Component video + (digital)audio: CAT5 vs "as is"

[TimH]

...or even one [cable]- as people here say)

For component video plus stereo audio you will need 2 cables. You'll get the component video and mono audio down a single CAT5, or component plus digital audio, but not component plus stereo...

Cheers,

Tim.

[svu]

For a moment, I am looking for "component + digital". Out of curiosity, why does stereo audio take more bandwidth than digital?

[nickgale]

Bandwidth isn't the issue, it's physical channels that is. Digital audio is a single phono connector, stereo audio is two. Balluns are simple devices, they take an unbalanced signal and balance and impedance match it for twisted pair, at the other end they do the reverse so if you need 4 phono plugs at one end you can get it down a single cat 5 if you need 5 (component and stereo audio) they you need 5 pairs i.e. two cables. Active balluns can add other signals on top such as IR pass back but basically they work in the same way. Unless you're going a long distance then passive will be fine.

Lektropacks are about to / have just launched a version of that matrix that adds digital audio - the CCMX44DA at around £350.00, not sure if they do / plan to do a 4 x 2 with digital audio - give them a call.

My comment about the price is based on our experience of larger matrix switchers as that is what we tend to install (8 x 8) being the norm.

Our standard installation is 1 x CT100 coax (for UHF) and 4 x cat 5 cables per TV, we've yet to be caught out by that. Sending video and audio over Cat 5 can be better than coax as the line is balanced and therefore will reject a large amount of noise picked up on the cable. This is the principal that has been adopted in the pro audio industry for years.

Hope this helps

Nick

[pocky]

.... not a pure CAT5 based solution the cable is a bit of a hybrid CAT5 CAT7 cable.

That is to say that it is Cat5 with one pair extra shielded and thiker. This is by standard not even close to Cat7 as in the "Cat. standards" all four pairs pairs have to have the same minimal characteristics - right?


@svu, you can also look at www.homenet-online.com

There cable is even better than Cat7 - higher bandwidth up to satellite signal. So you could even put the upcoming TVs with build in freeview and freesat in. They have each pair of wires shielded (abitana only one - the "Cat7" pair) so that you can use different services on one cable without interference and emission.

It is a passive system so that you can use any an all CatX devices, not only proprietor one giving you long time flexibility.

The equipment you have and plan for today will not be what you will use in 10 years. And what looks like an overkill today might be just enough in a few years