DIY HDMI and USB Over Ethernet – An Extender Alternative

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This is way past my level of expertise, but if you’re willing to invest the time this is pretty awesome. Being able to get HDMI via Ethernet allows you to go much further than before…with some effort of course. Great write up over at Geektonic.

 

Geektonic

I had heard of VGA over CAT5 Ethernet cable so that is where I started. Then I came across HDMI over CAT5e or CAT6. In my opinion this made more sense as HDMI is the one cable to rule them all or I wouldn’t have to worry about a separate sound cable and HDCP issues. A quick Google search revealed that USB over CAT5 was possible as well. I have to admit though, the actual challenge of getting the equipment, running the cabling, setting up the server, and fabricating was tougher than I imagined. About halfway through this project I figured someone somewhere could benefit from what I was about to learn. Plus, Brent was nice enough to allow me to chronicle this and post it up on Geektonic for all the readers to see and hopefully get some ideas. I repeat, though, my particular setup was to save some money. So keep that in mind because this may not be the ideal way to get SageTV into another room.