Hello Everyone,

Been a while, but things have been so lovely I stopped tweaking and spent time enjoying . . . . .well . . .kids move out and that leaves extra rooms to play with!

Working on my new room and it looks like HDMI is what all the new TVs are shipping with. No DVI.

Researching two options:

1) two HDMI cables from DirecTV box and Blu-Ray to new DLP - no switching via the 990

or

2) one HDMI/DVI cable from 990 to new DLP; short HDMI/DVI cables into 990 from sources; switching via 990.

The cable runs are about 27ft back to the cabinet where the gear is. Lots of places selling 50+ft of both flavors of cable.

Any suggestions or commetary on the options would be appreciated.

Additionally, I will be running a long composite video for the OSD from the 990. Looks like I will be using BlueJeans this time for the cables.

Thanks everyone and glad to be back in the hunt!

Phatlac

(what I got and where it's at)
Family room:
(2) Outlaw Model 200s for Fronts
(2) Rocket RS750s - RF/LF
(2) Rocket RSS300 Dipoles for Surrounds
(1) Rocket RSC200 Center
(1) SV Subwoofer PC Ultra
(1) Outlaw 990 Pre Amp
(1) Marantz DVD 4500
(1) Samsung HLN50 HDTV Monitor
(1) Sci Atl Digi/HDTV DVR - BrightHouse
(1) DirecTV Digital/HDTV SAT Rcvr
(1) IBM Laptop
(1) Anthem 5 CH Amp for SR/SL/Center
(1) Panamax 5510 Power Conditioner
(1) Harmony Remote
(lots) Outlaw and Tributaries Interconnects;OCF speaker cables

Master Bedroom:
(2) Paradigm Studio 20 - RF/LF
(2) Paradigm ADP470s for Surrounds
(1) Paradigm CC570
(1) Paradigm PS-1000 Subwoofer
(1) Outlaw 950 Pre Amp
(1) Outlaw 7075 Power Amplifier
(1) Magnovox 42" Flat Panel LCD TV
(1) Samsung HD931 DVD
(1) Monster HT Power 3600
(1) DirecTV Digital/HDTV St Top Box
(1) Harmony Remote
(0) Outlaw, Monster, Tributaries interconnects

Home Office:
All the old stuff!

The second option would certainly be easier to pull to your display, as an HDMI cable needs at least a 1-1/2" conduit and pulling a second one in with one already there would probably be easiest with at least a 2" pipe (unless you are just pulling through a ceiling space and walls all the way there). I'd probably do an HDMI-to-HDMI cable and an HDMI-to-DVI adapter from the 990 to the display, though, just as future-proofing for that long run. That way, if you replace the 990 later with something that uses HDMI instead you can just drop the adapter out of the way and retain that long cable. (You could use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter later, but due to weight issues it's must easier to use a DVI adapter and an HDMI cable than the other way around since the DVI adapter can be secured in place with the set screws.) I'd also get cables with as little extra length as possible, as the HDMI spec (like the DVI spec that it borrowed from) is capped at 15 meters. Exceeding that length (the 50 foot run you see so much of) gets into uncharted territory, and for a cable that length to work requires oversized conductors and good terminations (or a booster of some sort, of course). If you can get by with a 30' cable and some 3' to 6' cables at the 990, I'd certainly lean toward doing that.

What you might do is pull one 30' HDMI cable in and test both approaches - go straight to the display from each source to test how they work, then use an adapter and a short DVI-to-HDMI cable to test running through the 990 for each. My suspicion is that as long as that long cable works, you can use the 990's switching and save yourself the hassle and expense of a second long HDMI cable.

Thanks Gonk!

I really appreciate the suggestions and advice. I will try it with one HDMI/HDMI and a DVI adapter to run some test with the sources. I think the less connections the better, but if my eyes can't tell the diff, what's the point?

....off to the cabling folks!!!
(sung to the tune of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road")

Thanks again!