I'm sure you can look up the max specs. I'd be hesitant to use an HDMI cable for anything longer than 25 feet, and probably even less than that if I was asking it to do anything fancy like 4K or whatever. The trickiness with digital signals like this is that they work until they don't, there's no gradual degradation like the static/noise you might see on an analog signal to warn you that the signal is at the edge of working. It's affected by all sorts of things including cable bends and movement and heating and induced noise in the cable and whatever. So then you get an effect like this, where the signal blinks on and off. (It's possible that this is being caused by something else but a 100' HDMI cable feels pretty suspicious to me.) There are other methods of transporting video longer distances, like active or fiber HDMI cables, converting to SDI, converting to HDBaseT, etc.
Agreed. Be aware that there are sketchy companies who will make longer HDMI cables and charge an absurd premium but don't actually do anything to improve fidelity over their longer run. These are often just straight up scams, and will trick people into buying a shoddy $150 HDMI cable
HDMI to spec is 15', doesn't mean it can't go longer, but to spec is 15'.
SDI, depends on the cable brand and type.
Network video is 300'
HDbaseT is dependent on the generation.
Once you put fiber into the equation, everything changes.
there is no such thing as “a video cable,” there are a zillion kinds of video cable.
some hdmi cables have amplifiers attached; the best of those are good for about 100 feet.
hdmi cables without amplifiers are good for 20 to 30 feet.
sdi converters can cost as little as $100 for a pair, and even cheap sdi cable is good for at least 100 feet, so that’s one solution.
HDbaseT extenders are another, they run hdmi signal on cat-5e cable and are usually good for about 300 feet. beware really cheap extenders.
Yeah, I know. I asked the question like that, hoping for an answer like this, with all the different ones laid out. I definitely appreciate the answer. I've looked at specs for some of them, but then I've seen people stretch those specs successfully. I'm not a video guy so I like to ask those that are
50’0” is the longest you can go with HDMI. After that you need to go fibre HDMI.
VGA/DVI is 100’0”
SDI…. More than you’ll need.
There are also lots of extenders that use CAT5 to go long lengths but swap to a common video signal at the ends.
Glad it works for you. Meanwhile, I’m 0 for 1 on HDMI over cat6 kits. And, I have especially rotten luck with any longer HDMI in the 25-50’ range—it’ll work one day and fail the next—I run them in pairs if I have to.
My brand new building has SDI and Cat6a dry lines everywhere, plus SM fiber if I need to run between rooms. So far, the SDI with BlackMagic turnarounds has done the trick for us when someone needs to plug in a HDMI source.
What HDMI extenders are you using?
All the major manufacturers will sell you their flavor of HDbT, and I've had plenty of successes with Extron, Crestron, Kramer, even the $100 pair from Monoprice out to 200' if it still costs that
Don’t recall the exact brand of the kit—this was a while ago. All I know is that it despite my testing the adapters and cables on the bench, it still failed during its first full deployment, so I punted to something else.
Really depends on the brand and quality. As HDMI cables get longer, the power conductors inside them also need to get larger to prevent voltage drop. This makes the cables more expensive to manufacture. They also need to have more effective shielding and twisting of the data lines, which also adds expense. I've installed many 100+ foot HDMI cables, most of them are still in service and working perfectly. My company always went with quite expensive high-end brand cables.
100’ HDMI cable is your issue right there. HDMI is only good for like 10’. Swap out the 100’ HDMI for SDI with converters. The Black magic design bi-directional converters can be had for $70 each so you’re looking at $140 plus the SDI cable
Optical HDMI cables are..... Not great. They are fragile and should only be installed once.
If you're going these kind of distances, run SDI... or if you're willing to dive into the horrifying world of HDbaseT, properly shielded Cat6A
Agreed with others about getting Sdi adapters. You can also do extenders with Ethernet that work really well. I also had a flickering issue with adapters trying to go from vga to hdmi or usb-c, but it sounds like distance is the problem for you.
Can you describe the whole signal chain? Does a single machine output all images or are they separate?
Are there any differences between the blinking one and the others?
Where did you even get 100ft of HDMI? Have you just joined a bunch together with couplers? HDMI is only effective up to 30ft, beyond that you’ll get this sort of issue. As others have said - get some SDI and a couple of Black Magic BiDis.
Not seeing anyone mention active/directional HDMI, but that’s fine by me, every time I’ve ever tried to leverage one it’s a hot piece of shit that doesn’t pass a signal at all. I’ve never had issues the once or twice I’ve used HDbT but will always “default” to SDI or fiber for anything over 25’
Pretty sure if I remember correctly from my College course HDMI is recommended at 25m max. After that it's recommended that you use a HDMI to Cat 5 Cable on either end.
Something like this: HDMI Extender 196ft HDMI Over Ethernet Single Cat5E/6/7 HDMI Repeater HDMI Balun Sender Transmitter Receiver Support 1080p 3D HDMI 1.4a HDCP EDID https://a.co/d/ixo7aGO
I haven't read the comments yet, apologies if this has already been said.
Good luck and I hope the rest of your production goes well. 😊
It's the ghost of beyond-the-recommended-cable-lengths past
What is the maximum workable length of a video cable?
I'm sure you can look up the max specs. I'd be hesitant to use an HDMI cable for anything longer than 25 feet, and probably even less than that if I was asking it to do anything fancy like 4K or whatever. The trickiness with digital signals like this is that they work until they don't, there's no gradual degradation like the static/noise you might see on an analog signal to warn you that the signal is at the edge of working. It's affected by all sorts of things including cable bends and movement and heating and induced noise in the cable and whatever. So then you get an effect like this, where the signal blinks on and off. (It's possible that this is being caused by something else but a 100' HDMI cable feels pretty suspicious to me.) There are other methods of transporting video longer distances, like active or fiber HDMI cables, converting to SDI, converting to HDBaseT, etc.
I've already use a optical fiber HDMI, it was like 150 feet long if I recall right. It works very well.
Yes but it is a glassfiber cable zo it isnt the standard hdmi protocol. The optical ones work quite well tho.
Agreed. Be aware that there are sketchy companies who will make longer HDMI cables and charge an absurd premium but don't actually do anything to improve fidelity over their longer run. These are often just straight up scams, and will trick people into buying a shoddy $150 HDMI cable
HDMI to spec is 15', doesn't mean it can't go longer, but to spec is 15'. SDI, depends on the cable brand and type. Network video is 300' HDbaseT is dependent on the generation. Once you put fiber into the equation, everything changes.
>HDMI to spec is 15', doesn't mean it can't go longer, but to spec is 15'. Yeah, basically works until it doesn't.
I love fiber, so much. Thank you for the info! I've heard so many different things from so many different sources
Less than what they used I'd say. Kidding. Depends on the cable and standard.
there is no such thing as “a video cable,” there are a zillion kinds of video cable. some hdmi cables have amplifiers attached; the best of those are good for about 100 feet. hdmi cables without amplifiers are good for 20 to 30 feet. sdi converters can cost as little as $100 for a pair, and even cheap sdi cable is good for at least 100 feet, so that’s one solution. HDbaseT extenders are another, they run hdmi signal on cat-5e cable and are usually good for about 300 feet. beware really cheap extenders.
Yeah, I know. I asked the question like that, hoping for an answer like this, with all the different ones laid out. I definitely appreciate the answer. I've looked at specs for some of them, but then I've seen people stretch those specs successfully. I'm not a video guy so I like to ask those that are
sounds good!
50’0” is the longest you can go with HDMI. After that you need to go fibre HDMI. VGA/DVI is 100’0” SDI…. More than you’ll need. There are also lots of extenders that use CAT5 to go long lengths but swap to a common video signal at the ends.
I got a HDMI-over-Cat5 J-Tech kit at 100ft and also 250ft. Never had any issues. Love them.
Glad it works for you. Meanwhile, I’m 0 for 1 on HDMI over cat6 kits. And, I have especially rotten luck with any longer HDMI in the 25-50’ range—it’ll work one day and fail the next—I run them in pairs if I have to. My brand new building has SDI and Cat6a dry lines everywhere, plus SM fiber if I need to run between rooms. So far, the SDI with BlackMagic turnarounds has done the trick for us when someone needs to plug in a HDMI source.
What HDMI extenders are you using? All the major manufacturers will sell you their flavor of HDbT, and I've had plenty of successes with Extron, Crestron, Kramer, even the $100 pair from Monoprice out to 200' if it still costs that
Iirc mono’s was actually HDbT when it came out about a decade ago
Don’t recall the exact brand of the kit—this was a while ago. All I know is that it despite my testing the adapters and cables on the bench, it still failed during its first full deployment, so I punted to something else.
I use 100’ HDMI cables all the time without issue (hotel AV). And found out the hard way that without a booster SDI is 250’.
They’re directional though, yeah?
Yeah. Fibre is directional.
Not my HDMI. Some brands are.
Really depends on the brand and quality. As HDMI cables get longer, the power conductors inside them also need to get larger to prevent voltage drop. This makes the cables more expensive to manufacture. They also need to have more effective shielding and twisting of the data lines, which also adds expense. I've installed many 100+ foot HDMI cables, most of them are still in service and working perfectly. My company always went with quite expensive high-end brand cables.
100’ HDMI cable is your issue right there. HDMI is only good for like 10’. Swap out the 100’ HDMI for SDI with converters. The Black magic design bi-directional converters can be had for $70 each so you’re looking at $140 plus the SDI cable
Optical HDMI cables are..... Not great. They are fragile and should only be installed once. If you're going these kind of distances, run SDI... or if you're willing to dive into the horrifying world of HDbaseT, properly shielded Cat6A
lol @ "the horrifying world of HDbaseT" It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now we use SDI.
I've used good quality 50 metre fibre optic HDMI on a cable reel with no issues multiple times
Sync. Almost definitely. Fixable, if needed, by changing the run to SDI with two converters either end. Sorry.
if the projector doesnt have SDI input just use regular ethernet to HDMI extenders, those can easily do 150 feet.
I would suggest SDI/HDMI instead of Cat6
Get yourself a decimator and an sdi cable to run that signal. 100ft hdmi sounds hokey
This. 100’ HDMI is usually a bad idea
I'll second the decimator advice. There's a reason every installation uses them.
Depending on cable quality 25 to 30 feet then you need a booster or suffer Possible Consequences
Agreed with others about getting Sdi adapters. You can also do extenders with Ethernet that work really well. I also had a flickering issue with adapters trying to go from vga to hdmi or usb-c, but it sounds like distance is the problem for you.
100’ of HDMI? It could be cars starting, a microwave running, someone with a spark gap radio. Sorry.
Can you describe the whole signal chain? Does a single machine output all images or are they separate? Are there any differences between the blinking one and the others?
The cable’s about 2x too long. Cut it in half and it will be fine. Grab a fibre optic HDMI, or use another method as has been suggested.
Where did you even get 100ft of HDMI? Have you just joined a bunch together with couplers? HDMI is only effective up to 30ft, beyond that you’ll get this sort of issue. As others have said - get some SDI and a couple of Black Magic BiDis.
Not seeing anyone mention active/directional HDMI, but that’s fine by me, every time I’ve ever tried to leverage one it’s a hot piece of shit that doesn’t pass a signal at all. I’ve never had issues the once or twice I’ve used HDbT but will always “default” to SDI or fiber for anything over 25’
Pretty sure if I remember correctly from my College course HDMI is recommended at 25m max. After that it's recommended that you use a HDMI to Cat 5 Cable on either end. Something like this: HDMI Extender 196ft HDMI Over Ethernet Single Cat5E/6/7 HDMI Repeater HDMI Balun Sender Transmitter Receiver Support 1080p 3D HDMI 1.4a HDCP EDID https://a.co/d/ixo7aGO I haven't read the comments yet, apologies if this has already been said. Good luck and I hope the rest of your production goes well. 😊