hdmi cable that actually works?

[OldSkoolRS]

RUIPRO came recommended on various forums I post on. I was lucky and got a daft deal just before Christmas for £20 on a 7 metre optical cable. I see they are now back up to £49 from this link, but they do offer 20 metre lengths (£62) and beyond.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074ZNW3TX?psc=1&r...

FWIW I've found it works better than my previous CAT6 HDMI balun set up I used before that: My projector locks on quicker and once locked on doesn't drop. (Lumagen video processor feeding the RUIPRO into a JVC projector).

[Digger]

silentbrown said:

Digger said:

How much would one of their 10m optical cables be? I cannot find online yet.

I hope you're sitting down...

I know right, I mean I found the same as you but thought I'd ask the question to create added drama errr lol

[Sporky]

I'd go Cat or add an equaliser at the projector end. The Extron one is very good, if you know someone with an account.

[ARHarh]

silentbrown said:

Digger said:

How much would one of their 10m optical cables be? I cannot find online yet.

I hope you're sitting down...

I can only assume you don't understand how a digital signal works of you have been persuaded to buy one of those.

[Digger]

ARHarh said:

silentbrown said:

Digger said:

How much would one of their 10m optical cables be? I cannot find online yet.

I hope you're sitting down...

I can only assume you don't understand how a digital signal works of you have been persuaded to buy one of those.

One of the things I have discovered over the last few years, is that HDMI cables are way more complex than I imagined, especially when it comes to beyond say 7.5m, assuming 4K/120Hz as a prerequisite requirement

[dxg]

I've been using this 30m optical cable for a few months now. No issues:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C69QYV37/ref...

It came spooled on a cable drum. Could your issues be that you're damaging the fibre by forcing it round too tight bends?

[Sporky]

dxg said:

I've been using this 30m optical cable for a few months now. No issues:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C69QYV37/ref...

It came spooled on a cable drum. Could your issues be that you're damaging the fibre by forcing it round too tight bends?

I wouldn't have thought so - fibre (well, the aramid around it) is much tougher than copper. We used to do a demo where you'd tie a fibre in a knot while sending signal through it, and get the customer to pull the knit as tight as they could. Never saw a drop-out.

I do agree that past 7.5m HDMI gets expensive, especially at 4k60 and above, if you want the signal to be right at the other end. Just because the signal is digital doesn't make it immune to the analogue physics of the cable - it gets harder and harder to tell 0s from 1s.

[silentbrown]

Sporky said:

I do agree that past 7.5m HDMI gets expensive, especially at 4k60 and above, if you want the signal to be right at the other end. Just because the signal is digital doesn't make it immune to the analogue physics of the cable - it gets harder and harder to tell 0s from 1s.

Absolutely, which is why optical is a win. You shouldn't need to spend much more than £100 on a good 20m optical cable, which will should be cheaper, less faff and more reliable than a cat 6 setup. You can spend more to get a better constructed cable, which might last longer if you're continually unplugging/replugging it, but anything else is likely snake oil.

Audioquest will happily relieve you of £10,999 for a 12m ethernet cable, which is really just a tax on stupidity.

[Sporky]

silentbrown said:

Absolutely, which is why optical is a win. You shouldn't need to spend much more than £100 on a good 20m optical cable, which will should be cheaper, less faff and more reliable than a cat 6 setup. You can spend more to get a better constructed cable, which might last longer if you're continually unplugging/replugging it, but anything else is likely snake oil.

I think you're right for home use. I do commercial, and I'd always rather CAT extenders than an optical cable - my experience is better performance and reliability there.

[donkmeister]

I've got a ruipro hybrid cable, and another brand of hybrid cable. My logic was that spending £100 each on two cables was less painful than running one £100 cable then having one fail either immediately or after a while and having to pull a new cable.

Both are perfectly fine for 4K HDR and 3D after 4 years in place, never had any slow syncing or drop outs.

ETA ceiling mount projector with the amp and so on below the screen, and cables chased into the wall and then run through the floor joists upstairs.

Edited by donkmeister on Wednesday 5th June 15:01

[TonyRPH]

Gary C said:

silentbrown said:

4K/60Hz Video on HDMI needs about 12 Gb/s. You're not going to get that on wireless easily.

I suspect most of the wireless things use heavy compression, anyway...

Gb/s ?

According to this site 18Gbps (minimum)!

[Sporky]

10.2Gbps with colour subsampling.

[silentbrown]

TonyRPH said:

According to this site 18Gbps (minimum)!

Sporky said:

10.2Gbps with colour subsampling.

There's loads of variables. 12-bit HDR adds 50% (hence the 18 Gb/s figure), while subsampling reduces it.

If you're just watching stuff from Netflix, your 4K is compressed down to 15Mb/s. Blu-ray Ultra is 128Mb/s. The right answer is probably not to decompress the video 20 metres from the display device...

[JEA1K]

For runs over 10/12 metres (15m absolute max) go for a cable which will do a min of 18Gbps and certified to carry content UHD/4K 60fps 4:4:4. Bluestream, HD Anywhere or Wyrestorm are your best options ... budget for £150 - £200.

In addition, and one for the future, always run at least one Cat6 inline with the HDMI ... in the event that the HDMI cable fails or is damaged (usually at one of the heads ...) then a suitable set of HDMI baluns can be used to pass the signal down the terminated Cat6. Again, the above brands (I'd favour Bluestream for baluns) also provide balun kits.

[donkmeister]

silentbrown said:

If you're just watching stuff from Netflix, your 4K is compressed down to 15Mb/s. Blu-ray Ultra is 128Mb/s. The right answer is probably not to decompress the video 20 metres from the display device...

Indeed, but despite the "full build out" projects we love to see, it's relatively uncommon to have a truly blank sheet with a home cinema. Challenges are present, upheaval is undesirable, and you need to work with or around what you have.

Generally there is going to be some legacy to accommodate (e.g. in-wall speaker cables driving the amp location), or some conflict (e.g. two display devices at opposite ends of a room - TV at the front and PJ at the rear with a run from at least one back to the receiver), and in-wall cabling can become significantly longer than a direct run would be unless you are content with naff trunking. That 20m cable doesn't translate to 20m between the receiver and the projector.

Which is why soundbars are so popular with those who are lacking either funds, desire or permission to rip their house apart to run cables