How to Question

[strokey 0]

Hi everyone, I am trying to figure out, also what would I need to do this: I have a customer who has 9 cameras at his house running through a pc. He is able to view them on his PC. He now want to be able to view them on any TV in his house while still be able to view them on his pc. How can I do that?

[scorpion 0]

To many variables to this question.

 

Basically it boils down to the infrastructure of what is allready installed in the walls, and what you can run.

 

1. Does the computer have loop in, and loop out connections for the cameras?

 

2. Are the camera analog, or are they IP?

 

3. What is the budget to spend on this project?

 

Lets assume this is a smart house with plenty of extra wiring installed in the walls.

 

You can take the video output of the DVR, and you can modulate this in to the cable system.

 

http://www.channelvision.com/files/guides/diagramsLayouts.pdf

 

The draw back nowadays is the High Definition signal is sensitive to stray signals on the cable system, and you may end up crashing the digital box signals, or the high def channels. It can be done, and it just requires more expensive equipment, and the right person to design the circuitry to work the system.

 

 

Here is a nice alternative where you can use preexisting cables in the walls, and this will allow you to tap in to the coax with two different signals.

 

Affinity Digital Cable Combiner

http://www.channelvision.com/products/index/88

 

http://www.channelvision.com/products/view/427/88

 

http://beta.channelvision.com/uploads/1215557281_P-0321_MixedSystem.pdf

 

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If you can get a multiplexed video off of your computer then you can get what they call a "TV extender". This is a transmitter that send composite signal to a receiver, and you can watch a DVD, Cable Box, or a DVR on a remote TV. The draw back is that someone in the neighborhood can see this video if they have a receiver as the signal is not scrambled.

 

Where do we go from here?

[strokey 0]

They are analog cameras with a basic DVR card. No loop/Loop out. I just need to know what or how to get the signal from the computer to the attic where the cable is split to all the tv's in his house... The easiest and least expensive way.

[scorpion 0]

I do not work with PCs so I would have to defer to those who do.

 

I wonder if you can get a card that allows you to see your computer on a TV. Using this composite out you could then figure out a travel path to all of the TVs.

 

Here is an example. I use the ones that have IR repeaters built in.

 

http://www.radioshack.com/pwr/product-reviews/Home-Entertainment/Accessories/Audio-accessories/Wireless-signal-senders/RadioShack/p/2793270-2-4GHz-Wireless-Audio-Video-Sender-with-IR-Extender.html

 

What kind of modem do you have, and if you have a router, then what kind of router do you have?

[Lolo Wolf 0]

As scorpion advised your modulation attempt will be governed by the type of exsiting inhouse TV setup you have. With cable - If you have digital setboxes or basic cable on each TV. First off you will have to snatch/split the incomming cctv signal and pass through either a modulator (multi channel or single) and at the splitter combine into the house TV system, there are considerations dependent on the freq and channel creation, the use of amp and filter maybe needed as well, each situation is differnt. Its a good idea to factor in losses as well when using or adding splitters. Just throwing signal into the system envolves a balanceing process to gain a quality picture. There are work arounds to the digital situation as scorpion noted, I have found it easier to pull a second dedicated rg to each TV for analog or basic channel view with a separate "analog" side amped and split to footage for each input and then at the TV (set top box) have a security channel lineup available to the clent with either PIP if the TV has it or simple input change on the TV remote. Pulling cable to exisiting work may not be cost effective or feasible in your situation so you would have to go the other route with Affinity Digital Cable Combiner as scorpion noted, however the retail cost is not cheap (for many channels) and added devices into the mix. Best to do any combining as close to the cable entry as possible. You could also go through a Quad with looping to your PC and then to single moduator and control the channels by way of IR repeater system or on board moduator some have pass thru IR setups as well. But either way with latest digital set top boxes you run the risk of interfering with data and will suffer channel loss or very possible HD programing. In newer homes with new construction often there will be exsiting mulitple runs of cat and rg so it is easier, with retro-fits it is more work to pull added runs but in the long run I find it simpler. There are wireless and hardwired devices on the market for viewing your PC content on TV with control as well of your PC video, and programs etc... your input be it wireless or hard connect would be into the aux TV video input or HDTV aux with a sperate rec box some of these devices are capable of differnt configs ...but you would be "outside" of your inhouse TV system. The easiest and least expensive way - your original question is dependent on how many TVs and how many set top boxes versus work to pull additonal runs and size/split/amp or correct the added runs and if you want to have actual TV channels or just added composite video input to your TVs by way of a switch. If you bypass the inhouse TV system and splt the cctv with a multiple DA brick with 4X2 (4 input-2 corrected out) one side to your PC DVR card the other would have to run thru a switching device or quad to the composite/aux input of the TVs and with multiple tvs it would be messy and the loss difficult to correct. A single TV would be feasible with such a design.

[thewireguys 3]

They are analog cameras with a basic DVR card. No loop/Loop out. I just need to know what or how to get the signal from the computer to the attic where the cable is split to all the tv's in his house... The easiest and least expensive way.

 

I would use the monitor out of the dvr in to a 1 channel modulator. Set the DVR to a matrix display so you can see all 9 cameras on the screen or you could use a 9 channel modulator so you could view the cameras full screen but it will take up 9 different channels. But as everyone stated modulating on digital cable is not easy or cheap.

 

The best way to do this would be to run a RG-6 or cat5 to each TV from the DVR and use composite video with a powered amp/splitter from the monitor out of the DVR.

 

IF you have to use the computer as the source I would use a dual output video card with a composite video as your second monitor feeding the video splitter. But I would use the DVR output first before going this route.

[strokey 0]

Thanks guys. I will be thinking about each and everyones' reply