Seeking input for AV extension from gaming PC

deferentlemur · May 25, 2022

Budget (including currency): flexible

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Forza Horizon 5, Elden Ring, GTA V, and of course Hello Kitty: Island Adventure or WoW

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

Hello all!

I want to extend my gaming desktop from the "office" room into the living room and a small barn. For a while I have been using the in-home streaming options from Steam, nVidia, Parsec, etc., however these experiences have had enough quirks that I don't want to rely on them for a permanent solution. My interest straddles a few topics, so this seemed the most appropriate sub-forum in which to ask.

Regarding the living room, it is close enough that I should be fine just by running HDMI and usb through the walls. it is less than 50 feet of up/down/left/right runs, so direct cabling should be sufficient. Will also run LAN cable for a wifi access point.

The barn is giving me more planning troubles. It is 130 linear feet from my PC, although I expect 250-300 by the time I make all the runs. My intent is to extend HDMI and USB over LAN by using this:

Amazon.com: AV Access HDMI USB Extender(HDBaseT) KVM, 100m/330ft 4K 60Hz 1080p 120Hz Over Cat5e/6/6a/7, Keyboard+Mouse+HDMI+USB, 4 Ports USB2.0, No Signal Loss and Latency, RS232, POE, Independent EDID Management : Electronics

To summarize the listing, it is a TX/RX pair that sends up to 4k60 (4:2:0) and USB 2.0 up to 100m/330ft over cat 5e or above. I do want the USB access so I can use a keyboard/mouse/controller. My intent is to use this and a direct-bury cat6a cable to get out to the barn. The distance to the barn is within range, and the TX/RX product will work on a network over an unmanaged switch and requires 1Gb/s. I would also want a wifi AP in the barn, so I think I would need at least a 2.5Gb switch on both ends connected by the cat6a, and plug the TX/RX boxes and AP into those.

Topics that I know very little about are long-ish range networking, network switches, and AV setups, so I wanted to ask for more knowledgeable opinions on my proposed solution. And I am of course open to solutions that I haven't yet discovered or considered. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

- Jonathan