VGA over CAT5

[Arlin]

It seems to me that there has been a lot of scattered talk about long VGA runs and VGA over CAT5 as of late.
I am very interested in this topic as well. So, I thought it would be a good idea to create a dedicated thread on the subject to lump all this information together.
PLEASE feel free to contribute!

Questions:
1.) When is VGA over CAT5 needed or useful?
2.) Some VGA baluns are passive, others are active. How do you decide when to use which?
3.) What Products are Available?
4.) What is your experience with this type of hardware? What are your recomendations?

Here is just some information I have gleaned so far:
1.) When is VGA over CAT5 needed or useful?
I am not sure how long a VGA cable can be practically run, but this site has a 200ft VGA cable available for $540. This is about the same price as some of the higher end VGA over CAT5 products (like FSR).
CAT5 is much easier to install than VGA due to the smaller cable size and end connectors. It is also readily available and cheap. The cost of the VGA over CAT5 solution is in the adapters at each end which seem to range from $200 per pair to $600 per pair.

2.) Some VGA baluns are passive, others are active. How do you decide when to use which?
Passive is obviously cheaper and easier to install (no power cords needed), but I think the main disadvantage is in range. Passive baluns have a shorter range than active ones.
Look at the range specs on the baluns to determine if they will work for your application.
I think Active will generally provide a better picture quality no matter what the cable length.

3.) What Products are Available?
FSR, Kramer, Intellix, MuxLab, TVOne, and AutoPatch are some names I came across in my searches.
I also came accross this reseller, but they do not mention the manufacturer. Seems pretty cheap which makes me leary of this one.

4.) What is your experience with this type of hardware? What are your recomendations?
I have no experience (that is why I am starting this thread!), But to me, FSR product looks most appealing due to its expandability using their hub.
The Intellix units appear very small and compact.
Some of the units can be powered on either the source end or the destination end. Some are only powered on one end without the option of powering it on the other end.
The FSR units can be powered by the optional HUB.

Other notes:
Many of the above manufaturers have products that allow almost any signal type to be transmitted long distances over CAT5, from stereo audio to composite video to keyboard signals, even RS232. Kramer even has a product that will transmit XGA video, stereo audio, and RS232 simultaneously over the same CAT5 cable!

[Johnnycat]

Originally Posted by Arlin

It seems to me that there has been a lot of scattered talk about long VGA runs and VGA over CAT5 as of late.
I am very interested in this topic as well. So, I thought it would be a good idea to create a dedicated thread on the subject to lump all this information together.
PLEASE feel free to contribute!

And contribute I will

Originally Posted by Arlin

Questions:

Originally Posted by Arlin

[b]1.) When is VGA over CAT5 needed or useful?

This is highly dependent on your particular situation, but...
1) Cat5 is cheaper to run then COAX or a dedicated VGA cable
2) Cat5 is CL3 rated to run in walls or CL3P to run in a Plenum...MOST "finished" VGA cables are not...got to keep things legal.
3) Depends on the distance you need to run, space, accessibility, etc.
4) Depends a lot on what is "driving" the signal (we have a auto sensing VGA switch that we use for our two Sunday school classes, each teacher has a VGA port that they plug their laptop into and each gets their own screen...but one of the laptops is underpowered to run the VGA signal 75 feet...
5) Cat5 is easier to run then COAX
6) The longer the run of VGA the more resolution is lost...so even if you have a 150' VGA cable it might not be able to do higher res VGA then 640x480

Originally Posted by Arlin

2.) Some VGA baluns are passive, others are active. How do you decide when to use which?

Passive are good on short runs, say going from one room to another (within 30' or so), but if I do anything over 50' I use Cat5. Again...The longer the run of VGA the more resolution is loss...so even if you have a 150' of Cat5 on a passive system it might not be able to do higher res VGA, the active ones allow for greater bandwidth, and thus greater resolution.

Originally Posted by Arlin

3.) What Products are Available?

Tons...everything from passive VGA baluns, to Active VGA baluns, to VGA Cat5 distribution hubs, for the most part, anything you could need someone has.

Originally Posted by Arlin

4.) What is your experience with this type of hardware? What are your recommendations?

I personally designed, installed, and configured our upgraded video system in our church...there was no question in my mind which way to go...I used all Cat5 distribution from our video booth to the 3 projectors. The products I used are from Altinex for several reasons: 1) There was a local dealer 2) The product selection 3) Tech support 4) Expandability of the Cat5 system to still be useable YEARS down the road (i.e. when we do our distributed video system for all the class rooms, all I need to do is run a Cat5 from each room to the video matrix switcher (which is Cat5) and run one Cat5 from the VGA to Cat5 distribution hub, you can see images in my MXC on page 10 and 11

Just like with anything else you get what you pay for...I personally would not buy passive baluns (that is just me) and I would only buy from Altinex, Intelix, FSR, and Kramer...TV One had great products but not the total selection that I can get from some others (I like to have options) but we are going to be using TV One stuff for the video switcher items.

I have personally met the guys from Altinex and Intelix...both are great to work with and are very helpful and knowledgeable...FSR supports CMN (I have never used their products so I can 't comment). I know that both Altinex and Intelix both have cool wall plate baluns which we will be using in our next "video expansion"

I hope this helps some.

John

[MediaGuy]

Nobody has mentioned Extron as a source... We have a powered pair from Extron that sends our VGA about 350 feet, and it's tons better than the composite signal running parallel to it - not just in VGA vs. composite quality, but in brightness, etc. - all around.

[sansjim]

MediaGuy,

Where did you purchase your extron equipment from? I am having difficulty locating a distributor and am going to call extron today but I thought I would ask.

Thanks,

Jim

[MediaGuy]

Our contact is in Paris, TX - Bell Electronics: (903) 784-3215. We always ask for Glen (the owner). A very good wholesaler for all A/V equipment, in my experience.

Our Extron set is the VTT-001 transmitter and VTR-001 receiver(...or it could be the VTT-002, or something... I can't get to that end to verify), and they can be ordered as a set.

[sansjim]

Thanks for the info.

Jim

[sheldon]

Anyone every use these:
http://www.smarthome.com/7805vga.html

[JHVideoGuy]

Guess I'm late to the conversation. I've been very pleased with Magenta Research. We use their multiview serries:
http://www.magenta-research.com/overview.htm

-dave

[soundgeek]

I generally stay with triple shielded HD15 or BNC5 cables, amplified, up to about 100' unless there is a compelling reason (such as available conduit) that pushes me toward CAT5.

In the CAT5 realm, I use Magenta and Kramer quite a lot. Basically, I use Kramer where budget drives the decision, and Magenta where quality drives it. There are some feature differences within both, of course.

I've had some image quality issues with Intellix. I've used Extron and FSR: they're wonderful, but often a little spendy in comparison with some others.

In general, my experience has been that passive systems have been more likely to give me trouble; I go with active ones; some require power on only one end which makes an easier installation.

Kramer makes one encoder, the TP104 (http://www.kramerelectronics.com/ind...m.asp?desc=447) that sends signal on 4 CAT5's simultaneously; we've had good luck with that cost-effective solution. The FSR Twister (http://www.fsrinc.com/products/twister.htm) has been bombproof, but pretty spendy; their 8-output hub is very cool.

[Ron]

Originally Posted by MediaGuy

Our contact is in Paris, TX - Bell Electronics:

Paris is just 25 miles from me and I know Glen. We've used his equip on quite a few projects. Seems like he handles just about anything and everything, video to audio. Great outfit to do business with.

[plumber63]

Has anybody thought about building something simple to do this with? I am going to try to build something to convert VGA to Cat5. I found a website that describes how to do this, but they say it is only good for about 50'. I need someone to help me out with a powered adapter. Check out this site http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/vgacable.html This is where it tells how to build a passive unit similar to the one Sheldon linked to above. If anyone knows how to build a video amp, let me know.

Thanks,
Glenn

[brewabel]

PHugger submitted this earlier in the year:

VGA to RJ45 conversion

It's in the DIY section.