general reccommendation for balun MFG

[jeromephone 6]

I sthere any difference in baluns? i am looking at using some passive 16 port hubs to extend some cameras and I have looked at several vendors Is NVT better than VIgratron or is a balun a balun ?

[survtech 0]

We have used many brands including NVT, Vigitron, Samsung GVC and others and haven't noticed any appreciable difference.

[rory 0]

I used 2 different brands, and they were awful, I would hope there are better ones. Note it was not NVT, or any of the others mentioned in the post above, but at least one of them was a very well known security brand name.

[Daryl733 0]

I used 2 different brands, and they were awful, I would hope there are better ones. Note it was not NVT, or any of the others mentioned in the post above, but at least one of them was a very well known security brand name.

 

There are differences.

Had used 1 in abt 300m, sucks. Lots of interferrence. Tried the same brand, active one, still the same. Changed to another brand and model, works perfectly. So they are not all the same.

[survtech 0]

Maybe the equipment they are connected to makes the difference. We have not noticed any real difference between the different units we have used and we are very critical of the PQ. Here is a list:

• Passive:
  VideoEase (the original ones made in Canada)
  GVI - VB-59
  Vigitron - VB1000M, VB1001M, VB1003M
  NVT - built into Ganz ZCD3xxxNHAT domes
  Pelco - Spectra IV built-in passive UTP
   
  Active:
  Vigitron - Vi1016 16-port active hub
  Pelco - TW3004AR 4-port active hubs

 

The Vigitron Vi16 does get some noise but we think that is due to the distance (over 1500') and wire type (Telco CAT-3 or less). I know CAT-5 is recommended but we are unable to find direct-burial 25-pair CAT-5 anywhere.

 

The funny thing is that there are some places where passive-passive gives better PQ than passive-active. We haven't tried active transmitters because they are difficult to place in small domes.

 

Another possible reason for our apparent good luck is that every camera connects to a Pelco CM9760-MDA that splits the signals to our DVR encoders and the Pelco matrix bays. With the passive-passive cameras, the receiver balun is connected directly to an MDA input. With the passive-active cameras, the output of the active receiver connects to the MDA input.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Guest

[rory 0]

I was using high quality system and cameras, when using coax it was fine, with the baluns it was not. I cant afford to take that chance again, would be RG59 or if I must use cat5, NVT active all around.

[survtech 0]

Darned if I know what the difference is. Like I said, maybe the MDAs???

[rory 0]

I used 2 different brands, and they were awful, I would hope there are better ones. Note it was not NVT, or any of the others mentioned in the post above, but at least one of them was a very well known security brand name.

 

There are differences.

Had used 1 in abt 300m, sucks. Lots of interferrence. Tried the same brand, active one, still the same. Changed to another brand and model, works perfectly. So they are not all the same.

 

Probably i just picked the 2 wrong brands of baluns

Still .. cant afford it again.

[rory 0]

Darned if I know what the difference is. Like I said, maybe the MDAs???

 

maybe, though might just be a difference among baluns also, or something else .. not hurting my head worrying over it ..

[survtech 0]

OK. I just don't understand why so many users have variable results when we haven't found any that caused problems. At least I am aware that there may be bad baluns out there in case we do have a problem, but I doubt it.

 

Balun design is pretty much the same in every brand, no matter what the manufacturer's hype says. Maybe the real expensive baluns are different but my experience in other fields tells me they are probably not. Take Monster Cable versus cheaper brands like Audio Research. Discounting really shoddy construction in some super-cheap brands, there is no detectable difference ( except the price ).

[rory 0]

Perhaps the units you use have amplification built in?

 

the CM9760-MDA is a "Master Distribution Amplifier".

[survtech 0]

No, just the active receivers. The MDA is after the balun since the balun connects to the input of the MDA.

 

Just to rant a bit - I absolutely hate the RCA connectors on Monster's video and audio cables. The outer prongs (ground) on the males often don't make a snug fit on the female of the equipment. This causes poor grounding and the cables tend to come loose from the equipment. They are also very brittle metal so if you try to "squeeze" the prongs in to tighten the connection, they snap off. JUNK!

[scorpion 0]

I hear you loud and clear on the RCA grounds that snap off!! I have the same problem with some brands of the compression fittings for custom set ups! Nothing worse than having to recrimp a wire!

[PTS 0]

Different user have different result from balun is likely due to different cable use.

 

There are many type of model and brands of cable which will have different specification.

[survtech 0]

We typically buy either West Penn or cheap cable from our distributor. It works fine.

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

I sthere any difference in baluns? i am looking at using some passive 16 port hubs to extend some cameras and I have looked at several vendors Is NVT better than VIgratron or is a balun a balun ?

 

I will say there are differences for sure and the more expensive ones are not necessarily better.

 

Probably the most cost effective and the one of the best performer is from http://videobaluns.com/, that makes only 4 products: three passive baluns and one 16 channel passive hub... and they all work great...

 

Here are some very good results that we have received using this line of products...

 

First off, their baluns come with surge protectors already built in and it is not an option compared to other manufacturers.

 

Passive baluns - with a good CAT5E cable, we can extend them up to 1,500' without any loss of video signal. You will have three choices in this category

 

Passive 16 port hub - with a good CAT5E cable, we were able to extend cables up to 2,000' without any loss of signal. Here is the url for this device:

 

http://videobaluns.qc.net/PDF/specHB1610.pdf

 

Hope this helps.

[survtech 0]

Probably the most cost effective and the one of the best performer is from http://videobaluns.com/, that makes only 4 products: three passive baluns and one 16 channel passive hub... and they all work great...

Those appear to be exactly the same as GVI's:

 

Videobaluns.com:

 

GVI:

[rory 0]

Those appear to be exactly the same as GVI's:

 

Most of them look the same on the outside.

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

Probably the most cost effective and the one of the best performer is from http://videobaluns.com/, that makes only 4 products: three passive baluns and one 16 channel passive hub... and they all work great...

Those appear to be exactly the same as GVI's:

 

Videobaluns.com:

 

GVI:

 

We used GVI and lets say that we no longer use them since we found VU...

 

Packaging does look the same, but internal hardware is slightly different. For the starters, each balun from VU includes much needed surge protectors and you know what life savers that could be.

 

When I was told that VU baluns give up to 1,500' of stretch for CAT5E, I thought someone was smoking something unusual ... But when we bought few hundred for a project and tested them, their performance by far was better than anything else we used before, including NVT and even American Fibertek...

 

All this company makes are three different types of passive baluns and one 16 channel passive hub... that is all. They put tremendous amount of effort to make sure that the quality of each component is compromised.

 

Since majority of the runs are less than 1,500', it made an economical and more importantly, robust performance using these passive balun solutions.

 

Of course, if the runs are higher, our main choice is American Fibertek. NVT comes in the picture only if the project calls for it... it being more expensive than most.

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

Those appear to be exactly the same as GVI's:

 

Most of them look the same on the outside.

 

Rory, we tested many... quite of few that were introduced from China.. and they looked exactly the same... except when we started testing them.

 

Found out that most of this garbage either did not work or gave maximum of 250' runs and that was it... Regardless if the price was below $10, it made no difference for us.

 

For the longest time we were using NVT solution and they were capped no more than 750' cable lengths, but then again, they were the first introducing this new technology for CCTV industry.

 

Like anything else in our industry, you have to innovate and always come up with newer, better and cheaper solutions.. and VU did just that and my hat is off for their gutsy move. Considering the fact that there are few hundred manufacturers of the same type of product, they came ahead of the pack by introducing better quality passive baluns that not only surpassed the "industry standard", but also tackled the pricing to be much more reasonable and more cost effective for everyone to use.

 

It took them about a year to introduce their 16 channel passive hub. They could have done it earlier, bring the product into the market prematurely and fix as they go. Instead, they took their time on the design and more importantly, the manufacturing processes allowing to deliver very well designed and functional product.

 

I sure hope that they will consider producing active baluns and similar solutions.. soon!

[normicgander 0]

I have used video baluns with mixed results. I have to agree with Rory, in that I will always try to install RG59 if possible. Video baluns are viable solutions for many installations, especially in cases where there is a need to reduce cable density. I think the term balun in somewhat of issue. By definition, a balun should isolate the unbalanced circuit from the balanced side. Have you ever checked to see if you have continuity between the ground/shield of the BNC side and the (-) terminal of the UTP side? You will get continuity, meaning there is no isolation and perhaps no balancing. How can you have in and out of phase signals? I'm still researching this however, and at this point I'm believe the baluns are some kind of an autoformer configuration. I do think the "baluns" perform an important function in impedance matching the 75 ohm source (camera) to 110 ohm UTP line impedance. Generally, I have noticed more high frequency loss with UTP baluns. I have inserted NTSC multiburst signals into serveral different systems and the loss ( about 6dB @ 4Mhz) at 300 ft is considerable, if not ugly. Active receivers for greater distances for proper equalization is important.

 

Note- Yesterday I did see a passive video balun from a company which stated it had built in "ground" isolation.

[perdueeye 0]

You may test the resistance of the wire. For a Cat5 cable, if the resistance of a wire exceed 10Ohm/100m, the quality of the cable is poor.

[perdueeye 0]

Yes, there is little differece between various passive baluns that belong to different brands, not only in the outhousing, but also in the feature. But when you open the outhousings, or in a long period of time, you may find they are different.

 

The differences of features between active baluns are more obvious than that of passive ones. Just my experience.

[normicgander 0]

You can measure the DC loop resistance and obtain a fairly close measurement of the cable length. But, it's really the line capacitance which acts as a low-pass filter which impacts picture detail (not that excessive, "D1" DVR video compression won't finish the job ). It is frequency dependent and is why the higher frequencies roll-off significantly over distance. Equalization is important and more and more I'm finding that ground isolation of the CAT5 line necessary.

 

 

 

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[securitysys 0]

I have tried a couple different ones, and they both provided the same quality video. Alot does depend on the quality of the cable.

 

When I get a chance I'll hook up one going on RG59, and one on Cat5E and post the pictures, see if we can tell the difference!