DIY s-video cable: is 75 ohm wire essential?
 

I'd like to make an s-video cable for the TV & DVD player in my bedroom using some cat-5 cable. The specs for the cable is 9 ohms/100 m. I've seen a lot of component and video cables being advertised as 75 ohms. Will the difference in impedance make any difference or damage my equipment?

Also, I understand that the 4 pins in an s-video cable correspond to Y, Y-ground, C, and C-ground. I take it that, theoretically speaking, I could just jam 2 stripped strands from the 4 cat-5 pairs into where the pins would otherwise go, and this would work. Is this right?

Thanks in advance.

Why go through ALL THE TROUBLE of making your own S-Video cables when you can buy very good qaulity ones for under $15?

Unless of course it's just for the fun of making it!

Buy an s-video cable?! Where's the fun in that? :) Besides, I don't like my bedroom setup enough, so I don't feel that it deserves it. Anyway, I'm just curious to know if it will work, but I don't want my curiosity to fry my stuff. :)

Where can I get a good one for $15?

I've heard that the Dayton line from PartsExpress to be a good value. The cheap RCA ones from MCM electronics are functional. Acoustic Research is also a value brand and widely available.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage...._ID=167#svideo

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebComme...il.jsp?id=DT6S

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebComme...l.jsp?id=DT9SA

I was wondering if I could get one locally at a reasonable price. Seems like all the places that carry good ones mark them up quite a bit.

I saw a cheap one at Walmart yesterday for $6 for 6 feet.

Was it a cheap gold plated one or just a regular cheap one?

A regular cheap one, expect to pay more for gold plated.

I went and bought the $6 one at Walmart today and it worked like a charm hooking my laptop computer to my TV.