High Performance DVI Cable
DVI
cables have become an integral part of today's high performance home theater
systems. Computers have used them for years and now manufacturers are
including them in practically all new high performance home theater displays
and set-top boxes. Connecting DVI compliant equipment is simple and is
usually not a problem unless you require long cables runs. Plasmas, LCDs
and RPTVs usually require moderate cable lengths in most installations
since the equipment driving the display is fairly close. However, some
systems that use projectors located in the rear of the theater room require
long cable runs, often times exceeding the longest DVI cables available.
The problem has to do primarily with the cable itself and the degradation
of the signal due to impedance problems and line capacitance, all of which
tend to reduce the signal integrity over long cable runs.
Transparent Audio has a new High Performance DVI cable (HPDVI) that provides excellent performance on DVI compliant products with cable lengths up to 30 feet. According to Transparent, some devices can even handle longer cable lengths with this design. The cable construction is solid with gold-plated contacts . Transparent also offers a new Premium DVI cable (PDVI) that provides superior performance on DVI compliant products with cable lengths up to an amazing 65 feet. This is accomplished by using superior shielding, precision 100-ohm impedance control and Teflon insulating materials. Transparent has kept in mind the possibility of needing adapters or optional cable connections to support new formats such as HDMI. As a result, they offer preterminated cable lengths and a variety of connection options and adapters for their new performance cables.
We connected the 30 foot High Performance DVI cable between our Mitsubishi HD-5000 A/V controller and Marantz VP-12S2 projector for our tests. The picture was excellent with no problems in the video whatsoever. Whether we used 720p or 1080i, video looked spectacular with the 30-foot HPDVI cable from Transparent.
- Kevin Nakano