Fibre Optic HDMI

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networkn

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Topic # 206209 14-Dec-2016 13:45

One of our suppliers was offering these recently and I believe I have a faulty HDMI cable that runs inside our wall and into the ceiling to our projector.

I was wanting to replace it anyways as it's a few years old now and doesn't support 4K (I think it's v1.3 or v1.4)

I am concerned though that we have 1 90 degree bend between the wall and ceiling and maybe a few bends on the way to the projector and I am concerned about buying an expensive cable and finding it's broken by the time it's installed.

Any ideas/Comments?

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Reply # 1687737 14-Dec-2016 14:38

From vague memory the bend radius of a fibre optic cable is about 50mm, but it depends on whether you're pulling it or just leaving it there as to what the radius can be. If your 90 degree bends can accommodate a 50mm radius bend then you're probably OK.

Would an HDBaseT (cat6) solution be a better option to pull through rather than a new fangled HDMI cable? I guess it depends on the price of the cable and how far you're pulling it. I'm looking to replace an ageing/faulty ~12m HDMI cable with either a Gefen or Atlona product but the 4k capable gear is in the USD$350-$500 ballpark

networkn

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Reply # 1687739 14-Dec-2016 14:49

Disrespective:

From vague memory the bend radius of a fibre optic cable is about 50mm, but it depends on whether you're pulling it or just leaving it there as to what the radius can be. If your 90 degree bends can accommodate a 50mm radius bend then you're probably OK.

Would an HDBaseT (cat6) solution be a better option to pull through rather than a new fangled HDMI cable? I guess it depends on the price of the cable and how far you're pulling it. I'm looking to replace an ageing/faulty ~12m HDMI cable with either a Gefen or Atlona product but the 4k capable gear is in the USD$350-$500 ballpark

I am guessing all up I need 15-20m, and I don't mind a HDMI > CAT6 option, but I want it future proofed. It's not easy running cables!

Lastman

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Reply # 1687741 14-Dec-2016 15:00

I would first do the obvious things to determine that the cable is faulty(if you haven't already).

Don't assume an older cable can't support 4k, it may well do if it is of sufficient quality, there are no extra pins, just for the cables that support ethernet.

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Reply # 1687749 14-Dec-2016 15:11

What I found in my research is that HDMI over 12m is going to be touch and go for a full HDR 4k signal. Bear that in mind. I see the optical HDMI cables seem to show to ability to run well over that. But i'd be trying to find real world reviews from places like AVForums before taking it as gospel as I know just how hard it can be to run another cable through tight spaces.

Regardless of the solution you could consider pulling cat6 at the same time anyway...

networkn

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Reply # 1687750 14-Dec-2016 15:13

Lastman: I would first do the obvious things to determine that the cable is faulty(if you haven't already).

Don't assume an older cable can't support 4k, it may well do if it is of sufficient quality, there are no extra pins, just for the cables that support ethernet.

I don't have a practical way of doing this. Symptoms are that the picture will just go black. Happens with Sky, PS4, X1, Blu-Ray etc too. Sound remains intact. We have changed HDMI ports on the AMP, removed the plug, changed the cables that go from the wall to the devices, etc, but can't practically test the cable as I'd need 20m+ and it would have to run over the floor etc. It is intermittent. Some weeks it won't happen much at all, other times, esp during Rugby and gaming it can be very frequent when it happens.

eracode

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Reply # 1687776 14-Dec-2016 16:00

Possibly dopey question but can you take the projector down, closer to the amp, to test cable?

networkn

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Reply # 1687778 14-Dec-2016 16:04

eracode:

Possibly dopey question but can you take the projector down, closer to the amp, to test cable?

Ceiling mounted, not easy, prefer not to. Also given the problem is intermittent and could be a week between episodes, not really practical from that perspective either.

clinty

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Reply # 1687808 14-Dec-2016 17:27

chrome cast? see if that exhibits the same issue if so then its not the cable :)

Dunnersfella

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Reply # 1687839 14-Dec-2016 18:49

What amp?

It would be worth removing that from the equation...

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Reply # 1688926 14-Dec-2016 21:27

It's a Yamaha A3030. The local distributor for it are saying it's a cable problem they are sure of it, and won't take the amp back unless I can prove it's the amp. I have the latest firmware.

Given I am losing picture and not sound at the same time it's very odd.

Dunnersfella

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Reply # 1688967 14-Dec-2016 22:03

If you're losing only picture, it does strike me as a bandwidth issue...

Still try circumnavigating the amp to see if it helps. I've seen dodgy cables work once the amp is removed from the equation, it's not a long term fix, but it can be a symptom of a marginal HDMI lead.

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Reply # 1688970 14-Dec-2016 22:08

Dunnersfella:

If you're losing only picture, it does strike me as a bandwidth issue...

Still try circumnavigating the amp to see if it helps. I've seen dodgy cables work once the amp is removed from the equation, it's not a long term fix, but it can be a symptom of a marginal HDMI lead.

Without the amp, there would be no sound. I could do that short term, but as I mentioned the problem can be quite intermittent.

What would be useful is to borrow a known good hdmi cable and run it around the wall secured temporarily, but I can't imagine finding a 20m cable to "borrow" is likely.

Rikkitic

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Reply # 1688980 14-Dec-2016 22:19

It is pretty easy to join cables for a test. Also, I have had very similar things happen with HDMI switches when the total cable length was too much. It seems to be fairly critical. My guess would be the bandwidth issue, but I don't really know.

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networkn

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Reply # 1733539 9-Mar-2017 10:22

Just resurrecting this thread.

I bought the Fibre HDMI cable. The problem did not go away, but it's LESS of an issue, and when the issue happens, it's happening MUCH faster now. So instead of being black for like 1-2 seconds, it's now very quick. Also happens in quick succession.

I figured out why I am not losing sound at the same time, and that's because the sound goes to a different output (duh!).

Occasionally I still get snow, I think though this is usually only from my PS4/Xbox1

Masterpiece

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Reply # 1733930 9-Mar-2017 19:54

Isolation is the key to fault finding.

Try things like;
Short cut routing, use a short cable directly from your source device to the projector, even if you have to hold the device in the air near the PJ.
Try a different PJ input.
Test a different display with same equipment.

Test one thing at a time, one change at a time.

if you have a pattern behavior, look for different behavior by doing different things(settings).

Lower signal levels, for example don't run RGB or 444, try 1080p@24 @ 422, 1080i, 720p, 576i/p
Start at the lowest, if it runs, progressively wind up the levels.

If nothing works then you likely have a hardware issue.

FUG alert
I have just purchase some HDMI video test equipment which allows me to test cables, signal paths including installed cables for signals up to 4k+HDR and 18Gbps

FUG over

Masterpiece Calibration Ltd, isf certified

www.mastercal.co.nz

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