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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

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?

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?

The VCR was fine, but it seems I now have to go digital and get a
digital DVD recorder with a tuner, and there is no RF output on those
things, at least the ones I've seen.

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.

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?


And can I make my own RCA cables or S-video cables?

I guess the longest single run is about 30 feet.


Currently I have one tv in the bedroom itself and a line going
downstairs and a line into the attic.

The line into the attic has an RF-connector for a tv in the attic, a
line down in the wall for the bathroom, and a line down in the wall of
the office/spare bedroom.

The line going down has an a line for the living room tv, the basement
tv, the laundry room tv, and up again for the kitchen tv.


I wasn't very successful soldering RCA connectors on to RCA cable, but
that was a long time ago and maybe I can do a better now.

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for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

mm 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?

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?

The VCR was fine, but it seems I now have to go digital and get a
digital DVD recorder with a tuner, and there is no RF output on those
things, at least the ones I've seen.

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.

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?


And can I make my own RCA cables or S-video cables?

I guess the longest single run is about 30 feet.


Currently I have one tv in the bedroom itself and a line going
downstairs and a line into the attic.

The line into the attic has an RF-connector for a tv in the attic, a
line down in the wall for the bathroom, and a line down in the wall of
the office/spare bedroom.

The line going down has an a line for the living room tv, the basement
tv, the laundry room tv, and up again for the kitchen tv.


I wasn't very successful soldering RCA connectors on to RCA cable, but
that was a long time ago and maybe I can do a better now.

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



I've done RCA-style cables out to 25 feet, and have two S-Video cables,
50 ft. in length, that I'd love to sell.

Back to your question. The RCA cable shouldn't be too much trouble.
Matter of fact, I used a very small-diameter 75 ohm coax, and put Radio
Shack RCA male plugs on each end, for a specialized application. The
"Shack" used to have solderless RCA plugs, IIRC.

S-video might be a bit of a problem. I've never seen the little DIN
plugs available for DIY cable-making. That doesn't mean they don't
exist, but you would have to solder, or otherwise connect, 4 wires, I
believe. Now, the actual mini-DIN plugs aren't that much larger than
the plastic or rubber covered RCA plugs. That shouldn't require too big
a hole.

--
Thieves get rich and saints get shot, and God don't answer prayers a lot.
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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

In article ,
mm 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?


You can certainly run baseband analogue video over considerable distances
- after all this is how transmitters were fed at one time. However, the
sort of cable used for interconnects might be quite lossy over longish
distances so video co-ax designed for installation work would be a better
bet. Something like RG59 is an economical solution - can be bought for
approx 25 gbp per 100 mtrs.

--
*Why is it considered necessary to screw down the lid of a coffin?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

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 :-)


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On Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:13:10 -0500, wrote:

mm wrote:
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.

I saw sometjing a while back where someone claimed to have sucessfully used Cat
5 cable for S-video throughout his house... a google search should should find
that information.


OK, googled on cat-5 s-video .
Many threads in groups.google. In
www.google among others, got:
This page sells adapaters, s-video to cat-5, for 27 dollars each:
http://www.svideo.com/svideobalun.html cord style
http://www.svideo.com/svideobalun2.html box style 50 dollars each
Send S-Video and Stereo Audio over a single Category 5e cable.

Advantages of runing S-Video over CAT5:
- Less signal loss over long runs.
- Use your building's structured cabling.
- Neater and faster cabling.
- More variety of CAT5 cable to meet your building's code.
Features:
- Transmit up to 1,000 ft. via Cat 5e
- Each balun has one s-video jack for video and 2 RCA jacks for left
(white) and right (red) audio signals.
- Each balun has one RJ45 jack to connect to an RJ45 plug on a Cat 5e
cable.
This product uses the four pairs in a CAT5 cable.
If you just need to send the S-video, then consider our S-Video Balun.
If the equipment at your destination only has composite video then
consider our "Pro S-Video to Non-S-Video + Audio" cable.**
Note: Two are required so a minimum of 2 is automatically set when you
order.
Availability: ships same day.

** http://www.svideo.com/svideorcapro93.html 19 dollars each

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Default can I make long cables, other than co-ax cables

On Apr 4, 7:32*pm, mm 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?


RF cabling with F connectors is broadband, carries multiple
channels, and is compatible with multiple drops and
both NTSC and ATSC (digital) video + audio.
Splitters are passive devices, and automatic gain
control at each receiver makes it all work.

RCA usually is NTSC composite video, so you'd need
three cables (stereo sound R, L, and video) to replace
RF. You'll only ever have one channel on it.
Splitting or multiple-room drops will probably require
powered amplification (SOME systems might have
switchable termination, but most don't).

S-video is usually NTSC luma (baseband analog) video
and NTSC chroma on two separate wires. So, with
stereo sound, it takes four cables and you only get one
channel. Again, splitting requires multiple amplifier output
channels.

The only one of these three options that will work for digital
broadcast and tolerate single-cable runs with taps or branches is
the regular old F connector RF/CATV. You're best off
sticking wth it.
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On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 12:22:18 -0700 (PDT), whit3rd
wrote:


The only one of these three options that will work for digital
broadcast and tolerate single-cable runs with taps or branches is
the regular old F connector RF/CATV. You're best off
sticking wth it.


Thanks for the detailed answer. I've saved it and the others here.
The RF modulator arrived at my friend's office yesterday, and if that
works well enough, I'll be very happy. But I won't start testing
until I get the DVD recorder. I have a much better understanding of
my choices now.

Thanks to all.

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