S-video to Cat5 Baluns

justFRED.ca

Well-known member
Bought a pair of them today - http://ca.startech.com/product/SVIDUTPEXT-S-Video-over-Cat5-Extender.asp - for a couple of cameras w/ S-video out.

The idea is to be able to use Cat5e and to boost video quality from composite to S-Video (the only two choices available with this gear).

In-house test went well. Going into the field next week - don't know what interference we'll run into.

Anybody else using baluns? Anybody interested in our results?

Cheers,
George
 

zac love

Well-known member
I've looked at them before, but haven't used them yet.

Would love to see your results, so please do share when you're done!
 

justFRED.ca

Well-known member
further testing - including Hero HD

We've tried the baluns in the shop - over cat5 runs used for our internal computer network - so far so good.

Getting ready for a project in about 10 days that's going to require most of our gear. So during pack-up we'll see if we can really mess with the signal.

On a slightly different topic, our Hero Pro HD cam arrived the other day. Too busy to do much with it, but did download the firmware upgrade and had it feeding a live composite signal into the switcher with two-channel audio.

The camera seems happiest in full daylight.

It comes with an underwater housing - which means putting a plastic cover over the glass (it's mainly sold to surfer and mountain bike types) - and the housing is where the tripod mount goes. The bottom of the camera is flat.

We may stick it up as a cheap 3rd cam to see if we can get a passable wide shot for a two-camera conference shoot next month. That's where we're going to try the baluns / cat5 alongside the coax we normally run.

Cheers,
George
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
Over on the R.A.M.P. board, they use them all the time. The only problem that they mention that switch out the plastic box for a metal one or put the plastic box inside a metal box to cut interference.

If you look around, you can find thicker CAT5 cable to last longer....Also get a tool and connecters for field repair....I don't remember off had the order of the color cables... I hope my instructor isn't reading this...hehehe
 

justFRED.ca

Well-known member
Over on the R.A.M.P. board, they use them all the time. The only problem that they mention that switch out the plastic box for a metal one or put the plastic box inside a metal box to cut interference.
A metal wrap would be trivial to do. Don't have to try to snap the plastic box off. Thanks for that.

If you look around, you can find thicker CAT5 cable to last longer....
We've always used good cable.

Also get a tool and connecters for field repair....I don't remember off had the order of the color cables... I hope my instructor isn't reading this...hehehe
We've been making our own Cat5 cables for years. Using it for video via baluns is new.

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.

Cheers,
George
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
Good to here that you make you own cables. I really enjoy sore fingers...I'm still not good crimping the connector...hehehe

Over at R.A.M.P, they use the CAT5 a few times and throw it away, but some do use a thicker cable to last longer.

Do you use the XLR type connecters?

For the metal boxes, the metal is a tad bigger. They make jumpers and mount connectors on the metal box. The metal box can take a beating better than plastic.
 

justFRED.ca

Well-known member
I don't have to do the crimping...

We're always dragging Cat5 to shoots. Mainly to connect to wired Internet for streaming. The good stuff holds up quite well.

Up to now, it's been RJ45s.

We're pretty careful with our gear, and the baluns won't be in places where people can stomp on them. Shielding them, however, to reduce or prevent EMI makes sense.

Cheers,
George
 

justFRED.ca

Well-known member
Results of the live test

We successfully used the S-Video via Cat5 setup over two days of live streaming this past week from an IT conference. Runs were about 100 feet. We laid coax just in case, but didn't use it. One minor problem: a new box of Cat5 cable had a crimp about 18 in into the cable that we didn't notice at first. Cut the cable, added a new connector, and we were good to go.

Blackberry's, laptops, wireless, mobile phones everywhere, but we spotted no interference with the video signal.

Overall, an excellent result at a lower cost and with more flexibility than coax for quick and easy setup.

It's now part of our workflow.

Cheers,
George
 
Top