A/V Cable distance limit?

[loudanddeep]

Well, what do you do when you source (vcr, etc) is in the other room from the computer?

I want to run audio and video from my stereo to my computer an vice versa.

Ok, I did a bit of checking and found out there is a thing called balanced cables...which will allow you to do audio / vido over 6'. They are really expensive.

Any suggestions?

dp

[HillJack]

Get properly shielded (good quality) cables and adapters. Forget those so-called 'balanced cables'. Waste of money unless you need to run 100's of feet.

I'm currently running 3 S-Video and 3 RCA (audio) cables with female/female adapters on the RCA's to reach my computer from my TV, running a total of 36 feet, and it works perfectly fine. Go with cheap cables and you'll probably get alot of interference.

[loudanddeep]

"Get properly shielded (good quality) cables and adapters. "

Ok, and what cables would this be?
(what do I ask for, search for etc.)
I only need to run about 25-30 '

thanks for the reply, I just dont know a lot about cable.
(well enough to know that monster cables are $$$$$$$$$)

dp

[baker]

I have an a/v signal running from a cable box downstairs, i just used 15m of coaxial cable which cost me 40c per meter. And then I used speaker cable for sound.

Baker

[HillJack]

dp,

I don't know how to technically describe the cables, but mine are quite thick and have a rubber-ish coating and gold-plated connectors (dunno if this makes any difference, but...). Thick being the keyword - sure there are cheapies out there, but you'll probably notice they are pretty thin, and as I said, they'll only result in tons of interference.

The audio cable (RCA) is almost like a headphone extension cable, except with the RCA ends. They work great.

As for coax... Though that would be ideal, but I personally don't have a coax-in port on my video card (nor is there a spare out-one on my digital cable box

Best thing to do imo, is physically go in to an electronics / a/v store and see what they have (like a Radio Shack for those of us in North America). The thicker the better.

[loudanddeep]

Thanks for the replies...

I was wondering if the cable you had was a specific brand.

Coax is used for sending an rf signal, that is audio and video together.

I want to send svideo, or composite video, and line level signals of audio.

I will just have to go and look.
If I find cheap (less than monster) I will post...

dp

[Just G]

dp,
You can send video only over co-ax, for example, RG-6 or RG-59, as a composite source. In fact, for longer runs, it will likely be better for you than typical RCA cables. Co-ax is better shielded than most RCA cables, yet, at less cost. Generally, RCA cable is meant to connect a VCR to a TV and a 25' is getting into the "custom" cable area - read as, "more money"; whereas RG-6 is meant to be run longer distances, from a satellite dish to a receiver, for example. Keep in mind that there are physical limitations of any cabling which can ultimately lead to signal loss.

You can get an F-type-to-RCA adaptor which fits on the threaded end of a run of RG-6 and will plug into an RCA jack. Look at Radio Shack P/N 278-290 for an example. Put one on both ends - don't mix and match - to make a well shielded composite video cable. You can't do this for an S-Video run, however.

For runs of 25-30' standard RCA audio cables with decent shielding would suffice.

The only real answer is to buy some cables and see if you get signal degradation. You may find some 25' RCAs that work fine for you, or you may have to buy connectors and run co-ax.

HTH,
G