interference in video signal

[RSUMC]

please help with a wavy line issue on our video cameras! we have new cameras ran with cat5 lines to an atem/mac system. it appears to be a issue with the proximity to our flourescent lights because the lines go awqay when we shut them down. problem is the wires can't be moved without great difficulty, the lights have to be on during service, and our budget constraints limit what we can do. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also, sometimes the wavy lines are worse than others when the lights are on the whole time... very weird

[KDW4Him]

Do you have to use CAT5 lines?

[daver2]

First of all, welcome to CMN.

Second - what make and type of camera and PC are you using and what video interface?

CAT5 cables assume a particular conversion at both ends whereas the use of CAT5 cable for 'normal' video signals is a no-no.

Presumably, your cat5 cable and the mains cables for your lights run fairly close to each other.

You say that you can't move the cables without great difficulty. Why is this? You may be forced into either (a) changing the route of the video cable to avoid the mains interference or (b) changing the 'type' of video cable so that it is capable of running in the same route as currently but would not suffer from the same interference issues.

You say these are 'new' cameras. Was the specification and/or installation undertaken by a professional company? If so, there should be a warranty issue here as they clearly do not function as intended.

Dave

[tdangelo]

What Daver2 said about CAT5 ...... plus

If the CAT5 runs have electronic converters on each end of the cable, look at how those converters are plugged into power and how they are grounded.

Try as a test powering both converters from the same electrical circuit (you may need a long AC power cord to do so). Make sure that you have a good ground in the AC cable and the outlets.

[RSUMC]

thank you all so much for the input. the cat5 lines were ran by us but the camera installation was by a professional company. i will do some more research to find out if the camera have to use cat5 or if that is what they decided. I am currently the media team member who is helping a video ministry get up and running and do not have all the details yet but will find out. details so far are everything from above and that the video system is using mac mini and an atem board. the budget is pretty much exhausted and we are looking for solutions that won't require an overhaul, but I will post again soon with a follow up. thanks again

[daver2]

Things aren't quite so clear cut then.

Did the professional company specify the cat5 cable and you installed it? If so, the equipment should be compatible with the cable they specified and you should have a claim.

The important thing is to let us know the manufacturer, make and model of the camera and any separate box that connects it to the cat5 cable. And (in addition) to which terminals or connector on the camera the cat5 cable is connected to. We can then download the manual for the specific camera and check that the video output signal is compatible with the cat5 cable - or whether you are trying to push a video signal down a cable that is not suitable.

Tom has also identified the next thing to check - where is the power coming from and how are things earthed (although a professional company should have identified all this prior to taking your money - or at least brought it to your attention that the existing power supply arrangements may not be suitable).

When we performed our video installation - we installed separate mains feeds to all of the cameras and intermediate video amplifiers and splitters to ensure that they were all on the same mains feed as the video mixer and A/V PC to minimise interference.

Dave