PC to Interactive Display (TV) USB connection issue

[MuttsNutts]

Hi I'm having issues with the distance between the installed interactive TV's to the PC's, display is fine as HDMI signal can travel some distance my issue is with the USB distance to enable touch operations on the TV.

 

What I have is from the TV's USB B connector a cable going into the wall cavity and pops out via the trunking then plugs to a face plate distance about 1.6m then from the face plate to the PC using a 2M USB cable.

yes this breaks the 3m total low speed USB limit but all cables are listed high speed as is the TV and the PC is using USB 2 so we should be able to get 5m total, yet touch operations do not work, The pc does detect a USB connection but not enough for it to recognise it as a device.

 

I have tried active USB cables, a powered USB Hub, even looked into USB over Ethernet.

yet if I use just a direct cable 2m or even a 3m one direct from the PC to the TV it works no problem (yes the faceplate has been replaced also)

 

TV is a Phillips 65" and the PC is running a Asus motherboard using it's on board USB sockets (yes tried a new PC too)

I have around 20 or so in this config and most work fine this way just a few show this issue from time to time.

 

what I'm asking is does anyone else have this issue or what setup they have in there classrooms if using TV's (our older promethean boards don't seem to care the length of the USB cable some have like 10m ones and no issues)

 

my next step was to buy PCI express USB card that has a separate power connecter from the PC's power supply to see if this solves the issue.........

[MuttsNutts]

Hi thanks the face plate is just really a converter from USB B to A female so then we plug a USB male A to male A into the faceplate basic circuit board that clips into the trunking....... no active power to it either

(we have opted for better faceplates on some of our later installs and this issue doesn't seem to happen as much if at all - so this maybe the answer? but again we are using different TV's too

 

one thing I have noticed if I use a cable direct from PC to TV that's longer than 3m it don't work, this tells me the TV only supports low speed USB connections? and 3m is nothing with a TV that's wall mounted.

 

Most of our AV installs are done by Roche AV - mostly pretty good just these niggling issues that bug you

[sted]

where in the chain did you put the powered usb hub? Id be tempted to try one of those as close as i could physically get to the tv with the shortest cable i could find

[SMARTEdTrainer]

Try a USB CATx Balun, you should be able to pick one up off the interweb quite cheap. There are different versions for different versions of USB, so just keep that in mind, check its compatible with USB2/3 etc.

 

This unit basically brings the USB plug of your PC to the screen, and then use a 1m patch lead between the balun and the screen. should solve your problem. about embedding it in the wall though? maybe speak to your installers as a snag?

[MuttsNutts]

where in the chain did you put the powered usb hub? Id be tempted to try one of those as close as i could physically get to the tv with the shortest cable i could find

 

I tried it at both ends, with different length cables etc all mixed results.....drove me nuts

 

 

and Thanks "SMARTEdTrainer" I will take a look - will also call it in as a snag to the installers, daft thing is it's been in 2 years and was ok when first installed, they been out twice to it and replace leads etc get it working then after a few months it stops again with this same issue - maybe thinks the TV is a duff one?

Edited December 9, 2016 by MuttsNutts

[Zourous]

Hi, I've been here before with other similar products and know exactly what you mean. Bits of advice:

 

Gold plated cables maintain a better connection.

 

Use as few connections as possible. I have before run a straight cable through the faceplate (to keep neat) to avoid the connection.

 

Keep the cable distance as short as possible, easier said than done.

 

I've found belkin cables quite good quality and they have succeeded where others have failed.

 

Check in the manual of the screen the max supported distance, it might be less than you expect.

 

Best of luck

Edited December 10, 2016 by Zourous

[DavR]

Not the same kit, but I'm in the middle of a right mare with an entire floor of Promethean boards due to cable length.... these were installed ~8 years ago with a 5m USB cable trunked PC to board then plugged into a mounted box on the side of the board that then adds another ~1.8m. I know, how were these EVER working huh?

 

During my research into this I've read that 5m was your maximum for USB2, but the recommendation was reduced to 3m for USB3.

 

I've reduced the length of my cable runs to 3m, direct from PC to board, it hasn't completely fixed my problems but has vastly reduced them. I wouldn't trust anything on USB over 3m tbh, unless using active cables.

 

There is also a known issue with USB3 ports not playing nice with USB2 on Intel 8 series chipset, if that includes you.