Extending 3 Monitors 20-30 Meters

[Meteora]

Here is my problem;

I have 3 graphic cards at one place, say A. I want to connect each one of them to 3 LCD monitors 20-30 meters away form A. I need an intermediate device that will serve this purpose. Either one device or three different devices are okay with me, I just care for its cost :)

Thanks for your help already :)

 

[dillonjerry]

There are a few ways to do this. First of all, which video signal are you using? DVI, VGA, or HDMI? If cost is your biggest factor there are several solutions for extending video signals over CAT5 cable. Depending on the resolutions you are running these are good to maybe a couple hundred feet, so it should cover your distance.

There are two other "higher end" solutions that are out there. One is video over fiber, and the other is video over IP. Video over fiber solutions offer the best link possible with the furthest distance. With the right equipment it's possible to have your monitor at the end of a cable up to 120 Km long! Video over IP is a newer solution. Basically the video signal is encoded (typically H.264 or JPEG) and encapsulated into IP packets for transport over a network. One nice feature of this approach is the ability to multicast or broadcast the signal to many different displays. The stream can also be viewed on a computer, and even transported over the internet to the other side of the world.

Good luck with your triple monitor setup, I would say if cost is your biggest factor then check out CAT5 extenders.

 

[Meteora]

I am using DVI and my resolution is 1680x1024.I checked some DVI extenders but they are generally longer than i need and expensive. There are some mini DVI extenders but I think they may cause some problems since they don't have their own adaptors.

I never heard of Video over IP technology, I will check that out as well.

Thanks for the info

 

[Meteora]

Also is this video over IP usable to control the pc over a desktop or is this technology used only for devices like secuirty cameras etc. ?

 

[dillonjerry]

I see a couple of DVI extenders for sale for less than 50 USD. You will not find a solution for cheaper than that. Video over IP is a very promising technology. Its a new product for us and it has many different applications. One neat trick you can use it for is wireless video transport using inexpensive wireless networking equipment. With a cheap wireless AP or wireless bridge you can move many video signals a couple of hundred feet. Very neat trick. The only disadvantage of video over IP is that its encoded, so there is a delay (about 250ms) and encoding always reduces quality (only slightly). These are very useful for digital signage.

As far as your application. I would say that the cheapest possible solution, including all adapters and cables is going to run you a MINIMUM of $250 USD. I don't really see a way around it. Unless you already own the CAT5 cable. Not bad, as a high end solution would run into the several thousands of dollars.

Good Luck.

 

[dillonjerry]

If you want user feedback, IE keyboard and mouse control you would need a KVM over IP unit. These are basically the same thing as a video over IP unit with an added Keyboard and Mouse feedback system.

 

[Meteora]

Okay, again, thank you for your clear explanation.