Tips On Using Proper Cable Lengths for Samsung Smart TV

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction: Samsung Smart TV: Cable Lengths

After a certain amount of distance data degrades within cables. You'll want to keep your cabling within certain measurements to make sure your picture is crisp and doesn't stutter.

2. Smart TV: Cable Lengths

HDMI CablesHDMI Cable

HDMI Port

While older cables may only deliver crisp pictures with lengths 15 feet and below, the newer cables are capable of working up to 50 feet long. Be careful not to bend the cable or the connector. If you're looking for a cable to stretch 7 feet, go ahead and get a 10 foot cable to avoid unnecessary strain on the connectors.

Coaxial Cables

Coaxial cables are regularly used to connect your modem or cable box to your ISP's box outside. While they used to be used to connect your television as well, they've been pushed back by the HDMI cable. Shorter is better for most cables, but the coaxial can stretch a little further. Still, you'd want to stay within the 50 foot range.

Ethernet Cables

Ethernet Cable

Ethernet Port

Ethernet cables are used for networking. They're the ones you use to connect your modem to your router. Like the HDMI and Coaxial, you want to stay below 50 feet if possible. Anything beyond opens you up to signal degredation.

3. Home Theater: Cable Management

We can now begin bundling together and making the cables behind your system neat and tidy.

You can use one, or multiple different methods to give the look, and accessibility you want to the wiring of your home theater system.

Cable bundling

Cable bundling will most likely be the first step in cleaning up the cables from your home theater installation.

Cable Ties

Sometimes called zip ties, these are plastic, with a groove on one side, and a simple locking mechanism on the other. After securing the cables, cut off the remaining end of the cable tie. Given their incredibly low price, they are disposable. When you need to add another cable, you cut the old one off, and just use a new one.

Velcro Straps

Much like cable ties, a simple Velcro strap has hooks on one side, felt on the other. The benefit is they can be easily un-bundled or added to, without cutting the strip and having to use another.

Raceways

Sometimes called cable tunnels, these are for where cables are exposed, such as between your television and receiver, or going to your speakers. They place a cover over your cables to hide them in an aesthetically pleasing way. Many have little notches to lock your cables into.

Leave slack at your bundle points.
Do not tighten down any strap too much, you want some give and movement in case something shifts, and you don't want to accidentally cut, bend, crimp, or otherwise damage your cables.

Adhesive Pads
Small, sticky pads to attach your bundles to. Some come built-into various straps or ties, some are reusable, such as adhesive putties.

Do not bundle power cables with any other cables.
Power, by its very nature, creates an electromagnetic field when flowing through a cable. This can severely degrade quality for other cables they are bundled with, especially speaker wire. It's best to keep these as far away from other cables as possible, in their own bundle, for example.

Label Everything

During your bundling process, it's often a good idea to use small labels near the ends of each cable, just in case you need to disconnect something in the future. You can use a label printer to make these, but a small strip of masking tape works just as well.

For example, on your Blu-ray player's HDMI cable, a little loop of tape saying "Blu-ray" where it connects to your Blu-ray player, and where it connects to the receiver, can help you immensely should you replace the player, or the receiver, somewhere down the line. Likewise for power cables.