What cables to connect computer to TV 100 feet away?

M

mm

Guest
Hi,

I want to connect the video and audio of my computer to my DVDR, so
that I can watch webtv in a comfortable chair via my television,
instead of sitting at my desk chair.

Is it a big problem that the DVDR is about 50 feet from the computer
as the crow flies, and if I hide the wires in the attic instead of
running them down the hall, it's almost 100 feet??

What method should I use??

I can buy a new video card with S-Video, or composite output, or
anything you suggest. I've read that S-Video is better than
composite. At least one web-store sells a 100 foot S-video cable.
Does that mean it will work at 100 feet?

The Philips DVDR only has RCA component input and composite inputs,
and S-Video input. No HDMI or DIV.

The DVDR (which gets over the air tv via its digital tuner) already
provides the signal to several analog tvs, so that part is working. I
only need the part from the computer to the DVDR.


Regarding the sound:
Forgetting about the cost of cables, or their availabity, just as an
academic question: Do I need coaxial cables for the sound, which is at
audio frequencies and almost at line level, or would lamp cord with
RCA plugs on the end be just as good?

It says "Heavy 22AWG wires for lower signal resistance and stronger
signal integrity." If 22 gauge wire really has all that, wouldn't 16
or 18 gauge lamp zip cord be even better? Or on some other
occasion if I had to go farther than 100 feet?


Is it a problem that the video output is meant to be amplified, but
the audio output is probably sufficient to drive small speaker all by
itself? Will the sound volume come out too high, or will the loud
parts be clipped off?

I appreciate any help you can give.
 
On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:02:24 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

Hi,

I want to connect the video and audio of my computer to my DVDR, so
that I can watch webtv in a comfortable chair via my television,
instead of sitting at my desk chair.

Is it a big problem that the DVDR is about 50 feet from the computer
as the crow flies, and if I hide the wires in the attic instead of
running them down the hall, it's almost 100 feet??

What method should I use??

I can buy a new video card with S-Video, or composite output, or
anything you suggest. I've read that S-Video is better than
composite. At least one web-store sells a 100 foot S-video cable.
Does that mean it will work at 100 feet?

The Philips DVDR only has RCA component input and composite inputs,
and S-Video input. No HDMI or DIV.

The DVDR (which gets over the air tv via its digital tuner) already
provides the signal to several analog tvs, so that part is working. I
only need the part from the computer to the DVDR.


Regarding the sound:
Forgetting about the cost of cables, or their availabity, just as an
academic question: Do I need coaxial cables for the sound, which is at
audio frequencies and almost at line level, or would lamp cord with
RCA plugs on the end be just as good?

It says "Heavy 22AWG wires for lower signal resistance and stronger
signal integrity." If 22 gauge wire really has all that, wouldn't 16
or 18 gauge lamp zip cord be even better? Or on some other
occasion if I had to go farther than 100 feet?


Is it a problem that the video output is meant to be amplified, but
the audio output is probably sufficient to drive small speaker all by
itself? Will the sound volume come out too high, or will the loud
parts be clipped off?

I appreciate any help you can give.
Click to expand...

Good quality coax can be used, and I suspect you can even buy (perhaps
custom) cables with ends already madeup though they may be expensive.

For sound, you *should* use either coax, or perhaps twisted pair (not
zip cord) but if you use twisted pair, you have to drive it balanced
which would require transformers at each end. (You can drive twisted
pair unbalanced, but the results may not be acceptable--I've some
CAT-5 that carries unbalanced video, about 130 ft long, and it works,
but it is clearly suffering from some signal degradation.)

For audio, and video, 100 ft (or even more) is not terribly far.
 
mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Hi,

I want to connect the video and audio of my computer to my DVDR, so
that I can watch webtv in a comfortable chair via my television,
instead of sitting at my desk chair.

Is it a big problem that the DVDR is about 50 feet from the computer
as the crow flies, and if I hide the wires in the attic instead of
running them down the hall, it's almost 100 feet??

What method should I use??

I can buy a new video card with S-Video, or composite output, or
anything you suggest. I've read that S-Video is better than
composite. At least one web-store sells a 100 foot S-video cable.
Does that mean it will work at 100 feet?

The Philips DVDR only has RCA component input and composite inputs,
and S-Video input. No HDMI or DIV.

The DVDR (which gets over the air tv via its digital tuner) already
provides the signal to several analog tvs, so that part is working. I
only need the part from the computer to the DVDR.


Regarding the sound:
Forgetting about the cost of cables, or their availabity, just as an
academic question: Do I need coaxial cables for the sound, which is at
audio frequencies and almost at line level, or would lamp cord with
RCA plugs on the end be just as good?

It says "Heavy 22AWG wires for lower signal resistance and stronger
signal integrity." If 22 gauge wire really has all that, wouldn't 16
or 18 gauge lamp zip cord be even better? Or on some other
occasion if I had to go farther than 100 feet?


Is it a problem that the video output is meant to be amplified, but
the audio output is probably sufficient to drive small speaker all by
itself? Will the sound volume come out too high, or will the loud
parts be clipped off?

I appreciate any help you can give.
Click to expand...
I do this often. I use a pair of S-Video with Stereo Audio Baluns and
a 100 foot long CAT-5 Ethernet cable. This is a product designed to do
exactly what you want, and it does it very well.

I use an ETS PV902 and I recommend it for its excellent performance:
http://www.etslan.com/AudioVideo.htm

A less expensive and more readily available alternative is available
from svideo.com. I haven't used this product but it probably works as
well as the one I use.
http://www.svideo.com/svaudiobalun17.html
 
On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:55:55 -0500, PeterD <peter2@hipson.net> wrote:

On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:02:24 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com
wrote:

Hi,

I want to connect the video and audio of my computer to my DVDR, so
that I can watch webtv in a comfortable chair via my television,
instead of sitting at my desk chair.

Is it a big problem that the DVDR is about 50 feet from the computer
as the crow flies, and if I hide the wires in the attic instead of
running them down the hall, it's almost 100 feet??

What method should I use??

I can buy a new video card with S-Video, or composite output, or
anything you suggest. I've read that S-Video is better than
composite. At least one web-store sells a 100 foot S-video cable.
Does that mean it will work at 100 feet?

The Philips DVDR only has RCA component input and composite inputs,
and S-Video input. No HDMI or DIV.

The DVDR (which gets over the air tv via its digital tuner) already
provides the signal to several analog tvs, so that part is working. I
only need the part from the computer to the DVDR.


Regarding the sound:
Forgetting about the cost of cables, or their availabity, just as an
academic question: Do I need coaxial cables for the sound, which is at
audio frequencies and almost at line level, or would lamp cord with
RCA plugs on the end be just as good?

It says "Heavy 22AWG wires for lower signal resistance and stronger
signal integrity." If 22 gauge wire really has all that, wouldn't 16
or 18 gauge lamp zip cord be even better? Or on some other
occasion if I had to go farther than 100 feet?


Is it a problem that the video output is meant to be amplified, but
the audio output is probably sufficient to drive small speaker all by
itself? Will the sound volume come out too high, or will the loud
parts be clipped off?

I appreciate any help you can give.


Good quality coax can be used, and I suspect you can even buy (perhaps
custom) cables with ends already madeup though they may be expensive.

For sound, you *should* use either coax, or perhaps twisted pair (not
zip cord) but if you use twisted pair, you have to drive it balanced
which would require transformers at each end. (You can drive twisted
pair unbalanced, but the results may not be acceptable--I've some
CAT-5 that carries unbalanced video, about 130 ft long, and it works,
but it is clearly suffering from some signal degradation.)

For audio, and video, 100 ft (or even more) is not terribly far.
Click to expand...
That's good to hear. Someone on a video card newsgroup told me that
it couldn't be done!
 
On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:22:55 -0500, Fin West <FW@nosuch.com> wrote:

mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Hi,

I want to connect the video and audio of my computer to my DVDR, so
that I can watch webtv in a comfortable chair via my television,
instead of sitting at my desk chair.

Is it a big problem that the DVDR is about 50 feet from the computer
as the crow flies, and if I hide the wires in the attic instead of
running them down the hall, it's almost 100 feet??

What method should I use??

I can buy a new video card with S-Video, or composite output, or
anything you suggest. I've read that S-Video is better than
composite. At least one web-store sells a 100 foot S-video cable.
Does that mean it will work at 100 feet?

The Philips DVDR only has RCA component input and composite inputs,
and S-Video input. No HDMI or DIV.

The DVDR (which gets over the air tv via its digital tuner) already
provides the signal to several analog tvs, so that part is working. I
only need the part from the computer to the DVDR.


Regarding the sound:
Forgetting about the cost of cables, or their availabity, just as an
academic question: Do I need coaxial cables for the sound, which is at
audio frequencies and almost at line level, or would lamp cord with
RCA plugs on the end be just as good?

It says "Heavy 22AWG wires for lower signal resistance and stronger
signal integrity." If 22 gauge wire really has all that, wouldn't 16
or 18 gauge lamp zip cord be even better? Or on some other
occasion if I had to go farther than 100 feet?


Is it a problem that the video output is meant to be amplified, but
the audio output is probably sufficient to drive small speaker all by
itself? Will the sound volume come out too high, or will the loud
parts be clipped off?

I appreciate any help you can give.

I do this often. I use a pair of S-Video with Stereo Audio Baluns and
a 100 foot long CAT-5 Ethernet cable. This is a product designed to do
exactly what you want, and it does it very well.

I use an ETS PV902 and I recommend it for its excellent performance:
http://www.etslan.com/AudioVideo.htm
Click to expand...
This is nice. It says if I have a problem, they'll put an engineer
right on it. That's more than anyone else has ever offered me, even
my parents.

But they don't give prices online yet. They're working on a shopping
cart, it says. I think this site is mostly for big customers.

A less expensive and more readily available alternative is available
from svideo.com. I haven't used this product but it probably works as
well as the one I use.
http://www.svideo.com/svaudiobalun17.html
Click to expand...
This looks great; thanks a lot. And it says up to 1000 feet, not
just 100!

But are you and Peter saying that this transformer/cat-5 method would
be much better than using 100-foot twin-coaxial RCA cords for sound
and a 100-foot S-video cable for picture?

I have found places that sell both of these cables. One site comes
recommended, but I still don't really know how high the quality is.


BTW, the wall plate on the second site, for one, both sides, looks
identical to the wall plate on your first site.

I have to go back and tell the guys in the video card newsgoupr about
this, especially since one guy said it couldnt' be done.
 
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