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“If you don't believe its mainstream, you're in denial of a changing AV world.
No, the sales of CAT-5 signal cable don't outpace that of RGBHV cable, yet, but it will. It's a matter of time.
So, what is it with this CAT-5 phenomenon? Well, let's take a look:
Cost: The obvious value proposition to the customer is cost. In fact, it's cheap. CAT-5 cable is literally pennies a foot from Home Depot and Radio Shack and even the industry's fancy CAT-5 solutions from traditional cable manufacturers like Liberty are as much as 40 times less than that of traditional color-coded coax solutions. So, everyone likes that.
Simplicity: If you've ever crimped or soldered on a BNC connector onto mini-coax cable or you've been tasked with twisting on 64 BNC connectors in the back of an 8x8 RGB matrix switcher, you already know the simplicity value of CAT-5. CAT-5 is easy to terminate. CAT-5 is easy to slide in and out of a CAT-5 jack. CAT-5 is simple to run through conduit. A 1000-foot spool of CAT-5 can be carried with one hand. CAT-5 is simply easier to work with than the plethora of cable we've historically used in systems applications to route video, audio, mic, control and RGB signals.
Performance: Two years ago, I could not have included performance in a review of CAT-5 solutions for ProAV systems. But, now I can. If you haven't looked at the latest CAT-5 solutions out there from just about every signal routing company, lately, you should. And, of course, as we move toward network-based AV system, CAT-5e is the current signal routing standard, using the same basic cable, simple termination.”
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