Composite Video cable limits

djmd wrote on 7/25/2002, 2:59 PM
I am working on setting up a system to capture stuff from my dish receiver into vegas... basically for making SVCDs out of TV shows. Does anybody here know how far you can go with both a composite video signal (over sheilded cable of course) and S-Video cable? How easy/cheap is it to make a long s-video cable, say, 25-35 feet?

I'm basically trying to avoid buying another system to do this... instead, buying a DV bridge and running across my room from my home entertainment center to my PC.

I really appreciate any help.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 7/25/2002, 3:47 PM
Since you're going to SVCD as your output format, you've got a lot of leeway for quality. However, you'll really just have to judge for yourself what is acceptable and what isn't. I've run composite video through 350 feet of shielded cable and the picture was quite watchable on the other end, just a small amount of static and fuzz. But then it was only for a backstage monitor so the little kids who were in the dressing rooms waiting to go on could watch their friends performing and it was fine for that. Generally you'll see some noticeable degredation if you go over 25 feet. The wire you use also makes a big difference. High quality low impedance cable will work much better than a spool of cheap stuff from Radio Shack.

S-Video seems to hold up rather better. We run about 150 feet of dual foam-core coax S-Video cable from our control booth to the LCD projector in our church sanctuary and the picture is visually identical to using a 3 foot cable. This cable cost us about 80 cents per foot though, so it was a bit pricey but definately worth the cost.
Sr_C wrote on 7/25/2002, 3:58 PM
I don't know about S-Video but if you want to use composite here's a solution. Use RG-6 coaxial cable (the kind of cable that runs from your dish's lnb to your reciever) Composite baseband signal runs quite well for a long distance through RG-6, in fact the "RCA" cables that you use for composite hook ups are just slightly shielded coax (usually RG-59 flex) Any electronics parts dealer sells adapters to bring an F connector to an "RCA type" composite connector. If you plan on going more than 100ft, then I would use RG-11 cable.

But, if you can find a way to carry S-Video the needed distance without much loss, then I would definitly do that instead. -Shon