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HDMI High Speed Length question:

post #1 of 4
3/18/12 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
I'm sure this is redundant, but a quick search didn't come up with any useful articles. If you know of one, please let me know!

Anyways, I just purchased a 25' HDMI cable from BJC. I finally got to connecting my TV to it, and I'm trying to test it out before I bury it in the wall.

Right now I don't have an 3D compatible TV, but I figured I'd get a High Speed cable for when I do upgrade (hopefully in the next year).

But I've noticed a couple of issues: For some reason, the picture doesn't always come through (I have to powercycle my components), and the HDMI control isn't working too reliably (where you could change the volume of the TV, and it would in turn change the volume of the Receiver...) Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm not sure it's the cable's fault. It's awfully large/heavy, so it may be tugging a bit on the TV's HDMI jack... Leading to a poor connection

But, this got me to thinking: I know the HDMI cable is rated for Hi-Speed at this length, BUT, it's not direct from the component to the TV:
Right now I have my cable box, xbox, and Bluray player connected to my receiver, and then to the TV. So, in essence, I really have a 30' HDMI run: 5' for each component, and then 25' from the receiver to the TV.

Should I have accounted for this when I purchased the cable? Will I need to get a 20' cable instead???? (I'll have to see if I can lose that much length).
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post #2 of 4
3/18/12 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizzygone View Post

I'm sure this is redundant, but a quick search didn't come up with any useful articles. If you know of one, please let me know!

Anyways, I just purchased a 25' HDMI cable from BJC. I finally got to connecting my TV to it, and I'm trying to test it out before I bury it in the wall.

Right now I don't have an 3D compatible TV, but I figured I'd get a High Speed cable for when I do upgrade (hopefully in the next year).

But I've noticed a couple of issues: For some reason, the picture doesn't always come through (I have to powercycle my components), and the HDMI control isn't working too reliably (where you could change the volume of the TV, and it would in turn change the volume of the Receiver...) Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I'm not sure it's the cable's fault. It's awfully large/heavy, so it may be tugging a bit on the TV's HDMI jack... Leading to a poor connection

But, this got me to thinking: I know the HDMI cable is rated for Hi-Speed at this length, BUT, it's not direct from the component to the TV:
Right now I have my cable box, xbox, and Bluray player connected to my receiver, and then to the TV. So, in essence, I really have a 30' HDMI run: 5' for each component, and then 25' from the receiver to the TV.

Should I have accounted for this when I purchased the cable? Will I need to get a 20' cable instead???? (I'll have to see if I can lose that much length).

No, your cable length is likely OK. I'd make sure that 5' isn't causing this problem (I've seen a 5' cause a problem on a 60' run). Make sure it has the same pedigree as the 25'. Yes, a 25' high speed and a 5' high speed does not equal a 30' high speed, but that amount of difference shouldn't matter unless you are pushing the bandwidth (1080p/60 3D maybe). From what you said you aren't.

I'd be more concerned about damaged cables and then handshakes between components. Do the same drop-outs occur with shorter cables (I know that can be a pain but it does provide a valuable clue)? Also make sure Deep Color is disabled.
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post #3 of 4
3/19/12 at 6:25am
Thread Starter 
Quite Honestly, the only new thing to my system is the Cable. My wife doesn't like where I have my electronics cabinet in the living room. So, I purchased the 25' cable so that I can move all the components to the side of the room (the TV is wall-mounted).

The original cable had no issues. I am, however, using a different HDMI input on the set, so I'll see if I can move this new cable to the original input.


And out of curiosity, what is the Deep Color feature? Is that something I'd find on the TV?
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post #4 of 4
3/19/12 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizzygone View Post

Quite Honestly, the only new thing to my system is the Cable. My wife doesn't like where I have my electronics cabinet in the living room. So, I purchased the 25' cable so that I can move all the components to the side of the room (the TV is wall-mounted).

The original cable had no issues. I am, however, using a different HDMI input on the set, so I'll see if I can move this new cable to the original input.


And out of curiosity, what is the Deep Color feature? Is that something I'd find on the TV?

Both source and sink (the TV) have to have the Deep Color capability for it to be used. It provides a greater granularity on the color signal. Unfortunatley no shiny disc or internet-based video seems to use it, so the only thing you're really adding a bigger bandwidth for the cable to handle.

When Deep Color is used, the color bits are interpolated from 8-bit words to 12-bit words. The interpolation is done by the player, so it's really hit or miss whether that improves or harms the picture. It certainly isn't what the director or the mastering engineer intended (kind of video equivalent of hitting one of those fake surround buttons on an AVR).
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