Subscriber Discussion

HDMI Over Cat5 Cat6

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Sep 13, 2016

Hi there,

What are you guys using to feed your spot monitors with full 1080p signal from your NVR's? We tried multiple different brands of HDMI over Cat5/6 Convertors with mediocre results...

We find that at a certain distance the signal just drops. Dropping the NVR output resolution down from 1920/1080 to a lower reolution such as 1600 × 1200 or 1280 × 1024 usually remedies the problem but it's still dependant on the cable length. We are always running our cable at a shorter length than the max manufacturer recommended.

Any help here would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

 

BS
Brian Sharbowicz
•Sep 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Ok, I have had plenty of experience with HDMI over Cat5e/6. So here is some advise to resolve some issues:

1. Pull Cat6 at a minimum. Pulling Cat5e will give you mixed results (especially over 160ft)

2. Use GOOD transceivers. Stay away from the $99 pairs. They may work, however, they compress the video( Your video will skip and you may see a 24 fps like a movie effect). Keep in mind that HDMI communicates at speeds from 165Mhz to 600Mhz depending on the HDMI version.

3. Keep HDMI jumpers at a minimum length. If you can get away with 1ft "HDMI to HDMI" cables at each end of the equipment, they will prevent loss of signal.

I have had great success with Audio Authority HBT200KIT units that can push up to 1920x1200 resolution (2.25Gbps across the wire).

YES, there are expensive. However, these units are solid performers at Sports bars where the Directv receivers are racked in a closet 200ft away.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Sep 13, 2016
In reply to Brian Sharbowicz

Brian,

Thank you for your quick reply and insight. You are right, I was using $100/150 kits. Have you used any other Manufacturer except for AA that is perhaps a bit easier to acquire?

Also, I'm not very familiar with HDBaseT. Is that the technology that all of these kits are using? or is HDBaseT a technology that is higher end and more reliable?

U
Undisclosed #3
•Sep 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1

Also, I'm not very familiar with HDBaseT. Is that the technology that all of these kits are using? or is HDBaseT a technology that is higher end and more reliable?

Its primarily an A/V technology, brought to us thru a 100% Rockoff free HD Alliance.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #4
•Sep 14, 2016
In reply to Undisclosed #3

HDBaseT extenders work well and you can send 4K video, IR, data, serial, and power over cable using a single CAT6 cable. Pretty amazing.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Sep 14, 2016
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4

U4, Have you used any specific HDBaseT Kit and had successful results? And if you have can you share the model that you used?

Thank you.

BS
Brian Sharbowicz
•Sep 14, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1

Yes, the Audio Authority kit utilizes the HD-Base-T technology. It's all about the compression and "acceptable" image you actually need.

For HDTVs at sports bars, you must go high end. For a 1920x1080 monitor in a manager's office or reference display, you can go with the cost effective units. Just be aware that you may experience freezes, quick video sync dropouts, or black screen due to handshaking issues and/or EDID mismatches (another Pain in the ass about HDMI).

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
•Sep 13, 2016

Another thing to consider is that a number of the HDBaseT systems require shielded cable as well. Extron specifically does I know.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #4
•Sep 14, 2016

We have used Vanco, Key Digital, SnapAV's Binary brand and Atlona (if you want to spend some more). They all work and we are driving TV's from a structured rack at distances up to probably 150'. I can't say for further since we haven't gone that far in the homes we wire. All of this was run on standard CAT6 cable from Honeywell. We have used CAT5 in a pinch if it was the only wire available and it works at shorter distances too. Of course there could always be an issue with the HDMI handshake between your source and your TV where they can never agree on how they are going to deal with the video. The better extenders HDBaseT or other will have some sort of functionality to fix these EDID issues. I agree to stay away from the $99 special you might get at ADI. We used about 4 of them in a house and ended up ripping them all out and spending the $200 on a good pair.

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Jon Dillabaugh
•Sep 14, 2016
Pro Focus LLC

Binary from SnapAV is a safe, budget friendly option. They work out of the box and stay working. More than you can say for the Amazon level $100 sets.

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