As the way we use our computers changes, new problems always crop up that need a solution. In my case, I’ve had to deal with big gaps between my display device and computer. The solutions have been various, but only recently did I spot a long HDMI cable that was perfect for my needs.
Based on what I know about maximum HDMI cable length, there was a good chance that I was just throwing away money at a solution that wouldn’t work. However, it turned out that it works perfectly, and it’s finally polished up a setup I’ve been trying to perfect for a long time.
It solved a problem I’d been overthinking for years
Long before HDMI, I had been connecting my computers to distant displays using analog connections. Analog connections such as VGA and composite cables have surprisingly long maximum lengths before they need amplification.
VGA cables running SD resolution can be as long as 150ft and composite cables can hit 100ft with cheap cables and even more with high-quality ones. When I moved into my first place and had most of my media on my computer, I ran composite cables from my PC across my entire apartment with no issues. It’s an advantage of analog video cables that’s overlooked these days.
Long HDMI cables aren’t supposed to work this well
HDMI cables are typically between 3ft and15ft at most for high-end use like 4K at 120Hz. In the early days, longer cables would require active repeaters to work, but there are other options now. There are active cables, which contain powered electronics to amplify the signal. There’s fiber-optic HDMI, HDMI over Ethernet, and, in my case, a cable that’s simply high-quality enough to preserve the signal integrity.
What I purchased was a 10M (33ft) HDMI 2.1 certified cable. As far as I can tell from both the price of the cable and its documentation, it’s not an active cable. Instead, it has “gold-plated connectors, 26AWG conductors, and durable OD8.2 mm build with aluminum braiding and triple shielding.”
Marketing fluff or not, the fact of the matter is that the cable works perfectly. I’ve been using it daily for about a month as of this writing, running at 120Hz at 4K UHD, with HDR activated and G-Sync engaged. Not a flicker. Sadly, it’s a local brand, so my wonderful readers in the USA won’t benefit from me name-dropping it, but as long as the cable you buy is certified (or active), it should work just fine.
It changed how I actually use my TV and laptop
What exactly am I doing with such a long cable? It’s probably easier just to show you.
What you’re seeing here is my downstairs setup (not my office), which I mostly use for entertainment and less often for work when I don’t feel like being cooped up in my dedicated work space. I have my laptop connected to two monitors. A 4K 144Hz mini-LED TV and a CRT monitor. This allows me to play retro games and modern games as needed. However, with such a large screen, it needs to be quite a distance from me to be usable.
With the long cable, I simply routed it under my rugs (I’m considering using stage tape to hold down the exposed section), allowing me to keep my laptop close at hand and still use it with the large TV turned off. My other alternative would have been to put the laptop up front where the TV is, but that would not allow the rest of my setup to function properly. The cable is currently longer than I strictly need it to be, giving me the flexibility to change this setup in the future if I change my mind.
Gaming performance didn’t suffer at all
The biggest worry is that I would not be able to take advantage of the resolution and refresh rate offered by my TV. The GPU in my laptop can run older games at 4K and well over 60 frames per second and newer games with the help of technologies like DLSS.
Despite the length of the cable, I had no issues at all and did not experience any latency. In fact, in older games where I could hit 120fps at 4K, the NVIDIA overlay for my GPU shows zero seconds of system latency, and it felt like it.
The only time I pushed the cable past its limits was when I tried to max out the color bit depth above the default, which causes infrequent blackouts, but that’s just my fault for turning up a dial that had no reason to be adjusted.
This whole time I was thinking of elaborate solutions, like mounting my laptop, using Steam in-home streaming, or investing in an expensive active cable. Deciding to risk $25 on a cable that I expected not to work turned out to be a good gamble and a reminder that I need to update my assumptions as technology improves.
