Ethernet cable cat5e or cat6 for TV viewing

[novetan]

My LG smart TV wifi went kaput. The technician told me prob is the card need to be replaced. Because mine is 65", just to mobilise the man to take down the Tv will cost me $350, excluding card cost. So I'm going to run a lan cable.

I watched mostly Netflix. My internet speed is 1 Gbps. Distance fr router is 15m. Is cat5e cable sufficient? I understand the defacto cable now is cat6 and won't cost much more. But cat6 cable come in blue colour. For some reason I hv to expose the cable instead of running within a conduit and it will be unsightly against my beige wall. Unless cat6 really has an advantage for Tv viewing, then I hv no choice but to get cat 6. Otherwise my preference is cat5e.

Advise pls.

 

[nathan_reilly]

I imagine you can find cat 6 in the color you want:

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[eyoungren]

The difference between Cat5e and Cat 6 is shielding. Both cables are capable of gigabit data transfer, but Cat5e (which I have more of my my own home network) is subject to more interference and thus speeds can be reduced. Cat6 was designed from the beginning to be better shielded.

AFAIK, both types come in every color of the rainbow.

 

[RedTomato]

Cat5e is completely fine. Another option is to get a smart TV stick like a FireTV Stick 4K and plug it into the back of your TV. It will pick up wifi from your router, & you can download apps to it for Netflix etc. No Amazon Prime subscription needed.

The downside is a) you have another remote control to deal with b) TV USB ports sometimes don't carry quite enough current for a Fire Stick to operate reliably, so it may need its own wall socket / USB adaptor.

 

[guzhogi]

AFAIK, both types come in every color of the rainbow.

I agree, Cat 6 comes in several colors. If you really want to future proof, try cat 6a. You might not need the full speed now, but you might need it in a few years. Also comes in multiple colors (just got some green cat 6a cables at work this summer). I just checked "category 6a" at Amazon, and they even have a color picker there.

Category 7 cables exist, but I believe that they're only standardized in Europe, not the USA. I never used them, so I can't vouch for their quality.

 

[DeltaMac]

Or, you could run the ethernet cable (with whatever color) through a small "cable concealer", which you can paint any color you like, or leave it the way it comes (kinda white) -- https://smile.amazon.com/PQPB-Concealer-Management-Ethernet-Computer/dp/B08CND7JNH/ -- or, you could even paint that ugly blue cable, or cover it with duck tape, or similar, which you can find in just about any color. There's lots of "decor" solutions for this...

 

[ruka.snow]

Cat 5e will be fine, just avoid anything that says CCA (Copper clad aluminium) as these break easily. Next up from cat 5e would be cat 6a but that is for 10 Gbps over 100m and overkill. Cat 7 is often just rebadged cat 6 or 5e, especially on Amazon. Also while cat 8 would look tempting, that is a thick cable and really hard to work with. Chances are you'll want to just use a Cat 5e cable for its durability and flexibility and it'll easily handle 1 Gbps over ten meters (And a good solid copper core Cat 5e even with no shielding can do 10 Gbps over such a short distance.).

Cat 6a cables and 5e come in any number of colours from white and beige to purple and pink. I use the white ones in my living room and they don't look out of place on the off white walls.

 

[Juicy Box]

I watched mostly Netflix. My internet speed is 1 Gbps. Distance fr router is 15m. Is cat5e cable sufficient?

CAT5e would be more than adequate, and is actually capable of higher link speeds, even 10Gbps on short runs.


But........

You could get a wireless access point, like AirPort Express, join it to your existing network, and not worry about running a cable that could be visible.

You can sometimes find them for pretty cheap on eBay.

There are probably cheaper and faster ones (the latest gen from 2012 only has 100Mbps ethernet), but setting up an AirPort Express to use as a wireless access point is crazy easy and fast, and most people don't do anything on their TV needing more than 100Mbps anyways.

Plus, there is a digital and analog audio port on the AirPort that could be used for AirPlay 2.

 

[Mousse]

I would go with Cat6 or better. The cost difference is negligible compared to everything else they are connected to.

 

[novetan]

Hi all and tks fr the replies. Very informative. I'll go for cat5e. Maybe 5 yrs dn the road if I ever upgrade my speed then I'll think abt it whats next to upgrade. At the moment Im pretty happy with my internet sp of 1 Gbps