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HDMI CAT 5/6 Cables

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1
Forum Member
in TV and Home Entertainment Technology #1
Hi, think I have found the right area for this!,

I am about to re-wire my flat and want all my devices in one cupboard (sky, playstation) but be able to watch them in different rooms.

I think I am right in saying 2 cat 5/6 cables are just about equal to an HDMI cable?

If I run 2 of these cables from a cupboard to each of my television points is there some sort of splitter I can get to watch the sky/playstation in each room?

Is there a way of changing the channel on sky in each room ie with a magic eye but keep the HD picture quality?

Would I be able to watch sky in one room and playstation in another?

Hope this makes sense!!

Cheers,
Andy

Comments

  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,460
    Forum Member
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    #2
    If you wire it correctly then yes, you can do all those things - BUT it's not a cheap solution.
  • Chris FrostChris Frost Posts: 11,022
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    #3
    What Nigel means is that while Cat5 or Cat6 cable itself is dirt cheap, the boxes that you need to hang off each end before you can start to do something useful via CAT cable are anything but cheap.

    There are a couple of things you need to read up on:

    1) the difference between a pair of baluns and an IP solution.
    To give you a head start on this, computer network signals are IP based. Video signals are not. So to get video signals down some Cat cable means either converting them to IP signals which will then work via a router and be decoded at the display end. Or you have a balun convert it to something that isn't IP but will use one or two Cat cables as a means of transporting it to another balun somewhere else in the house. This is a strict Point-to-Point solution. There are no routers involved and if you try to mix this with your network traffic then both systems will crash. Exactly what the capabilities of the baluns are depends on the type of baluns you buy.

    Incidentally, if you do plan to go down the IP route then you should plan for two wired networks in your home. One for computer date. The second for distributed video over IP. If you are sensible then you'll keep the two separated.

    2) You need to understand matrix switches.
    A matrix switch is the answer to the question "How do I get any combination of my source signals to one/some/all TVs at the same time?"




    The other thing you need to think about is the Playstation. You can distribute the picture signal easy enough, but have you thought about the handsets and how you'll control it from a remote location? The handsets use Bluetooth. The range is limited for a start. Then there's the issue of how you convert Bluetooth to something that can be fed down some Cat cable and then converted back to Bluetooth again so that the PS3 will still understand it (problem 1) and that doesn't involve a time lag that makes gaming impossible (problem 2), But really, problem 1 is way bigger the issue because, AFAIK, no one has yet invented a solution.
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