I just started using Zwift and I’m loving it so far. Much better than going out and doing my intervals and long rides out in the rain/snow/dark as I’ve been doing.
Anyway I had a question regarding setup - has anyone tried using a long (30+ feet) active USB extender for the ANT+ dongle? I live in a small apartment and have a nice area in front of my tv for Zwifting where I can get adequate cooling. To do this I have to use a 8 year old laptop which can only run the Zwift in basic/540p. This looks pretty awful on my 4k tv.
I do have a solid gaming desktop that should be able to handle 4K Ultra no problem, but it is in another room. I ordered a 40ft hdmi cable and a 32ft usb cable to link the pc to my TV/trainer. Since ANT+ is pretty finicky at the best of times I’m worried that there might not be enough voltage carried through the cable.
I know visual quality won’t make me faster, but it would be nice to sit in front of a crisp HD image for hours and hours rather than what I’m currently seeing.
I’ve been using a 32ft active USB cable for several years, with no issues. As long as the dongle end of the cable is close to your bike, you should be fine.
@Robert_Poplawsky: Thinking out of the box here, have you tried to use steam to stream your game to the laptop. I use it to play Fortnite on my old PC because my super PC is my Zwift station.
Look up Steam in home streaming, I am not sure about the ant+ dongle over the Steam stream, but worth a try.
Turns out I already bought the cables and it works fine. My Zwifting area is of limited size so it is nice to get the laptop out of the way. Much better visuals and frame rates too.