Video Routing

[erupshaun]

SUP VJFORUMS.COM??
brand new to the forum. this place is cash.

SO i've been VJing with modul8 on my macbook for about a year, and i finally got myself a gig at a local club VJing, with a DJ friend.

I need to connect to the club's projector screen that is about 30-50 feet from the stage, and right now all i've got is a 5 foot VGA cable xD
I must come up with a way to send the video signal from my laptop to the projector screen with minimal latency, and on a relatively tight budget.

What would VJforums.com do?
buy a wireless system to send the signal?
buy a huge VGA cable and route it along the wall?
or give up and run around in circles until you get sick?

[vjpixylight]

c...
Well, climb a few ladders up and down, up and down as well

Either a VGA cable (if your running straight out of your mac book)
or buy a 50 ft s-video cable...Don't go wireless(unless you have lots of cash to get a good 5.8 Hz one..

[FireyFate]

I recently used a VGA over Ethernet extender to run 800x600 video over a 50 ft cable... looked very very clear.

http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=183181

This one goes for about 150USD, but I imagine it would come in handy for a lot of setups. The product description says its good up to 500 feet on normal Cat5 cable.

Don't know if there is a better/cheaper way, I'm sure someone else will provide some solutions.

[vjpixylight]

Originally Posted by FireyFate

I recently used a VGA over Ethernet extender to run 800x600 video over a 50 ft cable... looked very very clear.

http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=183181

This one goes for about 150USD, but I imagine it would come in handy for a lot of setups. The product description says its good up to 500 feet on normal Cat5 cable.

Don't know if there is a better/cheaper way, I'm sure someone else will provide some solutions.

I was going to suggest a Balun as well, but it was the most expensive option for 50 ft..
I recently bought a HDMI balun for a show that will go up to 160 ft @ 1080p. It works great, but unless you are playing out HD content, regular VGA/S-video is a whole lot cheaper..

[vjair]

if you deffo mean feet and not metres, then you could try with just a long VGA cable, it might work, but if you mean metres, then it most probably wont.

[vjpixylight]

Originally Posted by vjair

if you deffo mean feet and not metres, then you could try with just a long VGA cable, it might work, but if you mean metres, then it most probably wont.

Yea were backwardsass this side, and still think our feet are a good measuring tool

[FireyFate]

well, here is a

50 ft VGA cable

50 ft VGA cable

. 56USD at Amazon, and I like how you can easily remove one of the ends for routing through tight places.

But, if the projector is 50 feet away, you will likely need a cable longer than 50 feet, since it is likely you won't be going in a straight line.

Really think the ethernet extender might be the way to go. Handles up to 1920 x 1440, and ethernet cable is really cheap. 100 ft of Cat 5 is only $10, and it would prove a really versatile tool for the future.

[vjpixylight]

on the face of it, the baluns do seem like the way to go, but beware, cheap ones will cause you headaches..(also if you are running a HD video stream, using plenum rated cat5/6 is also highly recommended..)

[deepvisual]

run it in composite BNC
you'll go 150ft no problem

[Liquidmetro]

Originally Posted by deepvisual

run it in composite BNC
you'll go 150ft no problem

+1. If you want reliability (first gig) do this.

VGA + Long distances = BAD
VGA converted to Cat5 + Long distances = GOOD (for resolutions higher than PAL/NTSC).
Composite Video + Long distances = GOOD.

When I get round to using higher resolutions I will probably go for VGA via cat5 baluns (Edirol V8 too). To start with I can see myself running composite in parallel as backup.

Also don't forget that the more connections you have, the more points of failure there are. e.g. Apple DVI to VGA adaptor -> VGA ->Cat5 VGA balun -> Cat5 -> Cat5 VGA balun -> VGA. Or Apple DVI to Video adaptor -> Composite.