How to run 250ft HDMI cable without loosing quality?

A cable run of that length is not easy. You certainly can't just run a big long HDMI cable - you'll have trouble after about 30 or 40 feet. HDMI over CAT6 gives you slightly better range, but even when using proper, shielded CAT6 and a high end transmitter you will still only get 80-100 feet, realistically.

Could you use multiple HDMI amplifiers? Something like this looks promising

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041914&p_id=2849&seq=1&format=2

But I would be very wary of putting multiple of them in series. Even if it does work, which isn't guaranteed you will certainly have latency issues.

This equipment quickly gets expensive, too. An amplifier / repeater / booster / something or other which is capable of this will easily run you several hundred dollars, not to mention the cost of the cable itself.

Surely there is a better solution to this - what are you actually doing on your laptop that requires that you connect it to your TV? Is it something that could perhaps be solved by having a small Home Theatre PC, an Apple TV or Boxee Box, WD Live or some other device like that which you could place closer to your TV instead?

I wouldn't mind using multiple amplifiers as they won't be visible, they have to work though :)

It's for a church setup, we will be playing dvd/videos/lyrics, all from a software we use on the laptop. Would you have better suggestion besides the amplifiers?

I saw a 1 to 8 hdmi amplifier it was about $120, was thinking in maybe putting 100ft cable from latop to that amplifier and 2x 75ft with something in between... I though they would already have a simpler solution for this already out there :/

I never used hdmi over CAT6, how does that work? is it reliable? we can get more than 100ft on CAT6 no?

There is a Cat-6 HDMI extender available that claims a 300' capability (most of these are limited to ~ 100'):    http://www.networktechinc.com/hdmi-extender.html


Another alternative is to simply modulate your output to an HD TV channel.    Then you can simply distribute it via normal coax, and just tune the TVs to the connected channel.    This essentially eliminates any distance constraints -- if you need better signal strength you simply use any good TV distribution amp ( < $100).    Clearly whether or not this is a good alternative (excluding the cost aspect) is whether or not you've already got a coax infrastructure running to the TVs (i.e. is there already cable run to them? ... if so, you can add a dedicated "church channel" that would have the programming you want to display on it)

But an HD modulator is NOT inexpensive -- e.g. http://www.goelectronic.com/ZEEVEE%20ZVPRO%20280.html?source=googleps&gclid=CJXH4oeZj7YCFbGPPAodlVgAoA

How far is the TV line of sight? You might be able to send wireless HDMI signal depending on the layout of your building.

For instance, you can run an HDMI cable to a nearby location that has line of site to the far away TV, then you can use one of these:

http://nyrius.com/products/display.php?id=122

@garycase, you think the Cat6 you suggested is reliable?

well... so far I bought a 50ft cable and connected directly, as temporary solution I had to move the laptop closer to the TV, which is not ideal but is working now. Sounds and image is good so far. I'll try adding a splitter soon, but still afraid of buying the stuff and getting a huge delay when playing back some video. Besides HDMI, would I have another solution that is not expensive? Wireless wouldn't work much (I think) as we have a bunch of concrete wall that can make signal week, we're running cables through the wall. I'm thinking I can really do this with 200ft but nothing less.  Would you guys think 2 splitter would do it? or 2x 100ft cable and only one splitter/amplifier? Also as far as brand for splitter/amplifier should I look for any in specific, going out to buy one tomorrow. Thanks!

I'm thinking I can really do this with 200ft but nothing less.  Would you guys think 2 splitter would do it? or 2x 100ft cable and only one splitter/amplifier?

Since there is no guarantee on the outcome, you can try a 200 foot setup with everything in the same room including the 200 feet of cable (coiled up). If it works, then it will likely work when you install it permanently. In other words you can test a scenario first, then install it.

The Cat-6 extenders are VERY reliable.   It's also much easier to string Cat-6 cable than long HDMI cables :-)

The Sabrent Cat-6 extender in Michael's post above is a good choice if you've decided to go with a resolution lower than 1080p (as I suggested earlier you should consider).