Setting up new entry-level home theater: Cabling options for projector & sound bar

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Setting up new entry-level home theater: Cabling options for projector & sound bar

jeffois

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#204643 11-Oct-2016 10:28

Hi all,

Setting up a new entry-level home theater which will in basic terms be:

Projector at back of room
Sound bar at front of room
All control & media gear in a cupboard, incl. HDMI switcher

Specifically looking at the cabling options, I've researched the HDMI max distance and am pretty confident I'll come in under the 15m reasonable limit. The issue I may have now is running the audio to the sound bar and back to the projector.

I guess my options are:

Run HDMI out of the 4-way switcher to the sound bar, then double-back another HDMI to the projector--this would result in two 10m+ runs of HDMI; or
Run a 2-way HDMI splitter out the back of the 4-way switcher, one cable to the sound bar, another to the projector--this would result in one 10m+ and one 3m run of HDMI
Use CAT5 converters... this was my original plan, but if I can use HDMI directly, it'll save me a bunch of cash (which I have already spent on a NAS!)

Other info/questions:

Only need 1080p resolution, projector (BenQ W2000) isn't 4K
Would I still be able to use the HDMI CEC features using a switcher and a splitter?

Thanks for your help!

Cheers, Jeff
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richms

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#1648989 11-Oct-2016 10:37

I bought a HDMI cec overpriced switch from monoprice and it was a piece of crap. Cec barely worked. Only ever worked with 2 devices and it was a bad quality switch that had sparkles at 1080p 60 or 50.

Based on the cec not working as I had hoped it went into the box of shame and I never tried better cables to see if that fixed the sparkles but same cables work on my $5 unpowered switch.

Richard rich.ms

D.W

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#1649008 11-Oct-2016 10:56

Just be aware that HDMI cable (particularly that length) is quite thick and inflexible, so you can't make tight right-angle bends for example. So you'll need to account for that when measuring distance and deciding where the cable will be run exactly.

jeffois

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#1649014 11-Oct-2016 11:03

richms: I bought a HDMI cec overpriced switch from monoprice and it was a piece of crap. Cec barely worked. Only ever worked with 2 devices and it was a bad quality switch that had sparkles at 1080p 60 or 50.

Based on the cec not working as I had hoped it went into the box of shame and I never tried better cables to see if that fixed the sparkles but same cables work on my $5 unpowered switch.

Might not be an issue anymore actually with the CEC. I think the wireless remote I have selected will nullify the need for it :)

Thanks for the feedback!

Cheers, Jeff
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jeffois

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#1649016 11-Oct-2016 11:04

D.W:

Just be aware that HDMI cable (particularly that length) is quite thick and inflexible, so you can't make tight right-angle bends for example. So you'll need to account for that when measuring distance and deciding where the cable will be run exactly.

Good call. It's going to have to go through a relatively large cable tray, but if I can cut the need for the double-back, I can reduce the size of the tray. Other than that, it's all under the house, so it can take pretty direct lines to ans from the various points.

Cheers heaps for the feedback

Cheers, Jeff
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Masterpiece

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#1649279 11-Oct-2016 15:35

Why are you looping back from sound bar?

Why have a 4 way switcher?

I'd use CAT6, in fact it is so cheap in relative terms I'd run at least two each direction from the cupboard.

Note, a modern player can have 2 HDMI outputs, use one for audio one for video

Source => split(or new player with dual) => Sound bar, Sub?
----------=> split(or new player with dual) => Projector

Me:"I'm not a robot!"

ET: "Maybe; you have some freewill, but you chose your path by arrangement"

Me "That sounds like a program with no freewill?"

ET: "We will catch up when you end this cycle"

Me: "Sounds like a 'KPI'!"

ET: "Did you read the terms and conditions?"

Me: .....

jeffois

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#1649477 11-Oct-2016 21:15

Masterpiece: Why are you looping back from sound bar?

Why have a 4 way switcher?

I'd use CAT6, in fact it is so cheap in relative terms I'd run at least two each direction from the cupboard.

Note, a modern player can have 2 HDMI outputs, use one for audio one for video

Source => split(or new player with dual) => Sound bar, Sub?
----------=> split(or new player with dual) => Projector

Looping back from soundbar: Dunno... was just how I was thinking of doing it, but suddenly thought it might not be necessary, hence the post. Is it best practice? I have no idea.

4-way switcher: There's no central receiver or anything (hence the sound bar), but there are mulitple inputs: PS4, media box, chrome cast, BR player (?)

CAT6 isn't as cheap as using HDMI once you factor in decent quality converters, double runs of CAT6 cable etc. At least not that I've found pricing via PriceSpy/PBTech

My "modern player" (Amazon Fire TV 4K) doesn't have multiple HDMI outputs, I don't really want to run optical that far... nor am I sure that I can...

Does any of this additional info help any further? I'd love to hear your further constructive feedback.

Cheers, Jeff
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Dunnersfella

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#1649588 12-Oct-2016 09:09

Buy an AVR and a passive soundbar.

Then you simply run speaker cable out of the home theatre amp and into the soundbar.

Then run a subwoofer cable to a sub...

All HDMI inputs go into the AVR.

The HDMI output of the amp go into the projector.

Having said that... why a soundbar? Surely you'd want something a lot better than a product designed as a retro-fit convenience piece of plastic for oldies who can't hear dialogue on TV now?

jeffois

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#1649655 12-Oct-2016 11:08

Dunnersfella:

Buy an AVR and a passive soundbar.

Then you simply run speaker cable out of the home theatre amp and into the soundbar.

Then run a subwoofer cable to a sub...

All HDMI inputs go into the AVR.

The HDMI output of the amp go into the projector.

Having said that... why a soundbar? Surely you'd want something a lot better than a product designed as a retro-fit convenience piece of plastic for oldies who can't hear dialogue on TV now?

Thanks for the feedback. We already have an active sound-bar with wireless sub to go in position. It needs to be either HDMI or Optical. So... HDMI. I won't be buying an AVR, it's overkill if we're just running a soundbar (which is really our only option). It's not the ideal setup in a Home Theater purist's world, but it's what will work with out space.

Why soundbar?: It's a space restriction issue... basically, there's doors & windows where we would normally want to put speakers and my 18mo old seems to love nothing more than pulling the existing floorstanding ones over onto herself! This way, everything will be 6ft off the floor (soundbar to be mounted above the top of the screen)--might take another couple of years for her to grow tall enough to fiddle with that stuff. Your opinion on soundbars is clear, but it's what will work for us.

Thanks again for the feedback

Cheers, Jeff
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Masterpiece

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#1649952 12-Oct-2016 20:48

You have a conundrum then

Sound bars tend to work better with the display(TV) above and a cabinet below housing the additional equipment.

I bet you haven't included the(a) TV in the space as well?

Cheap switchers can be hit and miss, ones that work first time will be as much as a modest AVR, but I understand why it is ruled out.

How many HDMI/optical/analog inputs does the sound bar have?

I would note that generally it is far cheaper to get audio to another location than video.

I wonder whether it would be better to run temp links when required to work out how you will actually use the devices and with what displays.

With that, and lets say you have a TV in this space why not mix the options up, if a BD player was with/near the PJ, run an optical from the player to the sound bar.
The Chrome cast and PS4 arguably would be better on/with a TV, they reside with the TV and a short ride to the sound bar, (options for inputs?). Then decide on media box, by TV or PJ, maybe split this to both displays.

Also consider future proofing, if you have a 4K display and you want aspects capable then you have to watch mixed setups as system info gets passed about inhibiting everything down to the lowest denominator. The new quality switchers can handle this but at a cost.

Me:"I'm not a robot!"

ET: "Maybe; you have some freewill, but you chose your path by arrangement"

Me "That sounds like a program with no freewill?"

ET: "We will catch up when you end this cycle"

Me: "Sounds like a 'KPI'!"

ET: "Did you read the terms and conditions?"

Me: .....

ilovemusic

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#1651908 16-Oct-2016 13:27

lose the soundbar.

big pictures need big sound !

jeffois

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#1652109 17-Oct-2016 09:02

ilovemusic:

lose the soundbar.

big pictures need big sound !

Sadly, for now, this is a matter of convenience over quality. The very limited space in our lounge (lots of windows/doors, and no roof cavity) mean we can't have floor standing or even ceiling mounted speakers. I have free-standing "pencil" speakers at the moment, one of them is trashed from being pulled over so often!

This post was seriously just about understanding my cabling options... I've asked the same question on Reddit as well and didn't get a single answer, let alone a bunch of suggestions and recommendations about what I should be doing for gear.

I think I'll just have to rely on PBTech's returns policy and just give it a nudge. The projector and NAS have arrived from the US, so it's time to start getting stuff up and tested... woo!

Cheers, Jeff
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D.W

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#1653362 19-Oct-2016 10:33

You may also want to consider active HDMI cables for the lengths you're looking at, they don't require an external power source but do cost a bit more. The cabling also usually has a smaller diameter than the passive long-length cables which makes it a bit easier to run.