TV Upgrade Cable Routing

Give wireless HDMI a look before you start pulling HDMI cable.

The longest you can go with HDMI cables is about 35 foot. Longer and the signal may not make it. Current RV's that use HDMI use a powered booster that feeds up to 5 TV's. You can also use Cat 5 cable and buy the Cat to HDMI or Component adapter. That is what current Tiffin motorhomes are using. Doug

I was going to suggest wireless also, but TechWriter beat me to it. The ioGear he pointed to looks pretty good to me. Pulling HDMI cable is tougher because of the large connector on each end. If you do buy HDMI cable, check Amazon - I got 25' there for under $20 (works great) while my local audiophile store was over $100 for 25'.

You also may not need HD on the other TV's. If HD on the main TV and the SD version on the other TV's work then you can use an RF modulator to send the signal via coax throughout the coach.

Most TVs and components still have coax cable connectors in addition to HDMI. In our case, as we are not using any satellite, I am just using coax that was installed in our coach. Believe it or not, High def signals work just as good for the purpose as HDMI. The major limit is how good of a signal you have in the first place. If we are local to a good OTA station, I get a really good HD picture. Another thing, the picture can never be any better that what comes down a coax from the antenna. I do have my DVD player attached to our main TV via HDMI, but it is also connected to the back TV via coax, and we can't tell the difference.

Johno02 wrote:
Most TVs and components still have coax cable connectors in addition to HDMI. In our case, as we are not using any satellite, I am just using coax that was installed in our coach. Believe it or not, High def signals work just as good for the purpose as HDMI. The major limit is how good of a signal you have in the first place. If we are local to a good OTA station, I get a really good HD picture.

Yep, OTA HDTV can work fine with coax.

The flip of that coin is that newer sat receivers, like DISH's Hopper & DirecTV's Genie, are designed to send HD signals over regular coax -- options to consider before you start pulling HDMI cable.

I have the same motorhome except in 35 foot and I'm doing the same thing. Somewhere in here I have a thread on it. I'll try and find it and post a link. I bought a 35 foot HDMI cable and I'm going to route it attached to the ceiling. Home Depot carries plastic channels designed for cables. I'm going to attach it to the ceiling and just run the cable straight back to the TV.

I didn't make this decision easily. I researched the wireless transmitters and the plus and cons and also looked at various ways to try and route the cable in some other manner. There was just no simply solution to this problem. The ceiling already has vents and lights and various things hanging from it so I figure a plastic channel running the length of the motorhome isn't really going to look that bad. I have seen other photos on here where people have used the channels for various things and they don't look that bad at all. And if the cable ever goes bad, just snap the cover off the channel and pull the cable out and replace it.

msmith1199 wrote:
And if the cable ever goes bad, just snap the cover off the channel and pull the cable out and replace it.

Or, when you need the next generation of cable ran :)

Click Here This link is to my TV upgrade project. I actually quit working on it back in September and never got back to it. But I'm going to get back to it soon.

I just finished an HDMI run in a Class A. In this case I ran it into the basement and as far forward as I could get . Once outside I covered in slit wrap and zip tied it to a harness that continued up and finally punched a hole in the floor and up a column and to the receiver. I used a 50' cable and it works fine. Just don't get too cheap or it won't.

Also, do not buy passive splitters, they are nothing but problems. A 1x2 active splitter is less than $20, and draws very little power.