# Balun question - KanexPro



## rawshark (Jul 11, 2011)

Hi All, has anyone used this balun and if so is it any good?
KanexPro VGA Extender over CAT5/6 with Audio VGAEXTX1 B&H Photo

Also, I have had skew problems with cat5 before and wondered if this Geffen cable will be OK or if I should try to find some 'low-skew' cat5?

My run will be only 150' but the feed might end up being a pass-through from another projector so I want to minimize possible complications.

Thanks for any wisdom!


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## museav (Jul 12, 2011)

I have not used any of the KanexPro products so I can't speak to that particular product, but on a more general basis...

It certainly would not hurt to use 'low skew' or 'skew free' cable. however skew is usually an issue with longer runs and 150' is not that long a run. You also may not needed shielded twisted pair (STP) cable and could probably save some money by using unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable.

I am not a fan of using pass-through VGA connections on projectors if it can be avoided. You not only end up with the second projector incurring the losses of both the run to the first projector and the losses in the run between projectors but you also add more connections and more potential points of failure in the path. Also keep in mind that one or both ends of the 'baluns' need to be powered (the information available online is not clear) which is probably not a problem if you have an open receptacle at each projector but potentially a significant issue if you don't.

You will want to make sure that the resolution of your projectors and the source are supported by the baluns. The KanexPro model noted says it supports 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x720/720p, 1280x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x900, 1600x1200, 1920x1080/1080p and 1920x1200 resolutions at 60, 75 or 85Hz, however if you work with 1280x800, 1366x768 or other resolutions those may not be supported.


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## rawshark (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks for the info.
Yes I have now abandoned the pass-through option - I tested a simplified version and it was shocking how much the image degraded.
Thanks for the tip on the Cat5!


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