max HDMI distance from comms rack to TV to view live feed

[camera guy_aus]

Hi Folks,

Are there any specific guidelines on how long you can run a HDMI cable to view feeds from a downstairs comms rack to upstairs tv location, and if so any specific type of cable to use for HDMI?
Basically just trying to work out what cable i go with to be able to view the camera feed from TV on the upstairs room.
would running cat6a cable be better than HDMI to future-proof and use media converter on both ends to connect NVR to an upstairs TV?

distance would be close to 12-15mt.

Appreciate your advice.

Thank you

 

[Flintstone61]

any google search would tell you.
I think they told me once...I was surprised how long it was...
50 feet

Like many audio, video, and data cables, HDMI cords can suffer from signal degradation at longer lengths—50 feet is generally considered the maximum reliable length. And it's rare to see an HDMI cable longer than 25 feet in a store. Even online, cables more than 50 feet long can be hard to find.Apr 1, 2021

 

[Flintstone61]

How Long Can an HDMI Cable Be? - HDMI Cable Max Length | Cable Matters Blog

We all need HDMI cables to connect our home entertainment or office setups, but some arrangements may have you asking, How Long Can an HDMI Cable be?

www.cablematters.com

 

[Mark_M]

would running cat6a cable be better than HDMI to future-proof and use media converter on both ends to connect NVR to an upstairs TV?

Yes.
Then you can get HDMI over Ethernet (or HDMI over IP) converters that have USB pass through so the mouse works.
I got an HDMI over Ethernet with RS232 and Network pass through, it's great so my CCTV keyboard can communicate back to the NVR.

 

[wittaj]

My experience is the longer runs tend to also need more power and ends up blowing out the port.

My distance is 35 feet and every NVR and my BI computer HDMI port quit working within a year. Coincidence? Or does the longer run demand more.

 

[DsineR]

Some options for extending HDMI...
HDMI copper cables can exceed 100', but check bandwidth & resolution specs. Easier to send 1080p vs 4K over longer distances.
HDMI fiber cables can go up to 300'. There are usually active optical cables, powered by the HDMI port or external PS, and rated up to 4K.
HDMI HDBT Tx & Rx can go up to 100m, and use standard CAT6 for Tx-to-Rx cabling. Rated up to 4K. Some have options (as mentioned above) to also extend USB, KVM.
HDMI encoder & decorder over IP, 100m max. Also uses standard CAT6, typical network requirements. Minor lag due to the encoder->decorder process, rated at 4K.

 

[The Automation Guy]

I would not attempt to use a HDMI cord for any distance longer than 20-25'. You are just begging for reliability issues.

I would use HDMI to ethernet converters. There are plenty of options out there and several different types of solutions. You can run those on cat5e cables for short distances (and honestly it would work fine at 50'), but it is best to use Cat6a cables or better, especially if your distance is going to be 75' or greater.

Another very reliable option is to use HDMI to SDI converters. SDI is a coaxial cable that has been the standard video distribution method used in broadcast for decades. Of course this means running SDI cable instead of ethernet, but it is a great solution as well.

 

[tigerwillow1]

As a survivor of getting two HDMI monitors (actually TVs, one Samsung and one LG) running with 100' cables, my input is that you can and should look at all the specs, features, and advertising claims, but don't count on a thing until you see it working in your setup. After going through several HDMI cables and catx extenders, I found:

1) On the far end, one monitor might not work while another will.
2) Same thing on the source end, one source might work while another won't.
3) After you think you have a solution, new/different video content might not work.
4) Some catx extenders pass the monitor's edid data through, others supply their own. May or may not matter to you.

After the smoke cleared, one link is using a 100' "active" HDMI cable. and the other a catx extender that sends its own hardcoded edid data back to the source. The higher end, better specs catx converter that transmits the monitor's edid data is sitting in the closet along with one splitter and one extender that I used for debugging. By comparison, the previous VGA runs were easy to deal with. Before pulling the HDMI cable, one monitor ran 1080p on a vga wire with vga<->hdmi converters on each end, and it worked great. Replacing the vga cable with an hdmi cable was all headaches with no benefit. The vga cable doesn't carry audio, and not higher than 1080p, not needed in my situation.

 

[Starglow]

I would not attempt to use a HDMI cord for any distance longer than 20-25'. You are just begging for reliability issues.

I would use HDMI to ethernet converters. There are plenty of options out there and several different types of solutions. You can run those on cat5e cables for short distances (and honestly it would work fine at 50'), but it is best to use Cat6a cables or better, especially if your distance is going to be 75' or greater.

Another very reliable option is to use HDMI to SDI converters. SDI is a coaxial cable that has been the standard video distribution method used in broadcast for decades. Of course this means running SDI cable instead of ethernet, but it is a great solution as well.

In my world it's 15', but I try to stay under 12' in most cases if possible. But sometimes I need a cable stretcher to make it reach that last inch or two.

 

[Starglow]

As a survivor of getting two HDMI monitors (actually TVs, one Samsung and one LG) running with 100' cables, my input is that you can and should look at all the specs, features, and advertising claims, but don't count on a thing until you see it working in your setup. After going through several HDMI cables and catx extenders, I found:

1) On the far end, one monitor might not work while another will.
2) Same thing on the source end, one source might work while another won't.
3) After you think you have a solution, new/different video content might not work.
4) Some catx extenders pass the monitor's edid data through, others supply their own. May or may not matter to you.

After the smoke cleared, one link is using a 100' "active" HDMI cable. and the other a catx extender that sends its own hardcoded edid data back to the source. The higher end, better specs catx converter that transmits the monitor's edid data is sitting in the closet along with one splitter and one extender that I used for debugging. By comparison, the previous VGA runs were easy to deal with. Before pulling the HDMI cable, one monitor ran 1080p on a vga wire with vga<->hdmi converters on each end, and it worked great. Replacing the vga cable with an hdmi cable was all headaches with no benefit. The vga cable doesn't carry audio, and not higher than 1080p, not needed in my situation.

Welcome to the bleeding edge.....