New projector time - old HDMI cables, but want 4k

[Joyrider1]

My BENQ projector has died, so time to get a new one - My problem is that when I installed this many years ago and had HDMI's chased into the wall and across the ceiling, those cables were only HDMI 1.4. Obviously technology has moved on and if I'm going to replace the projector, then I'd like one that supports 4k from my PS5 etc. but the cables won't be up to it.

I did run a CAT5e cable to the projector so is there something reliable that I can use to transmit the 4k signal over that? Or will CAT5e not be enough? Don't want to spend a fortune on this, but at the same time don't want to be replacing cables in walls/across ceilings - Have seen some HDMI/Ethernet converters on Amazon but they look like cheapo Chinese rubbish and reviews say they're not very reliable.

Do I have any other options here or am I just going to either have to stick with 1080p, or go ripping up my walls and ceiling?

[VEX]

Cat5e should be good enough, but you will be bouncing around at the upper edges of its capability.

You can't really buy Baluns that only 1080p so even if you buy and 4k doesn't work you won't really have wasted money.

[Joyrider1]

Thanks Vex - any recommendation on make of Baluns to look out for? Had a quick look on Amazon and seems to be a bit of a minefield with huge difference in price for essentially the same thing

[JEA1K]

As above, 1080p only is no longer an option. You could try the cheap Amazon ones but at some point you'll run into issues, more than not a power supply failure.

We've used the Blustream stuff (have a look at the HEX70B KIT), haven't had any major problems. If image is ever lost, a quick reboot (unplug, leave for 10 seconds, reconnect) and they'll sync up again.

[soggybiscuit]

I’ve used AV Access kit previously, worked well (should do for the price!) In fact, I have one of these going ‘spare’ if you’re interested: https://www.avaccess.com/collections/hdmi-extender...

Couldn’t use it as the cable that was already buried in the wall only had 6 cores - found out the hard way!

[VEX]

For our installs we only use BlueStream.

Pricey but excellent.

[xeny]

Joyrider1 said:

My BENQ projector has died, so time to get a new one - My problem is that when I installed this many years ago and had HDMI's chased into the wall and across the ceiling, those cables were only HDMI 1.4. Obviously technology has moved on and if I'm going to replace the projector, then I'd like one that supports 4k from my PS5 etc. but the cables won't be up to it.

Possibly a foolish question, but is it worth trying the existing cables?

[silentbrown]

xeny said:

Possibly a foolish question, but is it worth trying the existing cables?

I'd certainly do that first. Assuming you put in good quality 1,4 cables and the cable run isn't too long, I wouldn't be surprised if it works. It will also be obvious if it doesn't.

The pinout and number of conductors is unchanged. It's just that HDMI2 cables should be "certified" to work at the higher speeds.

FWIW, I'm happily running gigabit ethernet over a motley collection of cables that were never intended for more than 10BaseT...

[Joyrider1]

xeny said:

Possibly a foolish question, but is it worth trying the existing cables?

Yeah I did, I bought a 4K projector a while back to try it out and could only get a 1080p signal - PS5 didn’t work over it, so took the projector back for a refund until I can work out what to do next.

Will check out some of the stuff others have mentioned in this thread (thanks guys) but I fear this is just going to get more expensive than I bargained for!

Edited by Joyrider1 on Friday 17th September 21:49

[xeny]

silentbrown said:

FWIW, I'm happily running gigabit ethernet over a motley collection of cables that were never intended for more than 10BaseT...

During the first lockdown, we had very restricted site access, definitely no cabling contractors on site, and distancing rules didn't allow me to rack anything.

I ended up running 10Gbit from a rack in the middle of an empty office into structured cabling (specified as Cat 6) out into a patch cable, back into structured cabling to a system that had been unboxed but little more a couple of floors away. I was pleasantly surprised to see the link come up at full speed :-). Fortunately no-one wants to return to either of those offices, so I've not got to worry about the outage to revert it to something that is slightly nearer best practice.