Question:
Dear Expert,
I’m an Electrical contractor working on some high-end condos and have been asked to provide cables from the HDTV location to a remote HDTV Cable Box and Blu-ray player. The distance varies in each unit but the longest run is 60 feet meaning I would need a 75 foot HDMI cable or the other option would be to run a 5-conductor mini RGB cable (that can be purchased in bulk and cut to length) using crimp-on component video connectors. What method is going to give the end user the best picture? If HDMI is there a source for the cable in bulk and connectors?
-Dave H.
Answer:
Hello, Dave,
There are a couple of reasons why HDMI is a better choice than component video overall, but it's not without its own challenges.
First off, HDMI is capable of full 1080p resolution and includes both multi-channel digital audio and digital video on the one cable. For advanced surround sound formats (multi-channel PCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD), HDMI is really the only choice, because it's the only way to transmit these signals digitally. Component video could support 1080p signals but most Consumer Electronics devices (including all current Blu-ray Disc players) limit component video output to 1080i resolution. And with component video, digital audio would need to be handled separately via a fiberoptic or coaxial cable.
Secondly, HDMI is the only way that you can currently pass an "upconverted" (1080p) resolution signal from the Blu-ray Disc player when it is playing standard definition DVDs. If you use component video instead, then the player will output standard definition DVDs at 480i or 480p resolution and the HDTV itself would have to handle upconversion (some do this well, others not so much).
The third reason HDMI is the best choice is for future compatibility. Current high definition media (like HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs) are embedded with something called the ICT (Image Constraint Token). This flag, which has not yet been activated by any content provider, could be used some time in the future to "protect" high definition content from being copied. If and when this occurs, analog outputs (like component video) may be disabled entirely or may have their output resolution stepped down to 480p resolution. This means your nice high definition movie is now no better than a standard DVD. The only way to prevent this is to use HDMI, which supports HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) and can transport "protected" content at its full resolution.
But when you run HDMI cables over about 35-45 feet, you really can't use a passive cable any more, because the signal loss is too high. You'll need to incorporate some EQ/amplification into the system for longer HDMI cable runs.
Unfortunately there aren't very many options right now when it comes to bulk HDMI cable and terminating your own HDMI cables (the connectors are too complex and tolerances too precise to support field termination). One solution that might satisfy your requirements would be Cables-to-Go's "RapidRun" cables. These are available from ImpactAcoustics.com.
Basically, RapidRun cable is a multi-stranded cable, CL2-rated for in-wall use, which is terminated at each end via a generic slender circular connector. The connector is then plugged in to either a wall plate or an adapter. Wall plates and adapters come in a variety of flavors, including DVI, VGA, HDMI, component video, multi-channel audio, etc. You'd probably want their 65-foot RapidRun digital runner, one "active HDMI wall plate" (source side) which includes amplification/EQ of the HDMI signal for longer cable runs, plus an additional passive HDMI wall plate for the display side. Once the wall plates are in, you used a standard HDMI cable to connect the sources and display.
This is not an inexpensive solution, however. The 65-foot RapidRun digital cable costs over $260, the active wall plate is $180 and the passive HDMI wall plate is $70, so a little over $500 per 65-foot run. Certainly a whole lot more expensive than self-terminated component video cables, but currently HDMI offers higher picture and audio quality than you can get with alternative connections. To cut down on the number of runs in each unit, a simple HDMI switcher would allow you to just route a single HDMI cable from the two sources to the one display.
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Your other option would be to find a high quality low-gauge 75-foot HDMI cable plus a powered HDMI amp/EQ unit. I'm sure these exist but I don't have any experience using them so I can't make any specific recommendations. If it's new construction, then getting that HDMI connector through the walls shouldn't be too difficult, but if it's existing construction than the RapidRun cables might be an easier option.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
-Chris
