Anyone have any experience doing long USB runs? Are the ones that run it over Cat5/5e/6 the best way to do it? If so, which brand should I go with? I don't need it right away, but I'm thinking about when I move my system to the basement. I plan on having my equipment closet to the left of my seating area, but of course if I have the Kinect or similar hardware up front, I'll need semi-long USB runs. Multiple ports would be best, since I may have more than one console (or even my PC) using devices positioned at the front of the room. Thanks for any recommendations you may have.

I've heard about noticeable delays when using some USB extenders. So if it is for gaming make sure that's something you research in what ever model you pick. Sorry I don't have any specific recommendations.

What do you mean by long? I have a 20' CAT5 run that I had to use for a USB cable off my Mac mini for a keyboard/mouse. I bought one of those CAT5-USB adapters on ebay and it didn't work. I bought another on Monoprice that worked.

Works fine but only powers the keyboard and mouse. Not enough current for an iPod/iPhone to charge.

Charles, below is what you need to know about USB cable lengh and the reasons for the limitations. Depending on device response time, cable length can be a HUGE problem.

"The maximum length of a standard USB cable (for USB 2.0 or earlier) is 5 metres (16.4 ft).[34] The primary reason for this limit is the maximum allowed round-trip delay of about 1,500 ns. If USB host commands are unanswered by the USB device within the allowed time, the host considers the command lost. When adding USB device response time, delays from the maximum number of hubs added to the delays from connecting cables, the maximum acceptable delay per cable amounts to 26 ns.[34] The USB 2.0 specification requires cable delay to be less than 5.2 ns per meter (192,000 km/s, which is close to the maximum achievable transmission speed for standard copper cable)."

If you need a longer reach, you can try wireless USB but it's not cheap.

I imagine the run would have to be ~30'. I'm not 100% certain on the placement of the equipment closet yet.

I am currently running a pair of 30ft. USB extenders from my PS3 in my media closet to a datapro USB wall plate in my living room. I got the extender cables from monoprice for $9 a piece I believe. I have been using them for about a week now. I have used them with the ps move, thumbdrives, charging and ect. without any delays or issues. I am happy with my setup.

Thanks for the info. Cheap is good!

Specific to the Kinect, you'll want to be sure to get the older-style (non-slim) XBox and Kinect because you won't be able to get enough current over an extended USB run to power the Kinect. The version for the older units has a separate external power supply whereas the one for the slim XBox has a special connection that combines USB and power.

If you need a long run, it might get expensive (~$350+) for something like the Gefen EXTUSB20LR USB 2.0 Extender.

Maybe something like, but don't buy any Gefen stuff. It's over priced, and under performs.

Ain't that the truth. Also, guaranteed, you will need to buy more Gefen adapters to get the first Gefen adapter you got to work.