Coax converter box

I meet in an older building that we use coax cables to share satellite throughout the building. We currently use a vcr to connect the coax to a projector. The bad news is that our VCR's are starting to fail and I am looking for a modern solution rather than buying another vcr. Any ideas?

I think you'll find another VCR is cheaper. And hopefully it will last you until your building comes up for renovation.

I have looked around and a VCR costs around $150. Surely there has to be a cheaper alternative.

I asked the same question here:
https://tech.lds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=151&t=18775

I purchased a Sabrent Stand Alone TV Tuner Box.

I don't know if you have looked in the Satellite Cabinet, but I would go there and see where the video from the satellite receiver is going to. It should be going to an amplifier which then feeds the modulators. I would run a coax directly off the amplifier and run it to a F-Type to RCA connector and then plug the projector into that cable.

If you need further help, you can PM me.
Terry

Well sure, there is a yellow RCA jack on the satellite cabinet (in the library of our stake center), and another one on the side of the podium in the chapel. However, the only thing we have in the cultural hall of our stake center is a coax jack. So we need a tuner to convert the RF from channel 3 or 4 to a video signal for the projector in the cultural hall.
It is rather amusing that we have a coax jack in the cultural hall, but we have a yellow RCA input jack in the overflow for the camera. That signal goes to the satellite cabinet in the library, where it is converted to RF and sent to the coax jacks around the stake center.

Also, if you need sound in other rooms and the building is not wired completely, RCA will not work. It only gives you the picture. Coax gives you everything.

In our buildings, all rooms have the ability to get sound from the chapel, so no need for sound over coax.

Terry

All of the rooms can get sound, the isue is having video in all of the rooms. Thabk you everyone for the ideas and discussion so far

Ok, then just put a TV in each room. The projector doesn't need to be in each room.

harddrive wrote:I don't know if you have looked in the Satellite Cabinet, but I would go there and see where the video from the satellite receiver is going to. It should be going to an amplifier which then feeds the modulators. I would run a coax directly off the amplifier and run it to a F-Type to RCA connector and then plug the projector into that cable.

Not to simple. He's trying to use the cabling that's already in the building. That coax may have taps and splitters - something that's not going to work for baseband video. If he's got a direct run and a spare video output, then that's a good idea.

You could re-purpose the camera input jack in the overflow area and use it as a video output jack for your projector. Just locate the other end of the camera cable inside the AV cabinet and connect it to the VDA (video distribution amp) which is also in the cabinet.

The tv works fine in rooms bit thatdoes nothelp when we have broadcasted Stake Conference and we need to set up the projectors in the chapel and cultural hall.

Then you need to get Meetinghouse A/V Distribution Hub and you can find more information at https://www.lds.org/help/support/av-dis ... b?lang=eng. We will be putting this into our buildings so that I can run the computer into this hub and have it go to the podium and to the TV distribution system.

harddrive wrote:Then you need to get Meetinghouse A/V Distribution Hub and you can find more information at https://www.lds.org/help/support/av-dis ... b?lang=eng. We will be putting this into our buildings so that I can run the computer into this hub and have it go to the podium and to the TV distribution system.

That would be fantastic. I could have used one of those last year when Elder Oaks visited. Can the stake write a check to the FM to get him to purchase it this year, rather than wait for a future budget year?

harddrive wrote:Then you need to get Meetinghouse A/V Distribution Hub

That doesn't fix the original problem in that he has a RF feed where he wants baseband video. Yes, it does have a video distribution amp, but that doesn't solve the wiring issue - and that may not be solved by simple adapters.

Odds are, behind that F connector in the cultural hall, is a "tap" - some combination of a splitter and a attenuator. You can't have that on baseband video. If he's lucky, the cable itself can be repurposed. If he's not lucky (that same line connect through or to other taps), he'll need a new cable run.

russellhltn wrote:

harddrive wrote:Then you need to get Meetinghouse A/V Distribution Hub

That doesn't fix the original problem in that he has a RF feed where he wants baseband video. Yes, it does have a video distribution amp, but that doesn't solve the wiring issue - and that may not be solved by simple adapters.

Odds are, behind that F connector in the cultural hall, is a "tap" - some combination of a splitter and a attenuator. You can't have that on baseband video. If he's lucky, the cable itself can be repurposed. If he's not lucky (that same line connect through or to other taps), he'll need a new cable run.

I understand, but in our buildings, the splitters are in the satellite cabinet because you want very few splitters in other locations of the building.

drepouille wrote:

harddrive wrote:Then you need to get Meetinghouse A/V Distribution Hub and you can find more information at https://www.lds.org/help/support/av-dis ... b?lang=eng. We will be putting this into our buildings so that I can run the computer into this hub and have it go to the podium and to the TV distribution system.

That would be fantastic. I could have used one of those last year when Elder Oaks visited. Can the stake write a check to the FM to get him to purchase it this year, rather than wait for a future budget year?

We worked with our FM group and they have the ability to purchase these and assign the stake as the ones paying for it. I would run this by your stake presidency before you do this.

harddrive wrote:I understand, but in our buildings, the splitters are in the satellite cabinet because you want very few splitters in other locations of the building.

Why? That's the way CCtv is run. You could have a combination - for example, one run that goes to both sides of the cultural hall. While I have a real nest of wires in my satellite cabinet, that doesn't mean each one goes to just one outlet. Some do, some don't.

Russell, you are correct. There are places that they come into the the wall and leave. However the problem is that when you put in splitters they degrade the signal as they go along. So you want to put your splitter right after an amplifier. Second is if there is a problem in the system, this way it make is much easier to troubleshoot a problem.

Terry

harddrive wrote:However the problem is that when you put in splitters they degrade the signal as they go along. So you want to put your splitter right after an amplifier.

A loss is a loss, regardless of if it's done in the cabinet or the far end. I could argue that it's better to have it at away from the cabnet because when you weaken the signal, you also weaken any noise that has gotten into the system.

One way CCtv is done is have a single high-power amp in the cabinet. Maybe 100 dB output and send it down the line. At the first outlet, you have a tap that splits the signal and adds an attenuator to outlet. The near outlet will have a large attenuator, the far one will have a small one. That way the signal level says reasonably consistent regardless of the length of the cable run.

You could well have a hybrid setup. Each cable leaves the cabinet and heads for a different area of the building. But it may cover more than one outlet. For example, the outlet on each side of the stage might be fed by a single cable.

harddrive wrote:Second is if there is a problem in the system, this way it make is much easier to troubleshoot a problem.

True, but to do a "home run" from each outlet requires more cable and more labor to do all those runs. In other words, it costs more. Now, think about who is designing the system and what their priorities are. (And how often wire fails.) Is each outlet on the stage going to have it's own run, or will it be a tap and a jump over the stage?

Bottom line, we're not the designers or installers. We just inherit what has been done. And repurposing a RF cable run as a baseband cable run is going to be iffy.

But now contemplate this: I've discovered that our new satellite receivers have a Ethernet connector and support multicast. (Not that it helps with local events.)