As useful and essential as HDMI cables are, they can be a major pain. Running long cables from your laptop to your TV is not only annoying, having long cables running all over the floor isn’t exactly what you’d call “décor.” That’s where HDMI extenders come in.
HDMI extenders are great for the home, but they can be a godsend in the office as well. Especially when it comes to presentations in the board room. Nobody likes to call IT to get their screen sharing working in a meeting. HDMI extenders can make the process simple with no interaction with IT required.
How Do HDMI Extenders Work?
HDMI extenders use a signal transmitter and receiver to send the audio and video signal wirelessly without the use of having to run a long HDMI cable from the source to the TV. Think of it as when you use a wireless mouse that has a USB dongle connected to your laptop — pretty much the same concept.
There are two kinds of transmitters — plug-and-play and options that require LAN. Plug-and-play options generally use IR signals to send the audio and video signal from the transmitter to the receiver and are best for in-home use. What is nice about that is you don’t need an extra LAN cable to your wireless router — it really is plug-and-play. The downside is that these options generally have a shorter wireless range and are more expensive.
HDMI extenders that use a LAN cable to connect to your wireless router generally have much longer signal distribution by sending the signal over your wireless network. And these extenders are usually less expensive than plug-and-play options. Of course, the downside is buying and connecting LAN cables to your network. These are better for office settings and for town hall-style or keynote presentations.
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What Are the Best HDMI Extenders For Sale?
There are a variety of options for both home use and in the office. We recommend going with a plug-and-play style HDMI extender for in-home for ease of use. Office settings can benefit more from LAN-style extenders with longer transmission lengths.
Once you decide between home and office use, you’ll find a great HDMI extender for your needs below:
1. BenQ InstaShow WDC10
GREAT FOR CONFERENCE ROOMS
The great thing about this HDMI extender is it comes with two connectivity devices to switch between users. This is great for meetings so your team can make a collaborative effort in sharing information with the group without having to make someone from your team give the entire presentation. Plus, it can connect up to 16 adapters at once (go team!). It has a range of about 30 ft, making it ideal for office spaces and is virtually plug and play, so no need to get IT involved.
2. J-Tech Digital HDMI Extender
200 ft RANGE
It’s never fun running long HDMI cables from one device, like a laptop, to a TV or projector. Plus, having long cables running all over the floor looks plain awful. The J-Tech Digital HDMI Extender can send your HDMI signal wirelessly up to 200 ft. This is ideal for home theater rooms or even boardrooms for presentations. It is recommended to use a Cat6/Cat7 LAN cable for the best, lag-free signal sending.
3. IOGEAR Wireless HD Plug and Play HDMI Extender
PLUG AND PLAY
For a simple home setup, just plug one of the transmitters into your device and the other into your TV and viola, wireless screen sharing. It can transmit audio and video up to 150 ft. It comes with two 3 ft HDMI cables so all you need to do is plug and play.
4. 196 ft HDMI Extender
GREAT VALUE
If you are on a shoestring budget, either for your home or at the office, forking out $900 plus for a BenQ HDMI extender is out of the picture. Thankfully, you can still get this HDMI extender for nine times less, and be able to project signal almost 200 ft. It does require a Cat6 LAN cable but considering it’s only $29, it’s certainly worth it.
5. OREI HDMI Extender
GREAT FOR OFFICE USE
HDMI extension over Cat5/6 LAN, and also affordable, the Orie HDMI extender provides up to 160 ft of extension without breaking your small business bank account. There’s no software needed, and it provides zero-latency signal delivery.
6. Gofanco Wireless HDMI Extender
LONG RANGE PLUG AND PLAY
If you are willing to pay a little extra, you get up to 328 ft of long-range signal transmitting with the Gofranco Wireless HDMI Extender. No LAN cable required, no software installation — plug it in, pair it and you’re ready to go. There is a 200 ms latency due to data compression, so this isn’t recommended for PC gaming purposes, but anything else and it’s a golden option for long-range and easy signal transmitting.
7. Expert Connect 4K HDMI Extender
LONG RANGE LAN
Providing the ability to transmit signal 400 ft, the Expert Connect is a great option for large areas like conference rooms for town-hall-style meetings. Even though the transmission is spectacular, the price is still relatively low around $75. It does require a LAN Cat5/6/7 cable but it does support 4K video.
8. Pway HDMI Extender
LONGEST RANGE
Using a Cat6/7 cable, you can transmit an HDMI signal up to 500 ft. This is ideal for huge areas, or when there isn’t a LAN input close to your presentation area. It also has a local output to connect an additional monitor. All things considering, it’s generously priced at $66.
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