Need HDMI wiring for efficient multi-room DVR setup?

[energy_conscious]

Hi,

My wife and I are building a net-zero energy house, and could use some advice figuring out how to wire things so we can most efficiently store and distribute HD video from a DVR. Here's what I'm hoping to be able to do:

1) Have Verizon FIOS connected to a single DVR with lots of storage that will record HD HBO shows and movies, sports, etc. And when the DVR is not being used or actively recording, it should be an extremely low power standby state. We love TIVO, but it doesn't seem to have a minimal power standby state...

2) Be able to control and view the content recorded on that DVR from other rooms. Do we need to wire HDMI between the rooms to do so?? And I presume there's a way to control a DVR without line of sight?

3) Have some way to watch different recorded shows at the same time in different rooms. To do that, it seems we'd need either:

a: A DVR that's capable of playing more than one show at once and for each of those to be independently controlled. And, of course, which has a minimal power standby state. Does such a DVR exist??

b: An auxiliary box in the other rooms that can be kept in a no to minimal power standby state almost all the time until we need to view a different show than what the main DVR is displaying. We'd then need a way to quickly switch that box to an active state, and have it upload and display the program from the main DVR in real time while that DVR is playing a different show elsewhere (perhaps over our CAT-6 network?). Does such a box exist??

4) A bonus feature would be able to play DVDs from the main DVR (and therefore be able to display them in other rooms), but we could live without that...

Can anyone point me in that right direction? In particular, we urgently need to know how to wire between the rooms (i.e. do we need HDMI wire and if so what kind?), as the electrician is working on that now...

Also, please let me know if there's another good place to post this.

Thanks!

 

[JimS]

Mythtv is a Linux based DVR that can do all you are looking for but would require some setup. It is free and open source. One "backend" could have multiple tuners to record multiple shows. A "frontend" in another location would be connected by network for the show information. The frontend could be a fairly low power media PC that is only switched on when needed.

Each front end can have a USB media IR receiver for DVR control. These signals also go through the network.

 

[apostolakisl]

I have a single DVR with a splitter and multiple HDMI cables. The HDMI cables are 50 feet and there is no problem with the signal. I bought it all on ebay. The cables cost about $35 a piece and the 4 way splitter was $50. FYI, all TV's much watch the same thing. Make sure you get a splitter, not a switch. Tons of people advertising "splitters" when they really are selling switches. Also, you will see some people selling HDMI cables for way more money. This is a complete waste of your money. HDMI pretty much works or it doesn't, a $200 wire that works will look the same as a $35 one that works. If you want to "future proof" and get the latest spec, go for it. I set my system up before that was invented and don't really know if I will ever care to have the newer wire standard.

I have a Harmony 890 which has RF capacity. So it controls the DVR (and everything else) through walls. They have the "pro" version of the Harmony which can have more than one remote controlling a single base station. This is far and away the most expensive part of this project.

I have a fourth TV which I haven't gotten around to wiring yet. It is almost 100 feet away which is too long for HDMI. I picked up a couple of HDMI to CAT5 baloons on ebay for about $25. I hope it works! It takes two CAT5's to carry HDMI using this technique.

 

[jumbodogs]

I have a fourth TV which I haven't gotten around to wiring yet. It is almost 100 feet away which is too long for HDMI. I picked up a couple of HDMI to CAT5 baloons on ebay for about $25. I hope it works! It takes two CAT5's to carry HDMI using this technique

Just wondering how you made out with those? I am thinking about trying something like that.

 

[apostolakisl]

Ahh yes, it's still sitting on the counter. I will take this as inspiration to wire it up tonight!

 

[apostolakisl]

So far, not working.

I ran 2 cat5e lines to the room and crimped on the rj45 terminators. I tested them via hooking up to a 100mb LAN and they worked fine. I tried gigabit lan, and they didn't work. So, I will need to check further to see if perhaps my rj45's aren't getting contact with all the strands or if it is just too much distance. I will ohm them out when I have an assistant handy. The length of the lines is probably a bit over 150 feet. It would be possible for me to probably get them down to 100 feet but would require a much more complex wire pulling endeavor. (I would have to go in the floor space/ceiling space between the first and second floor instead of over the top through the attic. It is possible to get in there as we have trusses that are about 18 inches thick, and there are some spots that you can get to the side of them.

 

[apostolakisl]

I ohmed the wires out by taking a cat5 keystone jack and shorting out each pair at one end by punching down a short piece of wire across each color's two contacts. I plugged the other end into another keystone cat5 jack and checked the pairs on the punch downs with an ohm meter.

They all worked.

So, no problems with the crimped on rj 45's or otherwise non-conducting wires. It must be length. Uhggg. I don't know if I am going to bother with it. Certainly not tonight. It may also just be that those things don't work very well. It is true that gigabit is not working either so I am not ready to blame the hdmi gizmo yet.

 

[Sacarino]

So, no problems with the crimped on rj 45's or otherwise non-conducting wires. It must be length. Uhggg. I don't know if I am going to bother with it. Certainly not tonight. It may also just be that those things don't work very well. It is true that gigabit is not working either so I am not ready to blame the hdmi gizmo yet.

Try a repeater, see if that helps... something like this

 

[apostolakisl]

Try a repeater, see if that helps... something like this

That's is a good idea, but it would requier that I buy a second set of cat5 to hdmi converters.

 

[tmbrown97]

Here's a 131ft cable
http://www.monoprice...&seq=1&format=2

I've played with a few of those Cat5 extenders - the only ones I had any luck with were the ones that cost about $500. The rest never worked correctly.

 

[apostolakisl]

Here's a 131ft cable
http://www.monoprice...&seq=1&format=2

I've played with a few of those Cat5 extenders - the only ones I had any luck with were the ones that cost about $500. The rest never worked correctly.

That is a pretty good price for 130 feet, as long as it works! I will still have to fish it through the floor/ceiling becuase I don't think 130 feet will make it up, over, and around. First, I will fish the cat5 through (since I already own it) and if it doesn't work I will use the cat5 to pull the hdmi through.

 

[drvnbysound]

I find it interesting that you are not getting Gigabit connection with the connection you provided - assuming you are using Cat5E (vs older Cat5 cable). You should be able to get Gigabit connection up to 100m (328ft). Is all of the hardware (e.g. NIC cards / switches) that you are using rated for Gigabit?

I have found that some users have attempted similar testing, only to find that the NIC card in the laptop they were using to be 10/100(MB) - the same could be true of any hardware involved in the test.

 

[apostolakisl]

My laptop has a Broadcom Netlink Gigabit Ethernet adapter and I have a gigabit switch as well as a 100mb router. If I plug into the router it works, if I plug into the switch, it doesn't. If I plug into the switch at shorter distances, it works. And it is cat5e wire. I just bought the box of wire a couple months ago. I don't think they even make cat5 anymore.

I am quite certain I have not hit 100m, but I wouldn't be the least surprised if it is 50m.

 

[Sacarino]

I've played with a few of those Cat5 extenders - the only ones I had any luck with were the ones that cost about $500. The rest never worked correctly.

The general problem with them (at least the ones I've tried) has been that the extender claims to support the HDCP handshake but clearly doesn't. The little LEDs are lit up to indicate a signal and all but the TV stays blank... fail!

Love Monoprice for my cables - their customer service has been great any time I had a problem. I hear that Blue Jeans Cable is quality at a decent price as well, although I've never tried them.

 

[Kevin L]

This is what I used in my home. It wasn't cheap, but it's been flawless. I have two 50' runs and two 85' runs.

http://www.rapidrun.com/home-theater.asp

Kevin