Playback 4K videos from DELL XPS 15 9560 that has HDMI 1.4 on SONY XR-77A80

[usually_quiet]

Spent anothet a couple of hours. This is the best I could find so far.

https://www.primecables.ca/p-407853-hdmi-v2-1-aoc-10m-hdmi-v21-ultra-8k-aoc-cable#sku454378

But no name indicated on the cable jacket/ And so far, I didn't see a single bydirectional. If it is going to directional, what disadvantages/problems can I face?

Optical fiber HDMI is a type of active cable because it uses electronics on each end. One end has electronics to convert an electrical signal to light pulses and the other end has electronics that convert light pulses to an electrical signal. This type of HDMI cable is directional for that reason.

The main disadvantage that I am aware of is true for directional cables in general: you must make sure that the source end is connected to the source (PC) and the other end to the sink (display) or it won't work. Also, some optical fiber HDMI cables don't support particular features such as eARC.

If you are going to run any kind of cable inside a wall, floor, or ceiling, the cable should be plenum-rated to inhibit the spread of fires and the production of toxic fumes.

[Cornucopia]

I agree with what @usually_quiet said, and to expand upon that, these are your options:

1. Just get a standard highspeed 4k hdmi cable enough to cover the distance (say, 10m which is a reasonable maximum). There are a number of brands & options out there. Reasonably priced.
2. Get an Active hdmi cable (which is truly directional as mentioned, but may still allow for ARC, ethernet, CEC in the opposite direction). These can go up to ~35m. Not usually plenum rated, and may not support much 4k rates. $
3. Get a pair of HDbaseT extenders (transmitter, receiver), and run ~Cat6 Ethernet cable between (it is a lot easier to get plenum rated cable this way). Most implementations are totally directional. Run up to 100m. $$
4. Get fiber optic hdmi. Impervious to electric interference and water, but physically fragile. Plenum types are available but more expensive. Most (all?) totally directional, for reasons already stated. Runs upt to 1km. $$$

I don't see why you don't take advantage of #1 or #2.


Scott

[usually_quiet]

@Scott I was hoping that you would drop by to offer some advice because I know that you have real-world experience with installing longer cable runs at work and I'm working from what I can find out from Internet searches.

[borzoff]

Thank you.

I browsed the Internet yesterday and today and couldn’t find Ultra High Speed fiber optic with reliable certification for the reasonable price. Even very expensive cables caused questions with regard to certification and reliability. During my search, I noticed that sellers advise that with the distance of over 9 feet regular (not fiber optic) cables become unreliable. The independent experts, Web sites (CNET) say it starts with distance 30 feet and longer.

So, I’ve chosen another way. Total distance from PC and monitor to TV and receiver is less than I thought. It is approx. 6m. I will move PC closer to the wall opposite to the desk and the distance will be 3 m from TV to PC and 3 m from PC to the office monitor (will remain on the desk, also 4K). Regular (not fiber optic) cables should be fine.

Everything has been ordered (video card; hdd cage; cables; hdmi splitter). Hope to finalize it ASAP and enjoy it on Christmas. Your further assistance would very much appreciated.

[usually_quiet]

From what I recall from past discussions here about passive HDMI cables, heavier gauge wires should be used in longer cables to reduce signal loss. This makes the HDMI cable stiffer, weightier, and harder to route inside a wall, as well as more expensive.

One of the reasons that people buy active HDMI cables for longer runs is that they can be thinner, lighter, and more flexible.

[borzoff]

In my case, it is not a concrete or thick wall. It is a regular drywall. When I moved in, there already was a receptable without wires installed. No wires inside the wall. It was sort of a bracket with decent opening in the middle. For ten years I've been using it to connect TV and PC. Hopefully, everything will be fine this time too.

I could easily be wrong but after two days of searches I have an impression that fiber optic is just coming to the cable world. It is not established yet. People report too many problems in their reviews. Again, it's just my imprssion.

[Cornucopia]

Fiber has been in use in video cabling for over a decade but to do it right has been and still is expensive. One reason why it is still delegated to long runs, because then the per foot is more reasonable. I don't trust brands that cost less than $500, but wouldn't need to use it for less than 100m or unless needing ultra high bandwidth, protection from elements. Since that doesn't fit most household needs, it is not really a consideration.


Scott

[borzoff]

Hi Scott. Thank you. It makes sense and makes the whole picture more clear. I mean myself.

[borzoff]

Hello everybody,

It’s been awhile…..

The project is moving forward and is at the final stage. The delays were caused mostly by the delivery issues. PUROLATOR is a champion! It took two weeks for them to deliver hard drives. Another issue that took time was to install an additional HDD cage on top of the present one as it does not have sufficient number of slots. They didn’t match each other. Now everything is ready to be connected but there are questions that I couldn’t find clear answers for.

Please advise if my PSU has sufficient power to connect:
- four hard drives to one power cable with four connectors along its length (SSD; two 8TB drives and one 2TB drive); - video card ; a few fans; USB ports.
“ASRock Radeon RX 6600 need to be connected to one of the power supply's 8-pin GPU power connectors because they require more power than the PCIe slot can safely supply. Make sure that your PSU has one before you order one of these cards”

The installed Corsair RM650 has 4+4 output sockets and 2 cables with 4-pin connectors: one with two 4-pin connectors (I believe it goes for the video card and one with four 4-pin connectors (for four HHD????)

Thank you.