Long run of VGA

[NickJones]

If I were you I would seriously look at getting a Balun to run VGA over Cat5 if you intend to do this on a regular basis.
Nick

[museav]

Originally Posted by NickJones

If I were you I would seriously look at getting a Balun to run VGA over Cat5 if you intend to do this on a regular basis.

Which also points out the importance of establishing factors such as whether the application is portable or a permanent install.

1024x768 with a 50' run should not be a problem with good cable. With a generic cable of unknown quality and construction you might be on the edge of whether it will work acceptably. If you already have the cable and projector it would typically be pretty easy to just try it and see what you get.

[00AVD]

A decent quality pre-made VGA lead will work just fine for 1024 x 768 over 30m (100') or so. Even if you need to use a booster (due to crappy laptop output), it's still way cheaper than an active (powered) CAT5 solution.

[ruinexplorer]

I agree that a balun is completely unnecessary for this purpose. Depending on the quality of cable, I have used laptops to drive XGA without noticing any signal degredation. If you are driving your signal with a desktop or a DA, you should have no problems with a 50' run.

[FunnyFellow]

Originally Posted by 00AVD

Ah, I see. So it's a standard off the shelf VGA cable? Just be wary of the really thin ones. They are often woeful quality and are usually missing the ferrite core at each end.

It is reasonably thick (about the thickness of a mains power cable) and does have ferrite cores at both ends.

[00AVD]

Sounds like you're good to go then!

[Chris15]

Originally Posted by ruinexplorer

I don't agree that you have less signal loss at lower resolution, I say that you just notice it less

To approach this from an engineering point of view, a higher resolution signal means that to maintain the same refresh rate, the scan rates must increase. This creates a higher demand for bandwidth. Bandwidth is length dependant on all media (including fibre), so for a given cable having a fixed bandwidth per unit length, you will get more loss at a higher resolution...

[ruinexplorer]

Originally Posted by Chris15

To approach this from an engineering point of view, a higher resolution signal means that to maintain the same refresh rate, the scan rates must increase. This creates a higher demand for bandwidth. Bandwidth is length dependant on all media (including fibre), so for a given cable having a fixed bandwidth per unit length, you will get more loss at a higher resolution...

Ok, so, yeah, I guess I hadn't had my coffee when I wrote that. Currently wiping mud from my face.

Thanks for clarifying.

[firewater88]

Originally Posted by FunnyFellow

It is reasonably thick (about the thickness of a mains power cable) and does have ferrite cores at both ends.

you will be fine. I have run many different setups, but the last one was about 60' of extensions run from stage to an ancient A/B vga box at FOH to switch my Mac and stage inputs. It then goes from A/B box via 100' of older VGA cable to a powered DA a the projectors (I twin stack mine). All running 1024x768 with no problems. In fact the presenter showed up with a little netbook with his presentation on it and it ran just fine. My extensions are 10'ers and seem to resemble the ones you are using.

[Clarissa]

Here's one of my favorite solutions:

For only $83.70 each when QTY 50+ purchased - VGA Extender PLUS upto 180 Meter | Video Extender

They provide a local monitor output AND the ability to run several hundred feet of CAT5 without major quality loss. For $90. Flexible, versatile, and use it nearly anywhere - sometimes you get so lucky as to not even need to pull cables (extra CAT5 runs for future use are often conveniently floating around)