long wires

[jjjamiem]

I'm looking for a long wire recommendation, 25ft+.

I'm capturing off of a cable box, just normal digital, not hdtv. The source is fine, nothing spectacular, so I don't think I'll be losing much by not getting the best out there, but I know the longer they are that quality does seem to matter more. Looking to use normal rwy a/v wires, possibly s-video.

Just seeing if anyone had any suggestions.

[ZippyP.]

Check out this discussion: here.

25 feet is not a problem for s-video.

[Bjs]

I capture using both coaxial cable and rca , both exceed 50+ feet .

Having tested against 2 and 5 meter cable's , coaxial provide's better control over "lose of signal quality" , without the need for signal booster type device's .

Rca dose loose some quality at this distance ... rca is more acceptable ... yet this depend's on niehbouring device's , and the quality of the connector's and cable used .

Svideo will require a booster to stabalize the quality over such lenght's .

Apart from that , I have not seen any svideo cable's made longer than 5 meter's ... they dont appear to exist , unless they are specially ordered or you intend to make it yourself .

Niehbouring device's relate's to tv's , stereo unit's , power transformer's within the near area of the cable in use ... such device's can cause interference .

[edDV]

For video use a good quality S-Video or Composite Coax.
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/composite-video_cables.html
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/s-video.html

For hi impedance audio, look for maximum shielding. Usually hi impedance (red/white RCA) is considered adequate for only 10-12ft but you can stretch that if your ears can take it. Pro's would use low impedance for those lenghths requiring a transformer at each end.
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/cables.html

Over those lengths you may be fighting ground loop 60 Hz hum issues through power lines.

Other option is to use RF (Ch3/4 out) over coax for video and audio.
If you aren't fussy on quality, this is the easiest way to go.


Connections FAQ
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/howto-av.html

[olyteddy]

Or use a USB capture box and a long USB cord...

[SingSing]

These are my takes from the technical aspect :

1. Convert to digital early is the best.

2. Coaxial is impendence match, and able to work wit weak signal down to -50dB. It is good for carrying analog signal in long distant.

3. RCA cables is for short Audio/video only. Not suitable for 12 feet and up.

[edDV]

Or use a USB capture box and a long USB cord...

USB2 has maximum run length of 16 feet (5M).

To go that long on USB, you will need an active extender but that does overcome the analog issues. You are limited to the quality of the USB converter/encoder which may not be what you want.
http://www.usbgear.com/USB2_extension_Cable/usb-extension-cable.html

[jjjamiem]

I want to thank everyone for answering my question.

The length I need is just about 25ft, maybe a couple of more - I'm going to measure again to make sure there's easy breathing room.

I was looking at something simple, like this from TigerDirect
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=623842&CatId=784
Now I think I might just keep doing what I'm doing.

I'm trying to make this a wires-only solution (not move my capture device); but reading everyone's posts, it appears I might lose a lot of quality.