I have a nice set up down stairs with HDMI, receiver DLP etc. Builder built the TV into an enclosure with access in the back....works great, allows me to adapt.

However, through the rest of the house, most of my other receivers were just coax hook ups and I didn't look far enough ahead when I built to put in extra connectors.

Here is my problem. I feed my Living room plasma (above my fireplace) from my bedroom receiver (RF remote). My old receiver only had coax secondary output...my new HD receiver only has component, A/V and HDMI. Both are on an outside wall, same floor so I should be able to go outside and run the 30' along the siding.

How can this be done discreetly, can I run an HDMI cable so that there are fewer cables or are all the ends pre-formed? I might have an HDMI wall plate put at both locations...but connecting those together I hear is the issue.

You will pretty much get similar results if you use a Mini RGB/Component Video (bundled) cable or a HDMI cable. Using HDMI pass through wallplates should not be an issue. To run it discretely you can use a Small Raceway stuck on the siding, such as one from racetrak

Does the installer need specfic length cable for HDMI or can the cable be cut to fit at site? If not the HDMI, then can the Mini RGB be cut to fit at site?

If this is possible, the the hole I cut into the wall can be much smaller.

Impossible to field terminate. Any RGB wire can be filed terminated to custom lengths. HDMI will eventually work. It will take some time for all of the software issues to be worked out, especially in terms of manufacturer compliance with the HDMI specification. At some point, it will be economically important for them to make this connection work. At the moment there is no financial incentive for anyone on any level to make this connecction work as there really is insufficent content available at high resolutions. As content providers look to find additional revenue streams and begin to make available video games, on demand video downloads, new movies, and lord knows what else they may desire to attempt to sell, it will be in everyone's financial interest to comply with the standard and insure that all parties, from hardware manufacturers to content providers, do indeed comply.

There will also be a benefit at that point to an all digital path for video without the additional D/A and A/D conversions analog signal transmission currently requires. Try to guesstimate the length of HDMI wire you need. if your distance is 60' you will need a 75' cable. If it's 120 ft you will need a 75' cable, a HDMI repeater, and a 50' HDMI cable. Dealing with the excess cable will be a pain but such will be life. There has been talk of using CAT5 to carry HDMI signals. You will need 2 CAT5s for this but your distance limitation will be severe. Fiber is an other alternative and can be custom terminated in the filed though I'd bet most of us have never done it and do not know who to do it. Some commercial flat panels have card slots for which third parties manufacturer solutions. One of those is a fiber card. Alternatively, you can
use HDMI-to fiber and back to HDMI solutions. Pioneer has a propritary solution ( that is OEM'ed from.............?) and Geffen has one. I am sure there are others. These solutions are expensive.

Alan

You can't field terminate HDMI

So the best best is mini RGB, which can be field terminated, thus making the hole in my wall managable? Only downfall is I now have to run (5) cables.

You should really contact a local dealer on this one.

Did today...I just wanted to know what my options were. I always feel much better if I understand what needs to be done, even if I'm not doing the work.

One install where I did some contract remote control programming used a couple of Gefen boxes and 2 CAT5s to do this. It ran about 70 feet (this is the one I had where switching the HDMI input on a Gefen switcher caused the cable box to switch to channel 1, the on-demand channel).

Worked great for a few weeks, then ? ? I was not in contract with the installer more than to know that they converted to component and analog audio. Good thing they ran 2 CAT5s!