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[Alex Thompson]

Signal chain: Macbook Pro->Kramer VP4x8AK matrix->Tripplite range extender->Sony TV PC input  There is only about 120' of cable total including the cat5 line to this area where the TV is.

For some reason this setup will not work.  If I hook up a computer monitor in the place of the Sony TV it works fine.  If I bring the macbook into the room with the Sony TV, it works fine.  The TV is constantly searching for a signal, on screen display keeps switching back and forth from the correct resolution to another resolution.

Is there something stripped out of the video signal, either in the Kramer matrix or the Tripplite range extenders, that could cause a TV to not display the picture?

[Jordan Wolf]

The TV is constantly searching for a signal, on screen display keeps switching back and forth from the correct resolution to another resolution.

It sounds like the TV is not able to lock on to the computer's signal.  Make sure the refresh rates match between devices.  Are you scaling anything, or is the matrix just for distribution and switching?

[Brad Weber]

Could be an EDID or HDCP issue.  You got a good start on trying to narrow down where the problem occurs and you might want to keep on that track with things like taking the Kramer switcher out of the path by taking the connection normally connected to its output and connecting the Macbook direct to that.  And taking the extender out of the loop by, if possible, connecting the TV direct to the output of the Kramer.
 
You might also try setting the Macbook for different resolutions and scan rates, especially trying very common ones such as 1024x768 at 60Hz.
 
The Kramer switcher is VGA/HD15 conectivity, are you VGA/HD15 through the entire signal path?  In other words, VGA/HD15 out of the Macbook, VGA/HD15 into and out of the extender and VGA/HD15 into the TV?

[Alex Thompson]

Long story short, I did get it working.

First I bypassed the Kramer matrix which made no difference.
Next i inserted a distribution amplifier at the TV, thinking maybe signal loss over the distance was the problem.  Same issue as before except when I plugged a computer monitor in the other output of the DA both displays were perfect.  As soon as i disconnected the computer monitor the TV picture was lost too.

The final solution was a cheap VGA extender i picked up at a local computer store.  Removing the Tripplite extender and replacing it with the new one worked perfectly.

I think this is an EDID issue but really don't know enough about how it works to be able to explain why connecting the computer monitor caused the TV to work.  Just glad it's working now and I know I'll avoid using the Tripplite Range extenders again.