Catalyst hardware set up

[Orri]

Can anyone suggest the best way (and economical) to send digital signal from Mac G5 with Catalyst over long distance of about 90 metres / 300 feet.

My graphix card is GeForce 8800GT with 2no DVI outputs but I understand that I may need another graphix card or a converter inbetween.

Many thanks,
Orri

[usami]

Hi Orri

You can extend DVI. DVI can be extended by various methods.
I think the most low cost method is f send with Cat5.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4503


Usami

[Mr_P]

Hi Orri

As discussed... for your resolutions (1400x1050) over 90m cat5 is probably not the best solution.... albeit cheap. not many Cat5-DVI solutions will support this resolution at this distance.

DVI over Fibre may be better for this resolution and distance - there are a number of options available.

talk soon

Simon

[NevBull]

hello Orri

there are some Cat5 solutions that claim to work over these distances - but them you are also susceptible to interference from outside sources.

Fibre would seem the best option for your project. There are several options including those with active TX & RX modules, so you can plug the fibre straight into a DVI port.

regards

Nev.

[usami]

Certainly, I was disregarding the resolution.
However, also cost is important for him?...
Ok. How about SDI ?( see below)

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/dviextender/

Usami

[Mr_P]

HD-SDI is an option Orri and I discussed
The reason we disregarded it was due to addition of more processing in the signal path - both at catalyst end (scan converter or Blackmagic Device) and the SDI processsing in the projector. This could lead to increased latency. Also 1400x1050 is not a supported HD-SDI resolution. Technically 100m is on the limit of HD-SDI. The cable would probably cost more then the processing!...

100m DVI fibre, which appears 'transparent' to mac, supports any resolutions up to 1920x1200
Slightly more expensive - but can bypass the projector processing and provide lossless native resolution.

Simon

[SourceChild]

I will tell you from experience that HD-SDI is a pain to do and a pain to do cheaply.

In the systems I was just working on, we converted 8 DVI outputs to HD-SDI with Gefen DVI to HDSDI Pro Scalers, ran them 50m to AJA re-clocking DAs, then another 80m to the projectors.

The Gefen DVI to HDSDI Pro Scalers are cheap but a major pain in the ass, heat problems, and can't sync to blackburst to save their lives. You could use ImagePros but that gets expensive fast.

From a computer you'll have issues and anti aliasing problems.

Also, you would need to have projectors with native HDSDI. In my case we were using Barco HD18s which are native so HDSDI was logical. Most projectors though are better suited for DVI or VGA which I would ultimately recommend using with Media Servers.

I don't trust the Gefen DVI Cat5 extenders because I have had them fail and randomly act sporadic. I have a few of the Thinklogical DVI over fibre boxes. These are my best recommendation. Get the nicer ones though and if you terminate your own fibre, the cost is not so bad.

The simplest and cheapest solution though is to run RGBHV over 3GHz or better 5-wire BNC. I say simple because you connect server to projector with no extra devices. I say cheaper because the cost of 100m 5-wire is high but less than the cost of combined hardware and useful for a multitude of other things.

There is a perception that DVI is this amazing thing. Well it's not. In most cases, VGA is better and unlike digital, you can exceed recommended length and it will still work. I've run almost 200m on 4GHz RGBHV with negligible signal loss and noise that a hum-bucker cleaned right up.

[Mr_P]

4G and Hum Buckers are the key words...

Analogue signals over that distance could be prone to interference - similar to those experienced by Orri with his existing cat5 solutions. I never recommend sending hi-res analogue over 50m.

DVI fibre is far better quality, not prone to interference or signal loss, native - (ie no signal conversions) For Orri - at 100m distance for 1920x1200 resolutions, DVI fibre is the best option for reliability and stability.

Simon

[SourceChild]

Following up on the convention of DVI fibre, what would you recommend as the best current solution, and why?