Distrib uting A/V via CAT5

Can anybody point me to any articles explaining a DIY approach to
distributing stereo audio and video over CAT 5 ?

I know of commercial solutions, which I assume to be based on baluns,
but for my purposes I'd like to include a sort of distribution
amplifier, so that one source is sent to three rooms simultaneously.

Obviously I could connect three senders to three outputs of a DA, but
I'd rather make one neat box that takes the one output and distributes
three copies of it.

One possibility would be to take the video and audio and do whatever
needs to be done to provide three CAT 5 versions, the other possibility
would be to use one commercial balun at the source and then distribute
that CAT 5 output three ways, using three commercial receivers at the
far ends.

Any thoughts or observations ?

Roly wrote:
Can anybody point me to any articles explaining a DIY approach to
distributing stereo audio and video over CAT 5 ?

I know of commercial solutions, which I assume to be based on baluns,
but for my purposes I'd like to include a sort of distribution
amplifier, so that one source is sent to three rooms simultaneously.

Obviously I could connect three senders to three outputs of a DA, but
I'd rather make one neat box that takes the one output and distributes
three copies of it.

A traditional Ethernet 10 MBit/s network hub AKA repeater (not a switch)
might work for 2 wire pairs.

Being an OSI layer 1 component, it does not care about the actual signal
carried. Give it a try! In fact, they represent 1980's and early 1990's
networking technology and therefore may not be available at stores
anymore, but you should be able to get a used one for about 1-2 pounds.

For 4 wire pairs you can use two repeaters, stacked on top each other.
Route 2 pairs to the lower one, 2 to the upper one.

One possibility would be to take the video and audio and do whatever
needs to be done to provide three CAT 5 versions, the other possibility
would be to use one commercial balun at the source and then distribute
that CAT 5 output three ways, using three commercial receivers at the
far ends.

Any thoughts or observations ?

Here are some wiring schemes for a commercial solution.

http://www.kat5.tv/daisychain.html

Ralf

Ralf Koenig wrote:

Roly wrote:
Can anybody point me to any articles explaining a DIY approach to
distributing stereo audio and video over CAT 5 ?

I know of commercial solutions, which I assume to be based on baluns,
but for my purposes I'd like to include a sort of distribution
amplifier, so that one source is sent to three rooms simultaneously.



Here are some wiring schemes for a commercial solution.

http://www.kat5.tv/daisychain.html


Since posting the query, I've been Googling and have discovered the Blue
Delt Milestone range. It looks like it will be a ( fairly expensive )
solution to that problem, but looks versatile and well thought out.

Does anybody have any experience of that range and is the video quality
satisfactory ?