Thanks to all who have replied.

Dave's seems like a good place to reply.

On Sat, 5 Apr 2008 10:18:47 -0700, (Dave Platt)
wrote:

I have co-ax cable run through my whole house, so I can watch in
almost any room what is playing on the VCR in my bedroom. It works
great. Can I now do the same thing with either RCA or S-video cables?

Yes to both. However, there are some potential (minor pun there!)
problems that can arise due to ground loops if you connect devices
together that are plugged into different AC circuits in the household.
The commonest symptom of such is hum in the audio.

I guess I'll worry about that later.

Audio can be point-to-multipoint (one sender, multiple receivers or
jacks) *if* the sending device has the ability to drive multiple
loads. Don't try this with composite or S-video, though - you'll
probably end up with a weak, unstable, or ghost-filled picture.

Running the cables and adding the connectors at one end after the
cable is in place, so that the holes can be as small as possible?

Yes, you can do this.

The other option is to install a standard-size switch/outlet box in
the wall at each end, and use a wall cover plate which has the
appropriate jacks on it. You can buy cover plates with such jacks
pre-installed, or a cover plate which accepts two or four or more jack
inserts (RCA, S-Video).

It was easy to run co-ax of whatever length I wanted, and then attach
a connector at the end, after I had pushed it through the holes in the
floors and walls. And to have splitters whereever there was another
tv, and RF amplifier-splitters whereever the signal got weak.

You can use an audio amplifier, isolation transformers, etc. to handle
the audio distribution problem.

So I'm going to have to have a video amp and an audio amp? Maybe more
than one. Wow.

For baseband (composite or S-video) you'll have trouble getting away
with a "branched" topology. You can't just use T-connectors or
passive splitters, as these will cause either impedance mismatches or
a decrease in video signal voltage which will mess up the picture.

Dang.

I don't play all the tvs at once, but I have branches now for 8 tvs.
Doesn't that mean I need some "outboard" amplification, rather than
trying to play 2 or 3 of them at the same time just with the output
from the DVDR?

Yup. You'll need a video distribution amplifier - one which accepts
an incoming video signal, and produces independent buffered (isolated)
video outputs of the correct voltage. You'll then need to run a
separate cable from the distribution amplifier to each destination.

That is a problem. Not for the attic runs. The attic is unfinished,
doesn't even have much of a floor, and no one lives there.

But the real problem is running through the basement ceiling. It took
me two snakes, and a lot of luck to get it as quickly as I did 24
years ago.

What you are considering is not a small project, I think. If you've
had difficulty soldering RCA plugs successfully, you're likely to find
the soldering of S-Video connectors to be a serious headache.

That was maybe 35 years ago. I'm a lot better at this now. And maybe
it wasn't the solder but the metal part that was supposed to be
crimped around the whole cable. IIRC that was too pliable and didn't
clamp well, or the housing screwed on but wouldn't stay on. But those
things are probably better now too.

I think it took me years to finish this the first time when I used
co-ax, first just the kitchen and the "club" room in the basement.
Later the office, then the bathroom. Later the living room, laundry
room, and the attic because the cable was going right by there anyhow.

On one occasion I had a party, and played the movie on the vcr while
40 people watched the movie in the living room, basement, and kitchen.
But mostly I want it so that I can go from room to room and watch the
same show. And now especially since I can't afford 8 digital tvs (I
got all of these tv's used or off the sidewalk.



I'm only planning this because the warning for the RF modulator said
picture quality would deteriorate. I guess I should wait and see how
much that happens. But I should start all this planning and doing now
and not wait till February.

If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)