HDMI Signal goes in and out ...

[jason.lee.wong]

I'm on the latest build 16 using the most expensive 50ft hdmi to dvi cable i could find going to a Dell 2707.
The signal randomly goes out for a few seconds, then returns. it's enough that's it's quite frustrating, as i have no idea what could be the issue anymore. i've exhausted swapping out cables and i'm not sure whether it's a monitor thing, just a pure cable thing, or a build 16 thing.

on a note, i have a 6ft hdmi to dvi cable that works fine - but i thought 50ft would be okay too from my forum reads...

 

[Emery Wells]

First mistake: buying the most expensive HDMI cable you could find.

Unlike the analogue variant, digital cables either work or don't. I use a 30ft HDMI cable and it works great. It was cheap to boot.

 

[Anders Yarbrough]

50' may be too long of a run...

 

[Stuart English]

HDMI cable length

HDMI cable length

50' may be too long of a run...

Certainly sounds like it... and before anyone asks, no we don't have a spec for what you can run.

Anyone know of a suitable HDMI or DVI repeater that would help this kind of situation?

For really long runs, HD-SDI has to be the preferred option, mainly because its designed to do just that.

 

[Jason Ing]

First mistake: buying the most expensive HDMI cable you could find.

Unlike the analogue variant, digital cables either work or don't. I use a 30ft HDMI cable and it works great. It was cheap to boot.

What was the brand? I need to get one. Thanks!

 

[Cail Young]

Yeah, just find an HDMI repeater, worked for us.

 

[Dennis Wilkins]

I bought 2 50ft cables, dvi/hdmi adapters, and right angle adapters (so cable would go straight down from camera) from monoprice.com: both sets were used on different cameras on a 2 day/ 2 camera shoot recently and worked flawlessly - attached to Dell 2407's - Hope this helps.

These cables are fairly thick and heavy, but look to be very well made - no repeaters needed.

Just put the following part #'s in their search to locate -

2110 - HDMI Tin-Plated Copper CL2 Rated Cable (24AWG) - 50ft

2029 - DVI-D single link Male to HDMI Female adapter

3733 - HDMI Port Saver (Male to Female) - 90 Degree

Cheers,
Dennis Wilkins

 

[Steve White]

Most tests seem to indicate that more expensive cables do not necessarily perform better. Long runs are certainly an issue for the HDMI design, so I think the best you can do is find someone who's had success and try to duplicate it.

You may do well to post which brands do and do not work for the benefit of other people looking for a similar option.

 

[Shimon]

HDMI to Fibre Optic

HDMI to Fibre Optic

I would suggest a HDMI to Fibre Optic conversion. Long runs (300ft) are not an issues for Fibre.

Search for "Fibre Optic ProFlixSales"

Good Luck

Shimon

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Just an HDMI signal booster should do the trick, don't need a repeater and extra cables, parts.

Dennis mentions monoprice.com -- they're a great source for inexpensive cables and the quality is pretty good usually.

Lots of things can effect signal such as the impedance / resistance of the cable, quality of shielding, amount of interference in the area, the source and receiving devices, etc.. For HDMI / DVI runs longer than about 20ft, you will usually need some sort of signal booster, or at least that has been my experience doing lots of AV installs, projection systems, etc.. For these longer runs, don't use 26-24AG cables, they can literally burn up (soldered connections on the ends can fail), even without a booster. Best to go with 22AG or thicker, 18AG recommended. It makes for a heavier, stiffer cable, but you will be happier in the long-run. Don't worry about ferrite cores on an HDMI cable (many cables have them, but thy don't really do anything for a digital signal cable).

If you're using the HDMI out for a video village or directors monitor, I would suggest the fiber optic HDMI solution as well. Much more flexible and ligher cable and you can buy runs up to 1600ft that I've seen. I would do that and put them on a hand-crank spool like long extension cords, keep the spool at the monitor end and extend out however far you need to connect to the camera. Also a somewhat cheaper solution that will get you to 250ft (or more if you don't need 1080p) is to use UTP "baluns". You can buy a "balun" set that will extend HDMI over CAT-5e or CAT-6 cable. Typically these require two UTP cables, which is easy, just buy binary or "siamese" CAT-5e cable (two cables molded together).

And finally, I would still recommend using HD-SDI. Properly rated coax cable is still dirt cheap and so are BNC connectors. If you absolutely need HDMI at the monitor end, use an HD-SDI to HDMI converter from AJA or Gefen. I think BlackMagic also has one and so do others... Matrox has solutions.