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Which to pick from-- a 20 foot s-video cable or a 20 foot coaxial dd5.1 cable? [Archive] - DVD Talk Forum
 
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View Full Version : Which to pick from-- a 20 foot s-video cable or a 20 foot coaxial dd5.1 cable?


babka
07-01-03, 05:46 AM
I need to buy 1 of these to accomodate my projector being at a 20' distance from my receiver and dvd player. which should I choose to result in better pic and/or audio quality? thanks

cowanrg
07-01-03, 11:39 AM
always go with longer video cables. this is of course considering you get a good quality one.

broadwayblue
07-01-03, 06:23 PM
why do you need to run an audio cable to/from your projector? run the 20' s-video (component or dvi would be preferable though) from your receiver/dvd player to the projector, and get a 3' digital optical cable to run from the dvd player to the receiver.

gotapex
07-01-03, 08:46 PM
S-video TENDS to be rather length sensitive. Poor quality long S-video cables give you a washed out picture. If you're going with a 20' cable, make sure you buy at least a reasonable quality one. Breakout cables would be ideal.

X
07-01-03, 10:03 PM
If I'm understanding this correctly...

I'd rather use a long digital audio cable than a long video cable. Digital audio will either work or it won't. And 20' isn't very long for a digital signal. Analog video will degrade with distance.

broadwayblue
07-02-03, 08:05 PM
i still don't understand why he needs to run the audio to/from the projector.

X
07-02-03, 08:49 PM
What if he needs to place his DVD player either by his receiver or by his projector? The sound goes to the receiver, the video to the projector. The respective cable going to the farther away component needs to be 20'.

broadwayblue
07-02-03, 08:58 PM
i guess that makes sense...i just assumed (incorrectly possibly) that the dvd player would be located with the receiver.

X
07-02-03, 09:01 PM
I would assume that too except then there would be no need for the question since he's asking about digital audio.

It's always fun when someone throws out a question like this and doesn't come back to clarify, isn't it?

broadwayblue
07-02-03, 11:00 PM
maybe he's too busy running cables. ;)

babka
07-06-03, 01:35 PM
X hit right on the nose. So I assume its better to go longer on the video cable....

babka
07-06-03, 02:10 PM
I actually just measured, and I would need a 40'-50' s-video cable to run across the ceiling to hook up my projector to my dvd player which is at the front of the room.

Do you guys know of an inexpensive place to buy this? Ebay has some for like $15 for 50' cables but they seen cheap. I wonder if it makes a difference?

X
07-06-03, 03:53 PM
Originally posted by babka
X hit right on the nose. So I assume its better to go longer on the video cable.... Actually, I was saying a long digital audio cable would be preferable, not a long video cable. However that would require that you move your DVD player near your projector. Depends on the aesthetics I guess.Originally posted by babka
I actually just measured, and I would need a 40'-50' s-video cable to run across the ceiling to hook up my projector to my dvd player which is at the front of the room. That's a really long s-video cable!

I don't know if you're going to want to find a really inexpensive one since it better be very well manufacturered for that distance. I'd make sure to buy it where you could return it if it didn't work out.

You could try http://www.bettercables.com/svideosvhs.html

A decent long 75 ohm audio cable will probably cost 1/4 of what a long video cable will. The ones at BetterCables running around $100 look like overkill to me. You could make your own out of some decent coax cable.

gotapex
07-06-03, 06:50 PM
With that length, I'd highly suggest going with S-Video breakout. Because S-Video connectors are so small, it's hard to fit very thick conductors in there. Using a breakout is ideal for lengths over 30', especially with a front projector (or other large, high quality display). It's not as big of an issue with something like a little CRT tube TV.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/svideo/index.htm

A 50' S-Video breakout with Calrad mini-din plugs and Belden 1694A Coax will run you $90.95 plus shipping there. There are a few other good places to get breakouts as well.

babka
07-06-03, 09:35 PM
Well, as indicated in the above posts, I guess I will have to look for a long 40' digital coaxial cable to run dolby digital sound from my dvd receiver to my dvd player ( dvd player being near projector). Or maybe I should just move everything near the projector and just have longer audio cables connected to each speaker going out from the receiver? Is this a better scenario?

babka
07-08-03, 02:27 PM
Any ideas on my previous post?thanks