MuxLab Discreet Audio-Video Baluns Application Guide

VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video

Baluns

Jan 2006

500019 500020 500021

Application Guide

Version 1.03

© MuxLab Inc. 2003-2006 1

VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to explain how to apply MuxLab’s Discreet Audio-Video

Baluns in different operating scenarios and to discuss issues not covered in the Installation Guide that comes with the products.

Function of the Discreet Audio-Video Baluns

The function of the Discreet Audio-Video Baluns is to provide a cost-effective method to connect consumer audio-video equipment via Cat5 twisted pair cable in a point-to-point connection. The size of the product and the screw terminal connections allow the baluns to be installed in various combinations thereby maximizing the use of the Cat5 cable.

Equipment Supported

Used in pairs, the Discreet Audio-Video equipment work with any audio-video equipment that supports analog audio, analog video and digital audio formats. The list includes equipment such as the following:

DVD players

VCR

Monitors

Projectors

Plasma screens

Home theatre systems

Laptops

PCs

Gamestations

Splitters

Distribution amplifiers

Scan converters

Video scalers

Matrix switchers

1xN switchers

MPEG decoders

Video servers

Cameras

CCTV equipment

Component Video Balun (500021) - Performance Limit

Due to the bandwidth limitation of the Component Video Balun, the product supports only medium resolution (480i and 480p). It does not support high definition video (HDTV) which is

720p and 1080i. Therefore when used with HiDef sources such as satboxes, or HiDef DVD, it is recommended to select 480 resolution. The same applies to the RGB Balun (5000002).

Specifically, in one situation it was been found that ghosting occurred when an older model

NEC42VP4 plasma screen was upgraded to a newer Panasonic TH50PHD7. The balun bandwidth, coupled with a higher receiver bandwidth of the plasma may have combined to create an impedance mismatch, thereby causing ghosting to appear on the screen. One way to

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide reduce the ghosting may be to turn off the progressive scan (p) of the component video source thereby reducing the signal bandwidth.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Typical Applications

The Discreet Audio-Video Baluns may be used to establish a variety of point-to-point connections via Cat5 twisted pair. The following diagrams illustrate some basic applications.

Cat 5 twisted pair cable

Audio Amplifier DVD or VCR

Analog Audio Source

Analog Audio Baluns (500019)

One pair required for mono

Two pairs required for stereo

Analog Audio Amplifier and

Speaker System

Figure 1; Analog Stereo Audio

DVD or VCR

Component Video Source

Y

Pb

Pr 4-pair Cat5 twisted pair cable

Component Video Baluns (500021)

Six (6) required per YPbPr connection

Figure 2; Component Video (YPbPr)

Y

Pb

Pr

Component Video Monitor

DVD or VCR

4-pair Cat5 twisted pair cable

Composite Video Source

Component Video Baluns (500021)

Figure 3; Composite Video (NTSC, PAL, SECAM)

Composite Video Monitor

DVD or VCR

Digital Audio Source

Digital Audio Balun (500021)

1-pair twisted pair

Digital Audio

Decoder/Amplifier

DA Decoder/Amp

Figure 4; Digital Audio (ie; Dolby™ Digital)

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Combining Baluns for Maximum Cat 5 Cable Utilization

The Discreet Audio-Video Baluns may be combined on the back of audio-video equipment in a variety of combinations, thereby allowing for maximum utilization of the Cat 5 cable. The following diagrams illustrate how a single four-pair Cat5 cable may be optimized in different application scenarios.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Figure 5: Component Video Only Figure 6: Component Video and Digital Audio

Component Video

Y Pb Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

Component Video

Y Pb Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

Component Video

Baluns (500021)

Component Video

Baluns (500021)

Digital Audio

Balun (500020)

One (1) Twisted Pair

One (1) Twisted Pair

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

Figure 7: Composite Video and Digital Audio

Component Video

Y Pb Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

Figure 8: Composite Video and Analog Audio

Component Video

Y P b Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

Component Video

Balun (500021)

Digital Audio

Balun (500020)

Component Video

Balun (500021)

Analog Audio

Baluns (500019)

One (1) Twisted Pair

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

Figure 9: S-Video and Analog Audio

Audio-Video Equipment Interface

Component Video

Y Pb Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

One (1) Twisted Pair

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

Figure 10: S-Video and Digital Audio

Audio-Video Equipment Interface

Component Video

Y Pb Pr

S-Video

Composite

Video

Analog Audio

L R

Digital Audio

S/PDIF

S-Video to Dual

RCA Adaptor

(3rd party)

Analog Audio

Baluns (500019) S-Video to Dual

RCA Adaptor

(3rd party)

Digital Audio

Balun (500020)

Component Video

Baluns (500021)

One (1) Twisted Pair

Component Video

Baluns (500021)

One (1) Twisted Pair

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

4-pair Cat 5

Twisted Pair Cable

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Using Spare Twisted Pairs from a LAN Connection

In some installations where a point-to-point audio-video connection is needed and it is not practical to add twisted pair cable, there is the possibility of using spare twisted pair cable that is behind the wall. For example if an Ethernet 10/100 LAN is installed and there is a LAN outlet connecting two rooms between a PC and a LAN hub, it may be possibly to use the unused twisted pairs from this connection. Ethernet 10/100 requires two (2) twisted pairs. These twisted pairs must be terminated on pins 1&2, 3&6 of the RJ45 jack. Assuming a four-pair

Cat 5 cable was installed between the PC and the hub, there may be two unused twisted pairs available behind the wall if they have not already been used for other services.

Assuming the spare pairs are available and the expertise to modify the wiring is available, the two spare twisted pairs could be diverted to a second and/or third RJ45 outlet at both ends.

This would allow up to two audio-video channels to be transmitted via Cat5 between the two locations. The following diagram shows how the two spare twisted pairs could be used to transmit stereo-audio or composite video and monaural audio from one room to another.

In regard to crosstalk, there will be no interference between the audio-video signal and the

LAN signal under the same Cat5 cable jacket.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Wallplates With Multimedia Feed-Thru Modules

The Discreet Audio Video Baluns work in conjunction with wallplates with third party multimedia feed-thru modules. The Discreet Baluns offer the advantage of greater distance performance versus standard Cat5 multimedia modules thus providing increased cabling flexibility and range. The following photos illustrate some typical multimedia modules available on the market.

In this application, the Discreet Baluns are connected to the back of the feed-thru module. A standard RCA coax jumper cable is used to connect the equipment to the front of the wallplate.

Since the Discreet Balun adds depth, one of the issues to consider is the amount of clearance that is available behind the module. The following diagram illustrates a typical connection with approximate dimensions for balun depth and height.

RCA Female-Female

Feed-Thru Module

2.5" (6.35 cm)

One (1) Twisted Pair

0.5625" (1.429cm)

Discreet Balun

Depth - Fully Inserted

2.0625" (5.24 cm)

The following are some of the companies offering multimedia feed-thru modules.

Company

Leviton

Hubbell

Ortronics

Panduit

Website Product http://www.levitonvoicedata.com/ QuickPort Audio/Video Cable Connectors http://www.hubbell.com/ http://www.ortronics.com/ http://www.panduitncg.com/

Modular Inserts

ICC

Unicom http://www.icc.com

http://www.unicomlink.com/#

Signamax/AESP http://www.signamax.com/ Multimedia feed-thru modules

Siemon http://www.homecabling.com/

The tradenames mentioned in this table are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Balun Spacing Requirements

The Discreet Baluns are designed to mount side by side on the rear of any audio-video equipment. The height and width dimensions are .594” x 625” (1.51 x 1.59 cm). Therefore the minimum center-to-center spacing of the RCA is approximately .95” to 1.0” ( 2.41 to 2.54 cm). The following diagram illustrates the layout when a matrice of Discreet Baluns are mounted adjacent to each other.

.625"

1.59 cm

.594"

1.51 cm

Balun Access on Matrix Panels

In the professional audio-video environment, the BNC connector is more typically found than the RCA connector. In some applications a matrix of CCTV Screw Terminal Baluns (500009) must be mounted onto a matrix of BNC connectors. If the baluns must be removed periodically, access to the BNC connector in the center of the matrix may be difficult. To overcome the problem, the Component Video Balun (500021) may be used in conjunction with a RCA-F to BNC-M adapter, thereby allowing a video balun in the matrix center to be removed and reconnected with ease. The following diagram illustrates.

MuxLab Discreet Balun RCA-F to BNC-M adapter

BNC-F

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Compatibility With Other MuxLab Baluns

The Discreet Baluns are compatible with other MuxLab VideoEase baluns as shown in the following table. Although designed for the component video environment, the Component

Video Balun (500021) supports composite video and S-Video. When used for S-Video and

S-Video adapter that converts the standard 4-pin mini-DIN to two RCA connectors is needed as shown in figures 5 & 6.

Model 500019 500020 500021

500000

500001

500002

•

•

•

•

500007

500009

500010

•

500011

500012

500015

• •

•

500016

500017

•

500025

500026

•

•

500032

500033

500050

•

•

• •

500060

500061

500200

•

•

•

•

•

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Analog Audio Balun (500019) in a Single-Ended

Configuration

The Analog Audio Balun (500019) may be used in a single-ended application where one end is an 75-ohm unbalanced audio interface and the other is a balanced audio interface. For example the Analog Audio Baluns are connected to an unbalanced audio source such as a DVD or

VCR.

If the receiver, such as an audio matrix switcher has balanced audio inputs, the twisted pair from the source can be connected directly to the receiver input.

Line Audio Boosters

In some applications, it may be necessary to boost the line audio signal due to a weak output signal. A line audio boost such as the one found in the following photo may be helpful and may be used in conjunction with the 500019 as well as other MuxLab audio-video baluns. http://www.audiooutfitter.com/store/AB-1PA.html

.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Line Audio Splitters

In order to split a single stereo audio source to two receivers, it is recommended to use an active audio distribution amplifier such as the one shown in the following link. http://www.kramerelectronics.com/indexes/pic.asp?p=PT-102A

Compatibility with Crestron™ QM-RMCRX-BA

The Analog Audio Balun has been tested by Creston to work with its Room Media controller and QuickMedia™ Receiver (Model QM-RMCRX-BA) in a single-ended balanced audio environment. The QM-RMCRX features balance audio output and when used with the

500019 on the receive end, results are positive. The following is a link to the Crestron QM-

RMCRX datasheet. http://www.crestron.com/downloads/pdf/spec_sheets/commercial_and_residential/qm-rmcrx-ba.pdf

For more information, please contact Crestron Technical Support.

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VideoEase Discreet Audio-Video Balun Application Guide

Conclusion

Should you require additional information, please contact MuxLab Customer Technical Support for assistance or visit MuxLab’s website at www.muxlab.com

.

MuxLab Inc.

8114 Trans Canada Hwy,

St. Laurent (Quebec)

Canada H4S 1M5

Telephone : ....................................514-905-0588

Toll-free (North America) : ......... 1-877-689-5228

Fax : ..............................................514-905-0589

E-mail: [email protected]

URL: www.muxlab.com

© MuxLab Inc. 2003-2006 13