Re: Screen at a distance

[Ext User(Justin)]

novus wrote:
> I have been given permission by a higher authority (the wife) to buy an
> plasma or LCD screen provided that it can hang on the wall and have no
> clutter underneath it. Clutter is wife-speal for STBs, DVD players,
> amplifiers etc.. The clutter is to be on the other side of the room - 8m
> away. One option is to use the computer with appropriate cards as the
> control centre and possibly wireless speakers. It is a rented property so we
> can't access the wall cavity. Any suggestions would be welcome.

I think you're up a certain creek without a paddle. You're dreaming if
you think wireless is any answer (for sound, maybe, but not picture). 8m
is a seriously long run for video cables.

Either way, you're going to have some cables run in to the screen (power
for one). Maybe cat5 baluns might help - Jaycar catalogue numbers QC3429
& QC3428.

Justin

[Ext User(novus)]

"Justin" <justinnospam@dontspamme.com.au> wrote in message
news:4456bdf1$0$10677$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.a u...
> novus wrote:
>> I have been given permission by a higher authority (the wife) to buy an
>> plasma or LCD screen provided that it can hang on the wall and have no
>> clutter underneath it. Clutter is wife-speal for STBs, DVD players,
>> amplifiers etc.. The clutter is to be on the other side of the room - 8m
>> away. One option is to use the computer with appropriate cards as the
>> control centre and possibly wireless speakers. It is a rented property so
>> we can't access the wall cavity. Any suggestions would be welcome.
>
> I think you're up a certain creek without a paddle. You're dreaming if you
> think wireless is any answer (for sound, maybe, but not picture). 8m is a
> seriously long run for video cables.
>
> Either way, you're going to have some cables run in to the screen (power
> for one). Maybe cat5 baluns might help - Jaycar catalogue numbers QC3429 &
> QC3428.
>
> Justin

Thanks for that. So to some questions for a plan B.

1) What is a viable distance for a video cable run?
2) I may be able to hide away a computer within reach of the screen e.g
using wireless keyboard etc. We currently have no interest in Pay TV but
increasing interest in streaming audio & video from the web. Are there major
disadvantages in using a computer-based entertainment system over individual
components?
3) Does a computer-based system require a pre-amp or only a power amp?

thanks,
novus

[Ext User(Justin)]

novus wrote:

> Thanks for that. So to some questions for a plan B.
>
> 1) What is a viable distance for a video cable run?

That's a curly one, & it can vary depending on cable quality. Good VGA
cables can do 10m without to much degradation. DVI, 5 metres is the
official limit (8-10 maybe). Quality component video cables should do
10m OK (you would probably need custom made ones), but (this is just my
opinion) component will fall out of favour reasonably quickly (in favour
of digital delivery - HDMI/DVI).

> 2) I may be able to hide away a computer within reach of the screen e.g
> using wireless keyboard etc. We currently have no interest in Pay TV but
> increasing interest in streaming audio & video from the web. Are there major
> disadvantages in using a computer-based entertainment system over individual
> components?

This might be a good option. I run a Media Center PC & it's taken some
getting used to, but it's very nice once in. Have a look at
http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/ for some great info & answers to a lot
of your questions (before you've even thought to ask them in some
cases). Windows isn't the only option by the way, but it's probably the
most versatile simply due to weight of numbers & therefore application
developers.

> 3) Does a computer-based system require a pre-amp or only a power amp?

Theoretically you can by-pass the pre-amp (the PC acts as a pre). I
would still use a pre-amp as I find the output from sound cards is
generally too weak (you could set it to a level & then just use the
volume control of the PC).

Justin

[Ext User(Mike)]

Justin wrote:

> Theoretically you can by-pass the pre-amp (the PC acts as a pre). I
> would still use a pre-amp as I find the output from sound cards is
> generally too weak (you could set it to a level & then just use the

Or better yet, use S/P-DIF digital audio (optical or coax) from PC
to integrated 5.1 amp for surround sound.

The traditional way to avoid clutter is to put it all inside a cabinet,
with wood or smoked-glass doors. It helps to reduce noise from the PC
too. Consider a mini-mac or mini-itx PC.

[Ext User(novus)]

"Justin" <justinnospam@dontspamme.com.au> wrote in message
news:44571c04$0$7527$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
> novus wrote:
>
>> Thanks for that. So to some questions for a plan B.
>>
>> 1) What is a viable distance for a video cable run?
>
> That's a curly one, & it can vary depending on cable quality. Good VGA
> cables can do 10m without to much degradation. DVI, 5 metres is the
> official limit (8-10 maybe). Quality component video cables should do 10m
> OK (you would probably need custom made ones), but (this is just my
> opinion) component will fall out of favour reasonably quickly (in favour
> of digital delivery - HDMI/DVI).
>
>> 2) I may be able to hide away a computer within reach of the screen e.g
>> using wireless keyboard etc. We currently have no interest in Pay TV but
>> increasing interest in streaming audio & video from the web. Are there
>> major disadvantages in using a computer-based entertainment system over
>> individual components?
>
> This might be a good option. I run a Media Center PC & it's taken some
> getting used to, but it's very nice once in. Have a look at
> http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/ for some great info & answers to a lot of
> your questions (before you've even thought to ask them in some cases).
> Windows isn't the only option by the way, but it's probably the most
> versatile simply due to weight of numbers & therefore application
> developers.
>
>> 3) Does a computer-based system require a pre-amp or only a power amp?
>
> Theoretically you can by-pass the pre-amp (the PC acts as a pre). I would
> still use a pre-amp as I find the output from sound cards is generally too
> weak (you could set it to a level & then just use the volume control of
> the PC).
>
> Justin

Thanks Justin. That's been most helpful

novus

[Ext User(Michael)]

I use a 15m DVI cable with no problems.

"Justin" <justinnospam@dontspamme.com.au> wrote in message
news:44571c04$0$7527$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au ...
> DVI, 5 metres is the official limit (8-10 maybe).