Re: KAT5 AV Units - Update (Was : RE: Re: CAT-5 wiring details)

["Graham Howe" <graham@xxxxxxx>]

Very encouraging news Keith, with any luck I will have finished flooding
the
house with CAT 5 by the time you are selling modules !

Graham
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Doxey" <keith.doxey@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2000 11:05 PM
Subject: KAT5 AV Units - Update (Was : RE: [ukha_d] Re: CAT-5 wiring
details)


> Hi All,
>
> I was going to delay this posting for a while but since Nigel has
brought
up
> the subject again, here goes....
>
> My wife Sharon has gone to Spain for a week with her sister and left
me at
> home babysitting. This has given me some of the much needed time to do
> further work on the KAT5 AV Units. Today I had a meeting with a PCB
> manufacturer to check that my CAD files were compatable with their
> manufacturing processes....they are :-)
>
> I now have guide prices for various sizes and quantities of boards.
The
> biggest problems so far have concerned sourcing the right parts at the
right
> price. I could find lots of good looking cases but they cost more than
the
> bits I was going to put in them!
>
> The units I showed to the guys in London were housed in small plastic
boxes
> that were an attactive price but extremely difficult and time
consuming to
> machine. It was also dificult to cram all the components in neatly. I
have
> now sourced some slightly larger boxes. They are "Instrument
Style" cases
> with removeable front and back panels that are much easier to work on.
>
> I hope to have the latest prototypes up and running after the weekend
and
> will probably go back to the PCB manufacturer for a final quote on
Tuesday
> next week. All being well I should be in possesion of professionally
> produced boards by the end of October. (They currently have a 20 day
> delivery time).
>
>
> These are comments I have sent to Mark over the last couple of days.
>
> **********
>
> The prototype S-Video units I showed the guys in London had a couple
of
> faults on them due to the difficulties of home produced PCB's but
after
> fixing those I have just been watching DVD in S-Video upstairs in the
> bedroom via CAT5 from the lounge. Picture quality is EXCELLENT :-))
>
> **********
>
> I have spent the evening doing some further tests on the S-video KAT5
units.
>
> Set up the following in the lounge.
> Got my HA PC KHAN and used its ATI RagePro card as a video source.
> Resolution set at 800x600 using both Composite and S-Video outputs.
> Fed into AV Amp and from there into the KAT5 unit.
>
> Upstairs TV 25" JVC. fed via KAT5
> Windows Explorer perfectly readable from about 10feet in S-video and
pretty
> good in Composite (some moire patterning on the fine text but games
and
> browser looked fine with a suitable text size)
>
> Downstairs TV 28" Mitsubishi fed direct from PC
> Not as good as JVC. Fault of TV not PC. Screen geometry and
convergence
are
> WAY OUT !!!
> Trivial Pursuit was pretty good though. A 28" TV and surround
sound amp is
> MUCH better than a laptop. I bet a 7foot projector is even better ;-)
>
> Then came the real test for quality.....
> There are loads of SCART leads that suffer bleed through from the
video
out
> to video in. I have a 2 metre SCART to 6phono lead that is diabolical
even
> though there are 6 separate coax cables in the outer sheath. When I
was
> putting the 12 TV's above the bar in the Long Bar I couldnt run the
coax
> cables next to each other because they would interfere with each other
> causing slight colour distortion.
>
> S Video is basically 2 separate video signals, one for a black and
white
> picture containing all the brightness info (Y or Luma) and the other
> containing the colour info (C or Chroma). The 2 pairs used to carry
this
in
> the CAT5 can be used for 2 composite signals instead. Infact, the
Video
> Conferencing version will be just that. 1 audio and 1 video circuit in
each
> direction down the same cable.
>
> To test the immunity to interference I decided to send 2 different
video
> signals over the circuit.
>
> L Left Audio - DVD Left audio - JVC AV2 Left
> R Right Audio - DVD Right audio - JVC AV2 Right
> Y Composite Video from DVD - JVC AV2 Composite
>
> C Composite Video from KHAN - JVC AV3 Composite
>
> Upstairs I was able to select AV2 on the TV I could watch a crystal
clear
> DVD picture in stereo with no interference whatsoever. By selecting
AV3 I
> had a clear picture of the KHAN desktop with no bleedthrough of the
DVD.
> Obviously neither was as clear as they were when fed in as S-Video but
the
> picture was easily as good as if the source had been right next to the
Tv
> and connected via a SCART lead.
>
> ************
>
> The first units available will be Transmitters and Receivers for
Composite
> or S-Video with Stereo Audio. They will be used one on each end of the
CAT5
> cable for a single source. The next units to be available will be the
video
> switcher cards to form a central hub for the system.
>
> Once the new boxes are done I will photograph them and put them on my
> website for you all to see.
>
> Must go.....PCB's to redesign.
>
> Keith
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Nigel Orr [mailto:Nigel.Orr@xxxxxxx]
> >
> >
> > To be honest, I find balancing and differential drives are much
more
> > effective at rejecting interference than screening, so
> > it's probably fine to wire it all in UTP and then add drivers
(KATV!)
> > if/when you find you need them (and Keith finds time to make
them!)
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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