BeldenCDT and Scion Technology: Ultimate performance and Cost effective solution for all formats of video

UK company Scion Technology has developed a technology which incorporates BeldenCDT’s range of ‘low skew’ VideoTwist cables, which conform to all network cable standards for CAT5e (Belden P/No. 7988R) and CAT6 (Belden P/No 7989R) hi-speed computer networking.

According to Marketing Director Dave Brown of Scion, the new technology offers a range of key user benefits including high reliability and significant cost savings: “Couple the Belden VideoTwist cable to the Scion products and you have the ultimate performance and the most cost effective solution for transmission of almost all formats of video, delivering pixel perfect and skew-free solutions.

“IEEE CAT5e and CAT6 specifications cable for future-proofing a building’s infrastructure whilst enabling the use of lower cost balun products for transmission of high-bandwidth video signals without the need for specialist video delay technology.”

Mr. Brown added that prevention is better than cure: “Although in-built delay lines are a cure or better a compensation for cable skew – our solution removes the skew and removes the need for expensive delay lines."

Balun technology

Balun is the matching of an unbalanced cable to a balance one. Technology invented by the British Post Office and adopted for matching IBM Token Ring twisted pair network cable to Ethernet coaxial networking cable, and now used for enabling high bandwidth video signals to be transmitted from a coaxial source to the various recognised categories of twisted pair computer network cable.

Powered (active) Baluns on twisted pair structured cabling provide differential (balanced) signal lines, which minimises the effect of hostile signal noise that may be generated within a building’s infrastructure. This ensures better quality pictures and low noise audio signals as well as providing greater flexibility for moves and changes of people and equipment that can be achieved using traditional coaxial cable.

‘Active’ video balun technology for use with twisted pair cable was pioneered by Scion Technology for City trading floor applications in 1993, in association with Reuters and others who had previously used passive balun products to replace traditional and expensive coaxial cable for delivering RGB video from their data servers to the bank’s dealer desks using regular CAT5 cable.

The active video balun technology was further developed to also provide for transmission of serial control data and the later introduction of KVM extenders, which allow for simultaneous transmission of RGB video, Synchronous and Asynchronous data, audio and remote power to be transmitted over one 4-pair cable.

The increasing video bandwidth from hi-end PCs demanded greater management of the VGA video signals which were beginning to be degraded by the ‘skew’of CAT5e and CAT6 cable, designed to minimise cross-talk on local area networks and speed up data transfer. Cable skew has a detrimental effect on picture quality over long distances of UTP and STP cable when significant delays occur between the separate colours Red, Green and Blue.

The introduction of video delay lines resolved many of the skew problems but at significant additional cost of balun manufacture. More so when microprocessors are employed to insert in-built delays automatically according to the amount of skew measured over distance. The introduction of video delays coupled with the necessary auto-equalisation of video signals has deterred many from employing media baluns and twisted pair cable in place of coaxial cable for general media distribution.

Scion Technology

Scion Technology offers a range of products that offer video transmission via Belden VideoTwist cable, combining the best impedance match with minimal video delay. The range includes:

XGA

Extended Graphics Array, a high-resolution graphics standard introduced by IBM in 1990. XGA was designed to replace the older 8514/A video standard.

It provides the same resolutions (640 by 480 or 1024 by 768 pixels), but supports more simultaneous colors (65 thousand compared to 8514/A's 256 colors). In addition, XGA allows monitors to be non-interlaced.

SXGA

Super Extended Graphics Array, a display specification that is capable of displaying 1280 x 1024 resolution, or approximately 1.3 million pixels.

UXGA

Ultra Extended Graphics Array, a display specification that is capable of displaying 1600 x 1200 resolution, or approximately 1.9 million pixels.

Scion Technology designs and manufactures a wide range of data communications and multimedia products for corporate businesses and government agencies. We are an independent family owned business whose founders have a long and successful history in Multi-Media markets, for products and systems designed to transmit high-resolution computer generated and broadcast video signals over UTP/STP building premises structured cabling.

The company’s principal products, generally described as ‘Active Balun Technology’, comprise a comprehensive range of video, voice and data baluns which, have been designed to also simplify the installation of presentation room facilities and significantly improve performance.

Scion Technology’s commitment to the development of new products and system solutions ensures that its customers are the first to benefit from advancing technology. The company has one of the worlds most advanced ranges of products covering the whole spectrum of multi-media applications