On January 29, 2015 at 13:13, Ernie Gilman said...
Well, now that 1080p is dead (
[Link: residentialsystems.com]) and a client just bought a random 4K TV to install, I'm here asking for the best of your ideas to update me as to what cabling to run between an AVR and a 4K TV.
Let's say there's room for smurf tube. I hope there is.
Let's say the client wants streaming services. Most will, I think. I'm inclined to go with yesterday's advice and use a Blu-ray player for that (but how long will those be around?) or standalone streaming box. Is it still insane to think of using an integrated remote on a system with an AVR, but use the TV for streaming services?
Let's say the wiring needs to go thirty feet, maybe forty...
What would you run in the walls to be, hopefully, ready for one more step of video evolution past today?
And what's the minimum download speed required for streaming video these days?
from cabling perspective nothing really changes with 4K.
What I mean is that for video if you used HDMI with 1080p it is the same high speed cable you used with 1080p. For Audio, it is not affected by 4k but if you want dolby Atmos oir the DTS equivalent the cabeling won't be different but there will be more of it terminating in more locations. For internet if you went wireless with 1080p, then there was no cabeling and you can continue wirelessly, if it was Ethernet, the same cable will continue to do the job and if you used Ethernet over HDMI again that same Ethernet over HDMI cable will do the job.
As for the next step, you can never be ready for it (i.e. even if you wanted to you can't go out and buy ultra high speed HDMI if it is added to specs eventually)so like you said tubing is the best idea and that is only because it makes any future necessary upgrade (or replacement) easier.
as for smart TV vs external box, I still feel that if there is a "budgetary" reason the smart TV can do the job but otherwise an outside box is preferable because of
1)if the TV's wireless messes up you need a new TV instead of a cheap external box
2) if something new comes along TVs don't tend to be as upgradable and even if the existing external box is not it is better for the client to replace a cheap external box than a new TV
3) the audio conundrum: not all TVs support 5.1 audio from streaming and can output it to the AVR. Even if the TV can, now you are talking about bringing the audio from the TV to the receiver (let's say your example of 30-40') instead of from a device that is on the same rack with the AVR.
As for min speeds that would depend on the exact question (situation). For example if you want Netflix's highest quality 4K then it needs a stable 25Mbps. But if there is less BW it can lower the bitrate and quality (and eventually the resolution) so someone can still have a movie playing with a lot less BW. On the other hand any such number is also pretty much useless since that is what is needed for one stream and not what the client needs. So if in a household you have one person watching 4k and one watching HD that would be 25+5=30Mbps and if you want two people watching different HD it would be 25+25=50Mbps. And if we add surfing the web or receiving e-mail..... all of those also need extra BW and should be used in any calculation....
