Connecting ATI AIW to TV with a long cable...

[Zuppest]

I would like to connect my ATI AllInWonder 128 32MB AGP to my TV (PAL). The problem is there's a long distance between them: 25m. So, which type of connection should I use(Composite, SVideo or coax)? I think composite is a good and economic solution , but I need to know which impedance to use for video cable: 50 or 75 ohms :confused: ? Plese, help me!

[snw]

i don't know the real answer to your question but i use regular cat5 networking cable for composite video and sound around in my house and it's working fine =)

[droolian01]

Hi there.

All audio/video connections require 75 ohm cable. The 50 ohm cable is usually used for ham/cb/communications stuff.

I have wired my computer (upstairs) to my tv/cable set top box (downstairs) and use a logitech cordless mouse and keyboard to control it. With bends etc... the wire length is about 12 metres and have no signal strength problems - i made up two s-video cables (one to watch and one to capture) and a stereo cable. I also put in another 2 audio cables for when i get a 5.1 amp and speakers. I used twin microphone cable (with each core being individually screened - important for interference/cross talk) for each s-video cable.

I would suggest you use s-video if you can (if your tv has it!) as comosite/s-video/coax should 'travel' about as well as each other. I used quite good (=thick - there less resistance) screened microphone cable, but at 25 metres distance i would want to go for quite heavy cable - which will be expensive. I also used microphone cable as it is thiner and neater (remember how many cable i have bundled together!!) than the next obvious choice (tv coax). And this is what i would recomend for you as it is much cheaper and will definately do the job - use two lengths of ordinary tv coax cable, the core of one to carry the chroma, the core of the other to carry the luma, and the shields are the grounds. Hers the pinout.

http://www.dazzle-europe.com/de/dazzle_ibase.nsf/063c0dca178c1d7ac12569e2005e97d5/d4a5d793cfa1f48ac1256929003c43dd?OpenDocument (http://)

http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html (http://)

http://www.sesworld.com/info/svideo.html (http://)

If you're not confident with a soldering iron just buy the cable!! Or you could consider a wirless video sender - this can send audio too and operates in the 2.4 GHz range (i think).

Hope this helps

[Zuppest]

Thank you so much!!! :D THAT was what I needed!
My TV has only SCART in, but I've an adapter (composite/svideo -> SCART). I think the two coax solution is too much expensive :( , I'm gonna use composite (1 screened 75 ohm <- thanks :) !+ 1 pair audio cable) or an antenna's coax (my computer is already connected by SCART to a VCR which has antenna's out)(hope the image is not so bad), depending by price. Tomorrow I'll go to the store... now I know what to order! Thank so much!

[Chu]

If you need a project to keep you busy, there are some simple schematics out there that will let you build an amp to broadcast S-Video over CAT5 across very long distance (with a "deamp" on the other end to bring the signal back into spec), which generally results in better image quality then running a long ass cable. I don't know the EE side to it, but I remember seeing schematics a while ago and it seems to be a very easy circuit to build if you care a ton about image quality. They sell commercial ones for $300 a set . . . a homebrew version just requires you to buy a couple of *VERY* high speed opamps and buffers, which is signifantly cheaper.

-Chu

[Zuppest]

Thank you all :D ,
I did it! A 32m long RG-59 cable for video and a stereo cable for audio... It works and the image is so good! Total cost: near 50 euro.