If I connect my 1080p sources (oppo dv-981hd and sony ps3) to my outlaw 970 and then connect the outlaw to my projector (panasonic pt-ae1000u) the signal comes in and out. That is I can see the image for a few seconds and then it drops out for a few seconds (blue screen) over and over again.

If I connect either source directly to the projector I have no problem.

If I select a video format other than 1080p (e.g. 720p) I don't have a problem.

Does anyone know what's wrong?

Two possibilities come to mind. One would be overall cable length, which might be enough to cause problem with 1080p (likely exascerbated by going through a switch). What's the total cable length? The other possibility would be HDCP problems with the AE1000u, but that would happen at any resolution and is probably not the issue here.

- 25ft cable to the projector
- 6ft cables to the outlaw

I don't see how this could be an HDCP issue, since there is no problem when directly connected to the projector.

Thirty-something feet doesn't exceed the HDMI spec, but it's creeping close to it. You might get Outlaw's take on it, but that's the most likely source of the trouble.

Switches can produce HDCP problems, and some displays and source components get finicky when there's a switch in the signal path. The switching provided by Outlaw's gear has not seen much of this. I think you've pretty well ruled this one out, though, because 720p works and HDCP doesn't differentiate between resolutions.

What is the limit of the HDMI spec?

15 meters (~45 feet) is the spec's upper limit, borrowed straight from DVI - which was developed for the computer market, where it probably seemed like overkill. You can exceed 15 meters, but you need to use either a good cable (which in turn typically uses a larger than normal conductor to reduce the overall resistance) or a signal booster of some sort.

After I went to bed last night I remembered that I had actually gone with a 35ft cable after waffling between 25 and 35 feet. That puts me at 41 feet.

I might look for a female/female HDMI connector and test the combined cable length. I did some reading after reading your post and I've seen 10m referenced wrt 1080p. I definitely exceed that.

A 25 foot cable (I think it would be long enough) would put me back inside the 10m range, but it's an expensive test to run (and not easy in my case).

My cable is 24awg (which seems decent when compared to others), but I have found some 22awg.

I wish there were a cheaper/easier way to figure this out.

Thanks for your help.

I think I am in the same boat as you. I just got a 990, and I am starting to have issues with the video. I too use a 35' cable along with the 6' cables on the HD box and DVD player. (I used 6' before I moved all the equipment this weekend.)
I think that the 1080p drop out makes sense. That has a much higher bandwidth usage that 1080i or 720p, so it is a lot more info to get thru an already iffy length.
I ordered my cables off a website that is actually very cheap, but good quaality if you want to try a shorter cable. (ehdmi.com)

I checked out ehdmi.com and the prices do seem good (22awg too). I'll probably give a 25' cable a try.

When I was making my decision between 25' and 35' I asked the guy "Is there any reason why the larger cable would be a mistake?". That's what I get for not doing the research myself.

I would like to get an hdmi to hdmi connector and see what happens. That's a much easier test.

It would be a simple test. I hadn't ever looked for one, but I did find these two this morning:

HDMI female to female adapter at MonoPrice ($5.85)
6" HDMI female to female cable at Pacific Cable ($21)

I'd be curious to hear what you find if you try one of these. My suspicion is that both of these cases are related to cable length, but it's always possible that something else is going on.