DVI Cable Length

[essential]

Right now I?m deciding between a 7 or 13 foot DVI cable. The 7 foot is plenty for my current setup, the extra cable of the 13 will just be coiled for the time being, but the 13 is more future proof incase I switch around my desk set up.

I know the general rule is that the shorter the cable the better the quality because the longer the signal has to travel through a cable, the more quality loss. At what point does the length of the cable affect the video quality? Will a 13 foot cable have any less quality than the 7, or do you have to get into the 20-30 foot range before there is quality loss?

Thanks.

 

[de8212]

I went from a standard (3ft or 6ft) cable to a 10 ft one and noticed no difference.

Not sure if that helps you but I can't imagine any issues unless you get up to ~30 - 50 ft or so.

 

[Dkcode]

I would have thought it would make no difference as the signal that is sent is digital.

 

[CP5670]

Yeah, there shouldn't be any difference. If the cable is too long, it won't work at all, not give a lesser quality picture.

 

[zephyrprime]

Eventually, you're get cut outs and artifacting if your cable gets too long. Until that point, there will be no quality degradation.

You can always switch to fiber optic dvi if you really need to (there is such a thing).

Also, lower res and refresh rates will be able to tolerate longer cables.

 

[Peter]

zephyr has got it - the signal is digital. So as long as the attenuation stays below a certain threshold, the signal will be received /perfect/ 100%. Go past the limit, and it'll be badly broken, no inbetweens.