Video over Cat5

While working on my audio, I was reading in forums about video over Cat5. This sounded like a great idea to me as my experiments with video over 2.4 GHz wireless were pretty poor. However, there were mixed reviews on some of the forums. So, I decided to wire in Cat5 from our TV/TiVo to our bedroom on the other side of the house because it was easy to do while I was doing the other wiring. I was reluctant to buy the components online as I’d have trouble returning them if I didn’t like the results. I saw that my least favorite store, Fry’s, seemed to have similar components, but was always out of what I wanted. On one trip to Fry’s (I was looking for a punch down block which you can’t really find elsewhere), I found the parts I needed made by Unicom Electric. I hooked everything up when I got home and was amazed that the quality was pretty good given the distance and conversions (I got the S-video modules; my TiVo outputs S-video, but my upstairs TV only has an RCA connection, so I needed another adapter). That was great for audio/video, but what about controlling the TiVo? I had already hooked up the TiVo to the audio system and the audio system will repeat IR signals from all the volume controls. Perfect! The next question was, did I have to point the remote at the wall which was behind me? Well, the Harmony 520 remote I bought has an IR signal so powerful, that I aim it at the TV and it seems to bounce around the room and hit the volume control.I’m extremely pleased with this. At first, my wife always thinks I’m crazy with my gadgets and technology stuff, but when she actually gets to use them, she changes her mind pretty quickly. We can now watch TiVo in our bedroom which is great for when my wife falls asleep before me.

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