UPDATE: Many commenters are suggesting that the HDMI cable was never the problem, which doesn't explain the three fried receivers, but I have changed the title and thumbnail to reflect the fact that this video shares 4 methods for running A/V over long distances. I still hope this helps others to not have the issues I have had.

Hey Nils, Its June 2024 and I am so glad that I happened to chance upon your video as I was searching for options to extend my HDMI connection upto approx 30 ft. Your solution is still relevant after 6 yrs. I am going to try out the HDMI over Ethernet solution. So thank you once again for the detailed explanation and the demo of how you set it up.

I've had a similar issue in the past with fried components through HDMI. But from my experiences it was not the length of the HDMI or the HDMI connection its self that was the issue. What had happened in my case was a voltage spike through the ethernet cable connecting my receiver to my router that came through my coax modem which at the time was unprotected. Needless to say the whole experience was unpleasant, and left me with a dead projector and receiver. I found your video to be helpful and insightful to the various types of methods for running HDMI video signal over long distances.

Great video and cleared up some questions I had and also gave me additional options to consider. As a side note, I use braided mason's line/string when pulling wire through conduit (if not using a fish tape). It's cheap and strong. Tie a sandwich bag to the end and stick in conduit. Put the hose from a shop vac in the other end of the conduit and it'll be there in a second or two max. Works great and is extremely fast. I've gone a couple hundred feet using it.

For those saying a hdmi cable won't fry an AV receiver or projector, you don't know what you are saying. Yes the cable itself won't, but the impact of the projector recieving the 5v single will as the signal continuously drops so the equipment cycles and continuosly looks for the signal. In time the internals short. I too have gone through 2 recieverss and a projector due to using a 10 meter (32 ft) hdmi cable. Changed to a 5 meter and all fine with no picture spiking

ALL of Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Surf City, CA

Hey man, love the videos. Very informative. I've been a TV contractor for many years, I've never had this issue, specifically 25 ft or so but many times AVRs hdmi get blasted back in to cabinets like that and bend the hdmi out port on AVRs. That happens all the time to customers but never heard this. But I dont doubt it, and interesting info. In 2015-18 hdmi over ethernet was trending, starting to level off with so much wifi vs cat6 lines.

OMG.... finally an answer to what has happened to my two Denon av receivers! I’ve been searching for a video like this on and off for almost two years and I find it while searching for hdmi switches as a work around. You just got a new subscriber. THANK YOU!!!

Small update for anyone watching in 2022: Fiber optic HDMI is the only way for HDMI 2.1 HDMI 2.1 uses 48gbps which no Ethernet cable can accomplish (probably never will). The tech caps out around 10gbps. HDMI 2.1 is needed for 4k120hz and 8k.

I am a member of a Home Theater group about 5k members. I wrote a post about the problem you were having. No one has vet gad this happen to them . Some are running 75’ to 125’ HDMI cables. That doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t happen but you would think with all those people someone would encounter it. Good luck and hope you have a fix.

When we were building our house 5 years ago I tried to get someone in to set up all the rooms so that all the sources were in one location. When I contacted my local tech guys it the cost would have started at $5k just to run the cable. That wasn't in the budget. In the short amount of time I had to figure it and the tech that was available to me at the time I decided to run coax, cat5 and HDMI to cover all the bases at 20% the cost of the tech guys. Four rooms have 100ft runs, one has 50ft. :-/ Five years later, still going strong on the HDMI. The only thing that burned out so far was the original HDMI switch which I upgraded when I swapped it out. I wish I had discovered your option #4 back then, it would have saved time, effort and the stress of the HDMI getting stolen or having a screw pierce it during the house build. It also would have eliminated the need for extra lines for the infrared repeaters. That's a long way to say that I never had a problem with my HDMI at 100ft but appreciate your video and learning about option #4 (8:15) if I need it in the future.

I am having a similar issue. My old receivers would work just fine on a 50'+ high quality HMDI but when I went to upgrade to a new receiver, I would get intermittent black screens and sometimes loose audio as well. The first new received completely stopped working within minutes of installing it the equipment rack. The new replacement would at least work sometimes but immediately started going to black screen. Finally, the 3rd new Integra receiver was doing the same thing - [but when I put my 8 year old Integra back in the system, it would work fine] and numerous tech calls - I finally reached a tech support manager that informed me the new HDMI standards are only made to run 15' max and this was the cause of my issues & why the old receiver would work. As a retired AV tech/designer/owner, I had no idea the new protocol was like this. Switching to CAT Baluns has solved the issue completely. Unlike some of the haters below, I think he's on the right track and not trying to scam anyone into buying an item that he'd maybe make a $1 on...

Even in the middle of the video, I can see that you did a very good research. Thumb up for you man.

Great video about options for extension of HDMI. This solution will clearly work and for people wanting to send 4K video I am told it is a good solution. However, your problem was not getting the video signal to run over the cable, it was getting the driver to last. Why not use one of your splitters to drive the cable directly? Then it it burns out you are out $15. Or get an amplifier if you can find one. The option I just used was to put my Chromecast right at the projector with an audio extractor inline. Then I ran the audio back to the amp over SPDIF-coax. You could have put your Apple TV at the projector and run the audio back.

this does not make electronic sense. the amp is not a fuse, it will output a voltage that will propagate out the wire. If the wire is long, that means the signal at the other end will not be as strong as the source due to resistance in the wire. The higher the resistance, the receiver will reduce its output, not increase it. I have been running hundreds of projectors in halls all over Ontario and all have at least 100 feet cable.. the oldest is now hitting 15 years. I would say your problem is not the length of your cable, but a short in your projector input. Sorry but that is 45 years of Electronic Tech Experience saying your wrong.

I’ve worked with this technology for a while now! I absolutely love HDMI over Cat5e/6/7!

A very talented presenter. So clear in your explanations

Great video! I've got some long runs in my house and have had the best luck using HDMI over ethernet as well... Keep up the great content!

I dont know how i got to this video, im drunk and dont need hdmi help, yet i am watching this

This was helpful in my decision on what to do for 30 and 50ft runs of cable to my TVs from my network rack. Thanks!

The lighting in your home is incredible it looks like a show room

Thank you! This video saved my Christmas. Had an active 15m hdmi cabel and had connect it wrong. A shift then there was signal! Halleluja ❤ Have a Merry Christmas and a fantastic new year 🙏⭐🎅

Nice video, I wasn’t aware that there were so many options. I use the optical HDMI cable myself. I did have one HDMI input burn out due to my cable box(at least this is what Marantz said the problem was especially with Comcast) which was a long run as well. I went with the optical cable from my receiver to my tv and projector because it was a long run and I noticed that my Apple TV would give me an error message every time I tried to set it up to produce Dolby vision. The message said something about connection capability and all my cables were supposed to be 4K and HDR compatible. After switching the cable , no more problems and all images improved.

Guys, I don't know how you could listen to him with that STATIC SOUND IN THE BACKGROUND!!!

As a pro installer this is my experience.. Your cable most likely did not damage your receiver. Here are my basic guidelines, I use Yamaha receivers with high quality HDMI cables up to about 40', after that distance I go HDbaseT, I have countless systems out there working perfectly. I have encountered systems installed by others that have HDMI runs over 50' working fine. I have also seen freezing and glitching at longer distances which is why I don't risk it. Cheers and good luck.

I already got a 50ft passive HDMI cable (Amazon Basics ) and it is amazing. I considered the wireless option, but was afraid of the speed. the value i got for the money was optimum. Thank you for the other options and comparing the 4 options, that is quite neat and informative

Very helpful. I never knew about these options until I watched (and subscribed) your post

Just want to say thank you, your video has helped me get back on track. The CAT 6 w the hdmi worked perfect to me, especially the distance I had to travel from receiver to projector. Thanks again

Just my own personal experience on this issue. I damaged two hdmi boards on two different Sony AVR receivers (never anything Sony again) with long 50ft. hdmi cable runs. I did use the top gauge hdmi cables I could get from Monoprice at the time of the installation in 2009. I did as much research as I could on this issue, then I switched the layout the media center room around (very low WAF) and finally moved the 65" Panasonic plasma display closer to the media center switched to a Denon AVR in 2013 with max hdmi cable length of 12ft. No problems at all for the last 5 years.

Hey Nils! Happy to help, yes you can see the red optical light come out of the ends. :)

i cant thank you enough for your explanation. i have spent a lot of $$$ on cables and joiners and endless headache as i always thought that my receiver is the culprit. i just couldnt accept that my flagship receiver kept dropping the signal over 30+ metres cables... i even got a replacement hdmi board for the receiver and it was still the same... until i came across your video and realised that ces spec cable length is only about 5m...

Wish I had found this months ago. Have a 50’ hdmi run from closet to tv and it kept killing the cable box (plugged a small tv in with different cord and still didn’t work). Also could only get 1080 signal. Went through three boxes over two years, finally switched over and 4K works now as a bonus.

Other things that can fry electronics: 1) Improper grounding of one of your devices. The signal cable becomes a ground dischage cable. To prevent this, ensure that both devices are connected to the same power circuit and both have proper and the same ground wire. 2) Power voltage spikes. It can be that one of the devices has a weak power source and injects current through the signal cable. Use power regulators or a UPS to solve this(connect both devices to it) 3) Ground current coming from the Internet provider cable or antenna cable. UPSes have filters in general but you can find them separately as well. If you get a UPS, prefer one that has AVR (Auto voltage regulator). 5) Improper ventilation and/or humidity, cigarette smoke and other agresive chemicals in the air. You have to have ventilation, AC is not enough!

You keep mentioning Ethernet on your video as though it is interchangeable with cat5/6/7, they aren’t the same thing! Ethernet is a networking protocol that can run on cat5 cabling but cat5 cabling doesn’t exclusively carry Ethernet. This may cause confusion with ethernet(network) switches with people thinking they will work to route/duplicate the signal but they won’t in most cases- not hours anyway as you recommend hdbaset protocol which is fine! But different... The cable is called ‘twisted pair’ and cat5/6 etc are the standards for the cable based on the internal makeup, thickness twists etc Hope this helps avoid confusion!!

never had a problem ! been running long HDMI cables for 50 years now

My local audio company tried to sell me a $1500 hdmi cable. A $3500 outdoor hdtv. I laughed and walked out. I can buy 8 decent televisions and seal them if it lasts one year i can toss it buy a new one. I need a much longer run. Thanks for making this video. I'm still looking at my options.

Sir, thanks for sharing the technique to swap HDMI lines. Now, I can upgrade the existing HDMI to 4k HDMI.

I have a 40M HDMI cable and all I did was power inject with a 5$ HDMI splitter in 4K. I see you do go over it in the vid but not enough considering how cheap it is. love your vids.

I think to agree with this video because two of my AV receiver HDMI board died as I am using 15 meters HDMI cable to connect to the projector.

great vid! helped me a lot setting up my church video system. thanks!!

I have been running a 10m (30ft) cable on the same Yamaha receiver for the last 5 years and never had an issue. Your projector might be the problem.

This was a good video. I appreciate this kind of info. I don't work with AV much, but I do work with network equipment daily. The one thing I would be weary about is that media converters are usually the first point of failure in a system when things stop working. Seeing asbhow you chose a media converter for your setup you may want to get a backup media converter or prep yourself to buy an upgraded media converter in the next year or so. The optical HDMI probably would have been my choice since you only need 1 cable in this situation.

I have to agree with everyone else saying its not the cable length. Ive been using 30ft hdmi for 5 years on 2 different projectors and 2 different receivers. One was just a cheap blu-ray/receiver combo. I used low and and higher-end hdmi (only virtual difference with low vs high quality hdmi is maybe the gauge of wire). I don't disagree with using difference methods though. However, if HDMI length was really a problem, companies would put right on the box or at least in the first page of the manual, "DO NOT USE LONGER THAN 15ft HDMI." Last thing companies want is warranty replacements. If this was true, people would be burning out computers, ethernet routers and switches all the time. Almost all issues can be related to overheating or shorting out of components. The only instance I have heard of where the wire or component being hooked up can ruin a receiver, is connecting up a speaker with an impedance outside of the proper range and cranking the volume for an extended time. Having said all that, I think the idea of optical hdmi is a great suggestion.

Excellent explanation, wiring my basement now BBC and this was exactly what I was looking for!

HDMI through SDI converters we use it at our church works flawlessly. Power at each end one BNC coax cable in between.

Fiber optic and/or HDBaseT are recommended extensions if there is any uncertainty about if there are different grounds/phases. Plan HDMI cables and SDI coax may be dangerous if there are different phase or ground at the output. (Perhaps the roof installation is running on the lamps power circuit, so there is different power up there).

HDMI over Ethernet is a great solution.

This is one of the best videos I have watched to help me set up my home theatre. Thank you!

Been a broadcast technician for 25 years and the issue is most likely your projector. Sounds like a grounding issue on you display/projector end. I'd check your power sources on both the AMP and the projector ,

I do custom installation for 10+ years and have never had this problem

Thank you. Excellent presentation.

Great video! And cool project. Thank you so much for taking the time to produce it.

Thanks man, this has stumped me! Active one the way from Amazon.

It is Not Ethernet. The 4th option you chose is a good choice and uses the Catx cables. But the signal is not transmitted over Ethernet. It is called HDBaseT. It does however use an Ethernet cable, which is why you assumed it was. Nice video. 😎

nice video. im impressed you do this on your own. i wouldve thought all those royalty checks from NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP would find you hiring an install team.

What were you frying, the HDMI board the power supply, the amplifier chips? As the longer HDMI cables could never harm the output it won't put more draw on the system, you have a short somewhere in your system that is the only thing that will make your system draw excessive current.

Thanks for the video. Any idea if I could use this with an older receiver that doesn't have an HDMI input I'm not sure if that is what you meant in your "options"? I know that there are some adapters out there but from what I understand they are limited to 1180. Also how were you getting audio out of your receiver?

I solved the problem by adding an HDMI amplifier. It also comes in splitter/switch combinations. The solution was overall cheaper than any of the options it the video.

How do you connect TV at Day, , projector at night for movie time? Hdmi switcher?

I'm sorry that you've experienced so many problems with defective receivers, but your long HDMI cables are NOT the problem. Please do more research before you scare others with this false information. Try HDMI.org and see what they recommend about long cable runs. You really should consider taking this video down.

Great video! I had a problem where my projector image was cycling off and on and after watching this realized my hdmi cable could be the problem. I hooked up a shorter cable from a different source and the projector was fine, i'm still deciding which option to use but you potentially saved me from frying my reciever. Thanks

Awesome selection, I've been using HDMI over Ethernet for a while, I'd always recommend going with Cat6 or 6a at a minimum also do two shots between the devices. Good to have a backup, or some require two runs of Ethernet.

Big thanks for clearing my doubts

Please stop false infos, hdmi lenght will never « kill » any device. Use bigger awg hdmi cable or active (like monoprice redmere) when lenght is too long. fibers or cat6 should not be use except when much longer run then 30ft lol.

Thanks for a great video! I wish I had seen it before I went wireless HDMI. I have two iogear wireless HDMI transmitter / receiver pairs, and they're both worthless now -- working intermittently and generally making it really frustrating to watch or play anything. I would definitely NOT suggest going this route, and especially NOT with iogear. I contacted them and they basically said 'buy a new one' which was obviously not what I wanted to hear after almost $500 in investment just a few years ago. I decided to try active HDMI 30 ft cables from Monoprice, and I'm going to run it through the wall. Wish me luck!

Incredibly helpful!🎉

Great video, I too like the Ethernet option. Thanks

Something i overlooked when buying 4k projector was the cables. I use a standard 2.0 50ft cable now and my 1080p was flawless once i hooked 4k up i had color artifacts, text not clean, and colors were off. direct hooked a 6ft to my apple tv box all problems fixed so opted for the ethernet boxes suppose to arrive tomorrow, here's hoping for the best. Thanks for the help.

Two thoughts. First, just get an HDMI signal booster. Problem solved. Second, if you go the route in the video, leave the HDMI cable there, Tie a pull string to a cotton ball then use a shop vac suck/pull that cotton ball through your conduit and then you can pull your CAT7 cable through while leaving the HDMI in place. Thanks for sharing though!

That carpet looks SUPER soft

His receivers are burning up because there not being properly ventilated!!!

Very useful information

Thank you for this.

many thanks for this very good sharing

I feel like your video helped me dodge a bullet. I was simply curious about options other than long hdmi even though I had managed to snag a $20 50 foot cable on a huge discount btu it would have been passive. It was going to run from my expensive pc gpu to a tv across the room until I saw your video. So when you talked about your 3 fried receivers I immediately canceled the order. Instead I looked around on amazon and thanks lightning striking twice for huge discounts I just found a 50 foot optical hdmi cable with loads of good reviews for only $23 and $5 shipping

Great video, I too like the Ethernet option. I REALLY wish when I did my setup when building the house I put 2" conduit to certain rooms, PITA now of course,

This info is gold. Thank you!

Great video. Didn’t know there was problem with long HDMI cable long run and didn’t know there are so many different solution to the problem. Learned a lot. Thank you. I needed to connect a projector that mount on the back ceiling to the source which is at the front of the room. I choose the 50ft optical cable. I guess the price went down since this video. The cable is only $64 now at Amazon. Once I receive the cable I’ll test it and update my comment here.

I have a 10m HDMI cable and it fried 2 out of the 3 ports on my HDMI switcher. Not sure if it is because its a cheap switcher or cheap cable or just what happens over long HDMI cables.

optical hdmi has gotten much cheaper in recent years and is by far the cleanest looking solution and by far fewer point of failure. my advice is go optical. wireless HDMI introduces latency, HDMI over ethernet adds a box on both ends which must be powered and tucked away with an additional shorter HDMI coming from each. the best solution is the one with no latency and no other devices or adapters in between. just one cable going from point A to point B.

I like the fact that you are using fishing line but I would suggest upgrading to bailing twine in the future for the simple fact that fishing line tends to stretch. I have had it happen to me in the past and would not like to see it happen to you because it is a pain in the you know what.

Just subscribed. Appreciate the options you mentioned for long runs.

Use the HDMI cable with redmere tech built in; works great. Anything longer than 35ft, use a fiber HDMI and I recommend the RUIPRO brand, works great.

I'll save you time. What you want to learn starts at 2:10. You're welcome.

I have a uverse box that I have a 100ft hdmi to and it's been running great for 12 years nothing has happened and the pic looks great to

I do use cat6 hdmi to switch a receiver between basement projector and outdoor tv. Every tv in my house seems to have 25+ feet to receiver. I’d love a 8x8 hdbaset but they are 2k

I love how this guy is a AV expert, but there's a super nasty (and loud) 60hz hum on this video. 🙄

For long runs, convert HDMI to HD-SDI and use a coax cable for the run. You'll convert the HD-SDI back to HDMI at the receiving end.

It is actually the TV or Projector the provides the 5 V power. In HDMI parlance there is a "Source" and a "Sink", It is the sink that provides the power. The specification for HDMI is quite small only 250 mW after start up. Your explanation makes no sense, Longer cables just attenuate the signal, they do not provide "too much load'. If this is a real thing, I suspect it is static electricity causing the problem.

problem is no that the hdmi is too long, maybe the problem is either low quality hdmi cable or the devices, if a cable is too long the signal will just simple no get there, if cable is too long just use a hdmi amplifier.

Used to be in the cable industry, have seen 50+ feet HDMI used without any issues besides if an HDMI cord longer than 30 feet would do damage to a device I don't think companies would sell them for the chance of a law suit

thank you for all the great information, well appreciated !!! I have another idea that may work also with out all the cables & that would be to connect one of my JOEYS from dish network to the projector, I know, not everyone has JOEYS but your info is just great as I may not always have that option. Thanks again.

I have a Yamaha receiver with multiple HDMI input and a single output. My projector is approx. 20ft away and will not handshake. Can I use the ethernet extender on the output side of the receiver and still maintain the switching ability between inputs?

doing the same. Tried the passive (ethernet) version as well but the active version is jsut working way better.

I'm looking at your setup with your receiver. It's in a cubby hole/oven with no ventilation and air flow You have broken every single rule when it comes to keeping your receiver cool. You've had three receivers that have burned up and you keep putting it in the same location. It's extremely clear with the issue is.

Very well composed and great video! Thanks for sharing. Fyi, I am pretty sure it wasn't your cables that burned out your receiver.

I use HDMI extenders but having handshake issue with hi-def cable box. The extenders do not connect via ethernet. It connects via a yellow cable. With the 4K box, have HDCP 2.2 error. Can you ask Seth what he can suggest?

I purchased the gofanco 4K HDMI Extender Balun Over CAT6/7 Ethernet Cable but unable to pull audio from from the receiver side. Is this just me?

We've had a 25 foot hdmi cable being used for years, and we've never had an issue with burning out anything. I don't think that was your problem.

I have been running 50ft hdmi cables for many years. My last cable I upgraded has been over 2 years. I have had 2 Denon receivers and never has an issue. Sounds like more of a power issue. Nice video but I think your friend has misled you.