I'm going to look into them anyway though, I've never heard of RedMere before.
 
I'd look at getting a cable long enough to rub around the edge of the room in trunking. Try it across the floor first to check you actually want it and then you can either hide it in the corner where floor meets wall or in trunking above skirting board.

If you try cutting a channel in to underlay, whilst that may work you will be weakening the carpet and what if over time the cable gets broken? Another pain to replace. Getting carpet back down is an arse if you've not got the right tools (assuming it's not been glued, in which case you will destroy the carpet), 32m2 of carpet is £600+ just saying!
 
FWIW I'm currently running 10 meters of HDMI between my PC and TV in the lounge with no issue. I can't see 15 being much different providing you have a good strong output.
 
neema_t
... And a 50ft one is £192! I'm going to look into them anyway though, I've never heard of RedMere before.
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That's messed up. Monoprice has damn near the same cable for $50 (£33)!

Shipping is a bit expensive to the UK (~$40) but still cheaper than £192!
 
Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but I have an update.

I finally got around to buying that 15 metre HDMI cable (a passive one, not a RedMere one), but I chose a non-flat one on the basis that it won't always be, er, deployed? Anyway, the back of my PC is hard to reach now so I want to have an HDMI switch so I can have one monitor and the TV connected to the HDMI port on my graphics card (the other two monitors are plugged in to the DVI). All I can find are labelled '3-in, 1-out', so I'm not sure they're bidirectional (i.e. so I can have 1-in, 2-out). I have found this one: 2x1 bidirectional HDMI switch (Amazon), but it's quite expensive at about 5p less than I paid for the cable in the first place, so I'm curious to know if you guys know if I can get one like this: 3x1 HDMI switch (Amazon) instead.

Apart from that, I'm very pleased with the performance of my PC on the TV. Once I'd worked out why it was overscanning (it was a setting on the TV), Steam's Big Picture mode has gone on to wow the pants off of me, so all that remains is to program an Arduino to work like a keyboard and mouse so I can have a small device to manipulate the mouse (for the odd game with a mouse-only setup dialogue) and trigger AutoHotKey scripts to turn Surround on and off and switch my audio settings around. And get an HDMI switch so I don't have to play around with cables. And make a reel for the cable as 15 metres is massive.


Edit: I could maybe also get an active DisplayPort adaptor and hook up either the TV or the display that is currently in the HDMI port with that, then hope that I can somehow switch between using the Surround setup or the TV.
 
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if using a 20 meter + hdmi cable make sure you plug it in the right way as its directional, has components in the end to boost the signal.

Used a 20m HDMI Cable that was $59.00 works perfectly Astrotek 1.4 3dReady
pm if you need details on the cable, hooked up to a projector running ps3 and foxtel.
it is directional so be aware when buying cables.
usually on the ends one says display other end says device.

display = projector
device = ps3 foxtel dvd etc.
 

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