HDMI over Ethernet question. PC upstairs to TV downstairs. (Long read)

[Riotvale]

Challenge:
I'm looking to get my Main PC (upstairs computer room) to output (video and sound) to the TV in the family room downstairs (through the receiver).

Here's a quick rundown of the network situation:

-2 Storey house and basement.
-4port Bell Router/Modem in the basement. 2 Ports are hardwired to the Family room (1st Floor) and the other 2 ports are hardwired to upstairs computer room (2nd Floor).
- Each room (computer room, family room) has a wall jack with 2 physical connections.

Computer Room - Wall plate with 2 ethernet jacks.
- 1st Jack goes to a dedicated PVR terminal (I use Bell Fibe TV, basically IPTV)
- 2nd jack goes to a 4 port wifi AP used as a switch. Connected to that are: Main PC, Secondary PC and PS3.

Family Room - wall plate with 2 ethernet jacks.
- 1st jack : HDPVR terminal
- 2nd jack: 8 port switch. Connected are: Smart TV, Network ready receiver, PS3, Xbox,

____________________________________________________

I want to use HDMI over ethernet to connect my main PC to the TV downstairs. I know there are wire drops going from the family room to the basement and the computer room to the basement, but I don't think there is a physical wiredrop connecting computer room to the family room.

I'm not sure how complicated it would be to try and drill and fish wires from the first floor to the second. The family room and computer are not directly on top of each other (in fact, they are on opposite ends of the house) so simply drilling a hole straight down would not suffice.

I'm tempted to hire someone and come wire everything, but I'm sure that would cost me an arm and a leg. I've also done some very, very light reading on HD BaseT adapters along with coupling some of the existing cat5's in the basement together to create a patched connection that way. Only thing is, all four cat5e cables are being used for the physical connections to both rooms and the Bell Modem itself.

This is where I turn to the Anandtech community for help. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do to facilitate this, it would be greatly appreciated. Short of building a dedicated powerhouse pc connected to the PC downstairs, I'm not sure what else I can really do.

Thanks in advance!

 

[drjivago]

Hi Riotvale,

We've had the same issue with one of our customers, so I can suggest that
you use our method. We used this device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgLTKLjps6c&feature=related

You can connect your TV in the Family room to this device via its HDMI connector and then connect it to your LAN.

On the computer you have to install a simple to use software that enables you to use your computer in two operation modes: Mirror or Extended.

You can connect up to 14 TV screens to a single computer - it's pretty cool!
Also, not very expensive:
http://www.amazon.com/Lenkeng-Lkv376...ata/B008F29NE4

We used it for digital signage project, and combined it with a cool software we've found that allows you to control all the screens attached to the main computer.

I hope that our experience helped you.

Cheers,
Dr.J

 

[Eug]

Why not just buy a video streaming device for the TV to run over Ethernet?

The HDMI over Ethernet solutions sometimes require two CAT5e lines, and are notoriously unreliable.

 

[Emulex]

i agree. flatwire and forget about it. Nothing sucks more than unstable transport. Weird things happen when you throw a hdhomerun or start pumping bd-rips(legally).

there are so many cheap ways to run xbmc (appletv) without a huge pc now.

 

[drebo]

If you're going to do HDMI over CAT5E/CAT6 (note, this is not Ethernet-based), I would recommend the ones where the converters are powered, such as these: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=8200&seq=1&format=2.

Otherwise, you'll see some weird issues, particularly if the run is extremely long.

 

[cmetz]

Challenge:
I'm looking to get my Main PC (upstairs computer room) to output (video and sound) to the TV in the family room downstairs (through the receiver).

Don't do that.

Build a home theater PC for the family room. That's the simplest, most reliable way to do it.

There are a bunch of solutions for extending video, audio, and remote control over cat5/6 wiring. The ones that work well are very expensive, and by very expensive I mean that the extender will end up costing as much or more than just buying a home theater PC. There are also cheaper extenders, and they don't work very well, many of them don't work at all in real-world scenarios.

 

[Lifted]

HDMI over Ethernet is not the best solutin. For $200 you can get a 100ft HDMI runner cable.

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=4109&sku=42408
http://www.rapidrun.com/product.asp?sku=60015

If signal is weak for any reason, use a powered splitter as suggested above. I had great results with the Sewell 2 Port 1x2 Powered Hdmi Splitter V 1.3b. I put at the TV end of the cable, and have a multi-input switch on the input side. This boosted the signal from flaky to perfect.


http://redirect.anandtech.com/r?url...175190_21431760_C1_cs_sce_dp_1&user=u00000687

 

[drjivago]

It's not that expensive, I've found it for the price of 80$!

Also there is a new HP zero client with the same capabilities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M_GeLQZQvog

 

[purbeast0]

i personally would just buy a long HDMI cable.

you could do a test run of fishing a string from the pc to the basement, then measure the length of the string once you have it fished through, and then you know how long your HDMI cable has to be..

 

[Eug]

For passive HDMI cables, anything 25 feet or over requires spending $$$ for reliability, and even then the guarantee often really just being if it doesn't work you get your money back.

At 50 feet, good luck.

BTW, if you fish with string, you might want to add a few feet to the length to account for the difference in flexibility vs. thick HDMI cable. And you'll need thick for long HDMI runs.

 

[imagoon]

I have had 100ft HDMI cables work fine (from monoprice even.) It typically requires one of those signal balancers at the far end though. IE 100ft -> balance -> 3ft -> TV.

I was doing this for display TV's hanging from a ceiling.

 

[Eug]

I have had 100ft HDMI cables work fine (from monoprice even.) It typically requires one of those signal balancers at the far end though. IE 100ft -> balance -> 3ft -> TV.

I was doing this for display TV's hanging from a ceiling.

It can work fine, but it often doesn't. OTOH, if you have a decent 6 foot cable, it basically just works, without you having to jump through hoops (eg. your solution) to make it work.

 

[imagoon]

It can work fine, but it often doesn't. OTOH, if you have a decent 6 foot cable, it basically just works, without you having to jump through hoops (eg. your solution) to make it work.

Well yeah, I was also working with professional "signal throwers" so mileage may vary.

 

[Lifted]

It can work fine, but it often doesn't. OTOH, if you have a decent 6 foot cable, it basically just works, without you having to jump through hoops (eg. your solution) to make it work.

Does the OP's original idea of HDMI over Cat5e "just work"?

Unless OP wants to try HDMI over fiber (expensive), I'd stick with a long HDMI cable. I have 50' and 100' working just fine in our office here, though there is a slight noticeable lag on the 100' between laptop and wall display, which doesn't matter in OP's case.

 

[Eug]

Does the OP's original idea of HDMI over Cat5e "just work"?

Often nope.

Unless OP wants to try HDMI over fiber (expensive), I'd stick with a long HDMI cable. I have 50' and 100' working just fine in our office here, though there is a slight noticeable lag on the 100' between laptop and wall display, which doesn't matter in OP's case.

What rez and refresh rate are you running? 720p60 is a lot easier to do than 1080p60.

I find that lag curious. I'm surprised it exists, unless it's an active setup or something.

 

[Lifted]

Often nope.


What rez and refresh rate are you running? 720p60 is a lot easier to do than 1080p60.

I find that lag curious. I'm surprised it exists, unless it's an active setup or something.

1080p - 60 I guess since it's a laptop. Same lag on 720p as well.

Should there be no lag on a 100' run? It's there it on the 50' run as well, but only about half that of the 100'. It's running through a 3-1 active multi input switch, then to a 1-2 active splitter. I think I noticed the lag when connected directly from laptop to display, but the image wasn't 100% stable until i added the active splitter in there.

 

[Eug]

Ah, so you're not running fine on a 100' cable alone. You're running with an active splitter and an active switch. That complexifies stuff.

 

[Riotvale]

ok, so after reading up on all your comments, and also on other forums, I've decided to just build another PC for the family room.
It probably won't be as beefy as my main PC, but since the TV only outputs at 1080p, I guess a gtx670 oughta do the trick.

Thank you all for input. Appreciate it!