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Video cable distribution...


Ynot

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I'm looking at replacing the video tie lines from the control booth to the distro points about the auditorium and stage so am looking for a reasonable quality cable at not too extortionate a price.

 

Needs to be fairly flexible, not too fussy to solder terminate each end, and be suited to sending composite signal to projectors and screens.

 

Can anyone recommend a suitable option please?

 

 

 

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I have just bought an RG59 cable from AC, maybe Kelsey brand for around £0.40p per metre.

 

I am planning to crimp terminate though, rather than solder, and use the Neutrik BNC D series feed through connectors for the wall boxes.

 

I can PM exact details tomorrow.

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Dont put RG59 in. Put in something that is capable of HD-SDI (which is generally an RG6 cable) because that way you won't have to pull new cable in the future and you can do full HD.

 

also would advise against soldering and suggest crimp with pass through bnc's.

 

:)

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theres really no point fitting infrastructure thats at best out of date, but probably more accuratately verging on obsolete. Im not sure in what world you dont ever need to worry about sdi for cameras when its clearly the standard ? why put in cheap cable that wont handle the bandwith as it wont cost much more to put in proper cable and crimp the ends with pass through back to back connectors and you will have something that works fine on composite video, but also works with hdsdi so everyone happy. Id also consider pulling in some shielded cat6 as this will allow all the hdmi over catx / hdbaset etc convertor boxes to be connected as the actual cable cost is pretty low and it will add a load of functionality.
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Even if this is going to be viewed on a 9" monitor on a prompt desk?

 

That's not what Tony wanted though, he wants to "send composite signal to projectors and screens." Could easily get a show in that uses video and needs HDSDI tie lines.

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I have to weigh several things in the mix - what we have at the moment wasn't really the best quality as it was run in when we did the very occasional show that needed any sort of video content but more as a feed from and to stage for MD cams, stage feed, that sort of thing. But in the last couple of years we've seen a huge increase in the number of shows that are using projections and other feeds to stage and audience, and on one, there was a very noticeable lag betwixt the sent and the seen.

 

However, the projected life of the venue is limited as we are on the cusp of getting a site identified for a bigger new venue in the town - so maybe 5 or 6 years max (I hope!).

 

So, whilst I'm happy to go with a good quality cable to replace the almost domestic variety, future-proofing too far ahead isn't necessarily necessary :) Although if it's only pence per metre extra, I may consider it as an option.

 

Hmmm... Looking at CPC for both RG59 and RG6, I'm surprised at the relatively low cost.

 

For example, a 250m drum of RG6 can come in at under £20 for 3+ drums, which I may well need.

http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/rg6uccablk250mff/cable-rg6u-coaxial-al-braid-blk/dp/CB15092

 

 

Or 100m of twin RG6 at £23...

http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/rg6utwinblkff/cable-coax-rg6u-twin-black-ff-100m/dp/CB17176

 

Any reason why these might NOT be suitable, as they're certainly well under what I was expecting before I started looking...?

 

 

 

 

 

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I speced a building five years ago - maybe four.

 

I originally was going with comp but looked into HD-SDI and it was actually cheaper than non HD.

 

composite wise, the HD cable works just the same.

 

With HD-SDI and a couple of blackmagic £200 boxes you can embed audio and send HD video and Audio over the one BNC if you need (there is a small delay with the embedding/de-embeding)

 

agree about the crimp connectors and pass through. You may need deeper boxes but far quicker and easier to install. The tool is quite expensive but lasts for years and you can crimp 5 BNCs in the solder time for one.

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Understanding where Tony is at, I wouldn't worry about HD-SDI, but I would worry about VGA or HDMI.

 

My preferred solution would be to run CAT6, with baluns for composite video (4 channels on every line that way too!), and then you also have lines that are good for VGA, HDMI, remote media servers etc. Much more flexible, and probably cheaper, even with the baluns considered, than the coax cable and terminations. I'd guess you're more than capable of doing punch downs on twisted pair too ;)

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IME there's an issue with HDMI over cat 5 and distance.?

 

HDMI to HDSI and back is around £200 per end and goes a very long way on HDSDI

 

agree about CAt6 cable as well, it's handy for all sorts if there is room

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Understanding where Tony is at, I wouldn't worry about HD-SDI, but I would worry about VGA or HDMI.

 

My preferred solution would be to run CAT6, with baluns for composite video (4 channels on every line that way too!), and then you also have lines that are good for VGA, HDMI, remote media servers etc. Much more flexible, and probably cheaper, even with the baluns considered, than the coax cable and terminations. I'd guess you're more than capable of doing punch downs on twisted pair too ;)

I had considered Cat 6 briefly but don't the Baluns have to be active for video? If not, then that could very well be the better choice, but in all I'm talking probably 6 or 8 lines to stage, and 2 or 4 to FoH depending what I decide to do in the end.

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