# Video cable help needed



## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

I moved into a new home a few weeks ago and am finally starting to address an extensive but unfinished home theater wiring plant. There are several mysteries I need to solve so I'll start with the video cable.

There are three runs of Belden Homechoice HC2650R from equipment closets through walls and ceilings to a wall outlet about 4 feet off the floor where I'm assuming the original owner intended to mount his monitors. There is a run in the great room (living room), master bedroom and what was used as a "gym". Each pull of this cable is paired with one or two what appear to be Cat 5e cables. All of this wiring was professionally installed during original construction. However, none of it has been terminated...it was just left in the wall behind a blank cover plate.

The Technical Data Sheet on this cable can be found at the Belden site. As a new user I can't post links until I have 5 posts (and I don't want to game the system in the Testing forum). Just Google "HC2650R Technical Data".

I'd really like to be able to use this cable although when I spoke to the company who did the install they indicated they had moved on to HDMI. Can I use this cable to run my Mitsubishi at 1080p or equivalent? If so, what's the best way to terminate it?

I'm a complete novice about this sort of thing but will try my best to understand whatever answers might come my way. Also, if more info is needed just let me know.

I'm having a tech from the install company out on Wednesday to "walk me through" what I've got so if I need to ask something specific also let me know.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Rich


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

The cable you described is a bundled coax. It was designed for carrying multiple video signals (3 to 5 depending on the cable version you have). Are they connectored or bare ends? Putting connectors on this cable is a bit of a bear. I had to do some in the past and they take a special connector which is hard to install. That's one thing to discuss with the tech (getting ends installed). They should be equipped to do that.

Assuming you have the ends, you can use_ three_ of the bundled cables to send what is called "component" video. If you look on the back of a Blu-Ray player or your satellite receiver, you will probably see these which are color coded RED, GREEN, and BLUE. The jacketing in the cable is likewise color coded. Sending video by component is quite ok, but there is talk of closing the "analog window", and when that happens, some devices will no longer deliver full HD using the component outputs. Putting that aside, right now, you can get a 1080i picture over the cables you describe just fine. You can't send a 1080p picture this way because most devices won't output it into coax, but you should be fine with 1080i (No full HD 3D either). 

Assuming you locate your sources (BD player, sat receiver, etc.) at the central location, you would need a component switcher to select one of these to feed into your cable (unless you have multiple runs). At the other end, you can get a component wall plate that makes these available to your display via a short component cable that would plug into it.


The other option you have, is to use HDMI over CAT. In this case, you use the HDMI from your source devices, feed that into a selector (to select the source you want to watch) and then go into an HDMI to CAT converter. This is a small box that goes from the HDMI cable to a CAT cable (the other type you mentioned is installed). The type of CAT you mentioned (5e) isn't the best to use, but should work. The signal goes over this and at the other end, another converter changes the interface back to an HDMI cable which would go to your display.

These converters aren't too expensive and are available through Monoprice and other suppliers (Monoprice also carries the component & HDMI switchers, and wall plates you need).

CAT5e might give you some interference problems with HDMI dropouts, but the only way to know is to try it. Usually shielded CAT6 is used. It depends on a lot of things (length of the run, interference sources and how close they are, etc.) with the 5e.

I think I would give the component runs a go and later, if you want to change over to HDMI, try the CAT cables for that. Talk this over with your tech and get their opinion. There are lots of folks here, too, who can be of help in your case.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Yes to the other post , the Belden cable is a mini coax bundle and is difficult to terminate...but not impossibly hard... I agree that you should use these runs terminated by the installer for R G B component video + L/R audio unless you are dead set on using HDMI ... This is because as has been said the only way to carry the HDMI is over the cat5 using a pair of HDMI BALUNS one on each end... I disagree however with using an inexpensive Balun product...It has been my experience with baluns of this sort that you will more than likely end up with signal dropouts especially if your pushing say a 1080p bluray signal with multichannel audio...Its not pretty...The baluns I suggest are the ZUUM Pro Series HDMI over One CAT5/6 Extender W/Bi-Directional IR. These amplify the signal over the cat5 to avoid dropouts as well as supporting IR control and 3D....With HDMI baluns the only drawback is the cost...they are expensive....I can tell you that the RGB component cable solution will be much less expensive and a more stable signal ....each cat5 could then be used for an additional RGB/audio signal (RGB + audio balun) or IR control....Its pretty much a matter of how much your willing to spend and if you really want to try the HDMI balun solution...You might try it with just one room to see if you like it....


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Bob

Thanks for all the good info. Using the existing wiring is appealing since my older Yamaha RX-V630 receiver does not have HDMI. In our old house I ran any HDMI from the device to the Mitsubishi. Also, since the first room I want to bring up is the great room and is set up for 7.1, the old 5.1 Yamaha can't handle it. My plan now is get things running and then start looking for a more modern receiver down the road and move the Yamaha to the master bedroom...but that's another story.

I can simulate the video setup today by hooking everything up with composite outside the equipment closet. The Yamaha does handle optical audio so I plan to use that for sound.

Once I get things running I'll report back on this thread as to how it worked out.

I am assuming it is OK to terminate the Belden mini-coax with RCA connectors, then plug that into RCA wall plates? Let me know if that's OK.

One bit of good news in the great room is the equipment closet and the media alcove share a common wall so punching through with what ever is the latest and greatest at that point would be a piece of cake.

Thanks again for the guidance.

Rich


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

RTS

Thanks...see my reply to Bob. There are three Cat 5e runs to the media alcove, but if and when it's time to upgrade it will be easier to abandon the old wiring and punch through a common wall between the media closet and the alcove, at least in the great room. The master bedroom would be more of a problem, but we don't watch that much content there.

It's too bad folks don't think about using conduit more often. Pull ropes are a easy and cheap way to remove and replace or expand wiring, at least until the conduit fills up.


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

Rich Purdum said:


> Bob
> 
> I am assuming it is OK to terminate the Belden mini-coax with RCA connectors, then plug that into RCA wall plates? Let me know if that's OK.
> 
> Rich


Yes, Rich that's what I was referring to for the connectorization. The cabling I used required Impact Acoustics 40989 connectors. These are RCA type compression connectors but they are really testy to install correctly (and get them to work - be sure to test each install for continuity and shorts). Here is a PDF instruction sheet for installing them. Keep in mind, your cable may be different than mine and may require a different connector, but the install should be about the same. You can get the connectors from here:

http://www.provantage.com/cables-go-40989~7CBT943J.htm

You'll also need the compression tool that works with them. I used a PermaSeal DL-8073RC for mine.

http://www.amazon.com/Steren-DL-8073RC-Professional-Comp-Crimp/dp/B000T5ILB6

The 40989s plug into the backside of a double sided component wall plate and then your TV connectors plug in the opposite side.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042502&p_id=2999&seq=1&format=2 
or similar.

Good Luck, let us know how you get along.


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Bob, 

Super! I may just wimp out and have the tech do the first cable. When I have more time I'll tackle the other runs myself.

I'm hooking up all the components now and will do some A/B comparison between the HDMI and composite video using the TV speakers. Then I'll tackle the audio. I've got some questions there and will start a new thread to deal with them.

I'm feeling a bit more comfortable in this brave new world!

Rich


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Bob

So the tech arrived today and it seems the Belden connections are difficult to find and he showed up without any. He did find some on the east coast, a pack of 25 and "his cost" was $5.00 each. I only really need to terminate the RGB conductors, so I would only need 12 for the great room and master bedroom. I looked at the Belden literature and they mention this product:

http://www.techtoolsupply.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SLC-RCA-MINI25

Seems like $1.99 for qty one is a better deal...DUH!

I'm headed down to the bay area next Friday and I can drop by this great retail place and save shipping (and money):

http://www.hometech.com/hts/products/video/connectors/connectors/compression/hl-slc25.html

At this point I'll need to fork out another $75 for him to come out plus $125 for the connectors. There is a lot of slack cable for me to practice on and the tooling can't be that much. I could try to get him back to install my connectors....or put my big boy pants on and tackle it myself.

Guidance is humbly requested.

Rich


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

This is the link to Proconnect one peice mini RCA compression that I always use(the purple ones). The only difficult task is getting a coax stripper set to the precise blade depths (one blade for the sheild and one for the core) after I had that set properly I was able to terminate them quite quickly and with very few do overs....IF you have some slack to practice on, give it shot :boxer:


http://www.proconnect.org/pc_compression.html#minicoax


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

By all means try a few yourself and see how it goes. You won't be able to reuse the connectors themselves, but as long as you have enough and some test cable to work on, it's well worth the effort. Once you get the technique, you're ok. I didn't use a coax stripper when I did mine (used a really sharp knife which I prefer over many of the strippers out there -_ not _recommended if you have a lot of ends to do). Did you check any of the links I gave? They'll carry the products you're after. In any case, get extra connectors - you'll need some.


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

I'm going to give it a shot. The local company wants $75 just to show up and $70 per hour. I figure that will buy a lot of connectors with money to spare for tools. I'll need the compression tool and if I can find the right stripper I'll get that too! There is lots of slack HC2650R to practice on. Wish me luck.

Since the Belden literature specifically calls out the Holland SLC-RCA-MINI25 connector and I can probably pick those up locally I'll go that way and avoid shipping cost.


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Well, I'm glad to report that I finished my first mini-coax RGB terminations (both ends) and video is working just fine. I actually picked up the Holland connectors at a really neat retail place in Cupertino named HomeTech. One of their techs (Dick) spent about 30 minutes with me at the bench showing me how and what to watch out for. Also, I was ordering some other stuff from Amazon and took a chance on the Valley mini-coax stripper...it was pretty cheap. After shimming up the blades it worked perfectly. Dick showed me how to use a 75 ohm coax cap to do far end testing and I have to report all 6 terminations worked the first time! The Valley stripper really helped. Once I finished the testing I used the compression tool HomeTech sold me and I was in business! Needless to say I was jazzed. Anyone needing parts or advice in the Santa Clara Valley is encouraged to seek out these folks. They also have a web store which seems good to me (a rank novice).

Hooked up my old Yamaha receiver to the speaker runs and was really surprised to find that the installer had mislabeled "Right Front". Turned out it was "Left Side". (I tell my wife it's on the "left" and then tell her it's on the "other left".) Anyway, 5.1 is working fine...still needs to be tuned but that's for later.

I picked up a closeout Sony 7.1 at Fry's for $200 today and will tackle that soon. Meantime I need to start looking for a RF repeater which I can do via Cat5 or RG6. Once I figure where to post the request for advice I'll start to tackle that problem.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Congrats .....your now an official HT Tech


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

Sound's Great - Good Job on those connectors, Rich. Compliments all around!!


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## Rich Purdum (Mar 23, 2012)

Well, I got all my Belden cable runs terminated and all the wall plates installed...nice and neat. Went to hook up a new 7.1 receiver in the great room and ran into the gotcha...it won't output HDMI to the component output jacks. I checked a few other models and it seems this is how everything newer is shipping. So, in my great room I'll put in a new outlet for HDMI. My equipment closet shares a common wall with the media alcove do it's a pretty simple workaround. In the master that's not the case but my old Yamaha does not have HDMI and was going to be installed in the master anyway so no big deal. I know there are converters out there but a new HDMI cable run is a lot more cost effective.


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