HTPC on other side of house

If your main viewing area is in the living room then that's where your HTPC should be located as well. I don't understand why you would place it in a remote part of the house when it should be an integral part of your home theater setup.

You haven't indicated what you will be viewing or controlling on the HTPC from the living room so we can't offer much help without knowing that. What OS version are you using and what apps do you use for video playback? Are you using WMC or any other DVR apps? Do you use the HTPC for gaming? Do you use it to watch 4k content? Do you use it for watching or recording live TV from cable or an antenna? If so, are there any DRM channels that you watch and/or record?

captain_video said:

If your main viewing area is in the living room then that's where your HTPC should be located as well. I don't understand why you would place it in a remote part of the house when it should be an integral part of your home theater setup.

You haven't indicated what you will be viewing or controlling on the HTPC from the living room so we can't offer much help without knowing that. What OS version are you using and what apps do you use for video playback? Are you using WMC or any other DVR apps? Do you use the HTPC for gaming? Do you use it to watch 4k content? Do you use it for watching or recording live TV from cable or an antenna? If so, are there any DRM channels that you watch and/or record?

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Cause my living room is not setup for a PC at all, nor would it go with the motif. In my last house, I had it with a built-in rack I built with the room. New house this is a temp setup until I am able to build a similar room again, where the HTPC will be in the room again.

It will be used only for gaming, so I'm not worried about DRM or anything. I use my firestick 4k for kodi already. The PC draws too much power to keep on all the time and the firestick is so much more power efficient.

PC runs Win 10. My receiver is only 1080p, projector is 4k. I'm not swapping out the receiver anytime soon and I'd rather stick with 1080p in games for now.

I was thinking of going with this and a usb3.0 hub. I think it should work and all I'll really need. amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Extension-Repeater-U330-20M-x/dp/B01N59XNO7

If it's only a temporary setup then why not put the HTPC in the living room? It sounds like you're possibly going to spend a lot of money on just a temporary solution. There are lots of great HTPC cases that will allow your HTPC to blend into any environment. You can also build a more energy efficient PC if power consumption is an issue. I have five HTPCs, two desktop PCs, and a 30-disk server that all run 24/7. Three of the HTPCs are 1st generation Intel NUCs that are relatively low power, but not the best choice for gaming. I have a Windows 10 HTPC with a mini-iTX motherboard that's about the same size as a series 3 or Tivo HD and it uses a full-size graphics card that runs 4k.

Wife won't have it in the living room lol. I have a lot of stone and nothing will blend well. Plus I already have everything remote so no wires can be seen at all. Projector hides into ceiling too. You wouldn't know there is a projector or anything in the room at all when it's all off.

I figured all I need is a single long USB3.0 cable, which is like $80. That's my only cost if it works. I have everything else I would need already. A new case, or even new hardware will definitely tally over that. When I eventually build a theater room again, I'll spend the money to do things right.

USB alone may not extend that far. The active adapter you linked looks like a decent solution, but it’s expensive.

You can also try a USB over ethernet adapter. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=6042. You won’t get USB 3.0 speeds, but it may be good enough for mouse/keyboard. Obviously, you’d need to pull CAT5/6 cable and terminate it with RJ45 plugs.

djvj1 said:

I'm pondering how I can use my HTPC in a rack in my basement on my living room on the 1st floor. My basement is unfinished and I can easily put in keystone jacks in the living room. This same rack already houses the receiver and firestick 4K which feed the projector/5.1 surround sound in my living room.

I just have no way of controlling the PC at that distance, or playing games. I would need keyboard/mouse hookup and I'd rather wired. I measured I would need about 60ft extensions from the wall to the HTPC.

Does anyone have any experience with these long USB3 extensions and using them for gaming purposes? I'd also need to figure out how to connect controllers at that distance too.

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I did exactly the same thing except it is in my theater and I want to use it in my office also.

I got this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWSDT86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And then This: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07287LTRZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And This : https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illuminated-Living-Room-Keyboard-Touchpad/dp/B00ZOPVSKW/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1U96F7AHVLZ0I&keywords=bluetooth+multimedia+keyboard&qid=1567175305&s=gateway&sprefix=Bluetooth+multimedia+ke%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-9

It works great and I have a monitor in the office and bring the keyboard back and forth. I can connect the mouse and everything with no lag. Not a big gamer but do video and other things with no problem. I also connected a bluetooth mouse so you can do any controller that is bluetooth.

I could not find a way to get USB that far.

dfkimbro said:

USB alone may not extend that far. The active adapter you linked looks like a decent solution, but it’s expensive.

You can also try a USB over ethernet adapter. You won’t get USB 3.0 speeds, but it may be good enough for mouse/keyboard. Obviously, you’d need to pull CAT5/6 cable and terminate it with RJ45 plugs.

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Yea it's pricey, but if I only need one, it's not so bad. I already have a USB3.0 powered hub so I can connect multiple devices to it.

I saw that ethernet adapter on amazon, but what they don't tell you it's only USB1.0. Amazon does sell one that's USB2.0 but pricey for what it is (like $55). I figured if I could get USB3.0 to work, it will give me a lot more bandwidth to do anything with and worth the price of the cable. 3.0 also supports full-duplex which makes gaming with a mouse much better.

If I had to go the ethernet route, I get it from work for free and already ran 40 lines in my house, what's one more lol.

BondDonBond said:

I did exactly the same thing except it is in my theater and I want to use it in my office also.

It works great and I have a monitor in the office and bring the keyboard back and forth. I can connect the mouse and everything with no lag. Not a big gamer but do video and other things with no problem. I also connected a bluetooth mouse so you can do any controller that is bluetooth.

I could not find a way to get USB that far.

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Some great suggestions, thanks. I never saw that BT amplifier, but that is pricey. I'll keep that in mind if I need to extend BT in the house. I'm trying not to go the wireless route as it's just not good for gaming. For HTPC use, it's perfect however.

I already use this to get the HDMI to my projector:
snapav .com/shop/en/snapav/binary-600-series-4k-ultra-hd-hdbaset-long-range-extender-b-600-ext-a

It works really well and found it used on ebay for $100.

UPDATE

Got the TrippLite cable today and installed it in the wall. It works great! Didn't need to inject power on the far end of the cable either. Got an Anker USB 3.0 hub on it too. My son was playing some games on it with no noticeable lag.

What I found interesting is my HTPC was displaying 4k through my 1080p receiver to my 4k projector. Not sure how that's possible.

djvj1 said:

What I found interesting is my HTPC was displaying 4k through my 1080p receiver to my 4k projector. Not sure how that's possible.

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There is no 1080p or 4K receiver. There's HDMI 1.4/a/b and 2.0/a/b. HDMI 1.4 supports 3840×2160 resolution up to 30Hz.