AV Signal Distance Chart
Reach by link type across the AV trade, with the basis labeled per row — HDBaseT classes and USB 2.0 are specs; HDMI copper reaches are practice figures precisely because the hdmi spec defines no maximum cable length — only signal compliance; SDI reach depends on the cable grade as much as the standard.
Reach by link type
| Link type | Reach | Carries | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI passive copper — 1080p class | ~15 m (50 ft) reliable | 1080p / ≤10.2 Gbps | practice |
| HDMI passive copper — 4K60 (18G) | ~3–5 m (10–15 ft) | 4K60 4:4:4 / HDR | practice |
| HDMI passive copper — 8K (48G certified) | ~3 m (10 ft) | 8K / 4K120 | practice |
| HDMI active optical (AOC) | 10–100 m typical | 18G / 48G per rating | vendor |
| HDBaseT Class A (1.0) | 100 m (1080p); ~70 m at 4K | 5Play incl. Ethernet | spec |
| HDBaseT Class B ("Lite") | 70 m (1080p); ~40 m at 4K30 | No Ethernet | spec |
| HDBaseT 2.0 | 100 m over Cat6 (90 m Cat5e) | 4K30 4:4:4 / 4K60 4:2:0 | spec |
| HDBaseT 3.0 | 100 m (Cat6A recommended) | Uncompressed 4K60 4:4:4 + GbE | spec |
| AV-over-IP, 1G | 100 m/hop copper; km on fiber | Compressed 4K (JPEG-class / H.26x) | spec |
| AV-over-IP, 10G (SDVoE) | 100 m/hop Cat6A; 10 km+ SM fiber | Uncompressed-class 4K60 4:4:4 | spec |
| USB 2.0 passive | 5 m per hop | 480 Mbps | spec |
| USB 3.x 5G passive | 2–3 m | 5 Gbps | practice |
| USB-C 10G passive | ~1 m (0.8–1 m) | 10 Gbps | practice |
| USB over Cat/fiber extender | 50–100 m mainstream | Per extender rating | vendor |
| 3G-SDI on quality RG6 | ~78 m (1694A-class) | 1080p60 | vendor |
| 12G-SDI on 12G-rated RG6 | ~70 m (30–45 m on legacy/mini coax) | 4K60 | vendor |
The pattern behind the numbers
Every AV distance problem has the same three answers in ascending cost: a better/active cable (optical HDMI), a purpose-built extender (HDBaseT over the Cat6A already in the walls — see the category chart), or putting the signal on the network (AV-over-IP, which inherits ethernet's 100 m-per-hop rules and fiber reach). The design smell to avoid: a 40 ft passive HDMI cable in a conduit — barely legal at 1080p today, dead the day the source becomes 4K.
Common questions
How long can an HDMI cable be?
Trick question — the hdmi spec defines no maximum cable length — only signal compliance. In practice, passive copper reliably carries 1080p about 50 ft, 18 Gbps 4K60 only 10–15 ft, and certified 48G cables top out around 10 ft. Past those, the answer is active optical HDMI (10–100 m) or a category-cable/IP extender — not a longer passive cable.
How far can HDBaseT go?
By class: Class A carries 1080p to 100 m but 4K only to about 70 m; Class B ("Lite") does 70 m at 1080p and ~40 m at 4K30. HDBaseT 2.0 carries 4K60 4:2:0 the full 100 m over Cat6, and 3.0 carries uncompressed 4K60 4:4:4 to 100 m. The widely repeated "HDBaseT = 4K at 100 m" needs the class and chroma fine print to be true.
What replaced long HDMI runs in commercial AV?
AV-over-IP. It rides standard ethernet — 100 m per copper hop, kilometers on fiber, switched like any other traffic. The 1G tier compresses (visually lossless for most content); the 10G tier (SDVoE-class) carries essentially uncompressed 4K60 with frame-level latency. The cabling is the same Cat6A plant as everything else — which is exactly the point.
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