EXTEND YOUR HDMI CONNECTION: CABLE OR REPEATER?

Using typical extension cables isn’t the only way to extend your HDMI cables. If you need to get your HDMI signal across longer distances without sacrificing performance, an active repeater paired with two longer cables is a good option.

You can extend any type of cable – including HDMI cables. Let’s consider a typical scenario where you need to present at the office and have to connect your laptop to the screen or projector in the conference room. In such cases, a long cable is a good idea as it offers greater flexibility, freeing you from having to sit right next to the screen or projector with your laptop.

For medium distances: A typical extension cable is your lifesaver

If you already have an HDMI cable but it is too short, using an extension cable is a good idea. This is also useful if the cables are fixed in place and difficult to get at. At KabelDirekt you’ll find extension cables in various lengths up to ten metres, and they all support HDMI 2.0 and 1.4. They can carry a resolution of up to 4K at 60Hz, making them perfect for office purposes – they’re also ideal for your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, enabling you to play games at the best resolution and at 60fps.

Although 7.1 surround sound, ARC (Audio Return Channel), and Ethernet data are also supported, ultimately the features that are available depend on the connected cable and the devices used. The total cable length also has an impact: Unlike optical cables, the downside with copper cables is that performance decreases the longer they are – but they are significantly cheaper.

For totally interference-free signal transmission, our premium HDMI extension cables are machine soldered and put through rigorous functionality tests. And for flawless performance, our cables have gold-plated connectors and multi-layer shielding.

For long distances: Choose an active repeater

If even a 10 metre extension cable won’t bridge the distance, you should consider an active repeater. It amplifies the video and audio signal from the HDMI source and supports a bandwidth of 6Gbit/s per channel, for a total of 18Gbit/s. With one of these, you can still enjoy 4K content at 60fps even with a cable length of 25 metres. Such a high resolution is still possible at 40 metres, but only at 30Hz – and you can still enjoy interference-free 1080p at up to 50 metres. Our active HDMI 2.0 repeater also supports HDR and YUV 4:4:4.

One key thing to bear in mind is that to power the active repeater, you’ll need to hook it up to the USB output on your device or a USB charger. You’ll also need two HDMI cables: One to connect the repeater to your computer, DVD or Blu-ray player, receiver, or video game console, and another to connect the repeater to your screen.