Networking / Cabling Question

jgido759

This is probably a relatively dumb question, but I need to ask. :redface:

I received a Blu-Ray player for Christmas and it is not one I would have picked for myself (but I never turn down free stuff). Problem is, it is not wireless and therefore requires a network cable.

I need to run a network cable of approx 50' through my basement from the home office to the area behind the TV. This will be terminated with jacks behind the router & TV.

My question is how to wire the CAT5e jacks? Do I use 568A or 568B type configuration? The 568B seems to be more common.

gimpod

Problem solved 50' Cat 5E for $10

DMara

gimpod wrote: »

Problem solved 50' Cat 5E for $10

Or http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10208#1020812

On3s&Z3r0s

It doesn't matter which pinout you use as long as you use the same at both ends. 568B is more common now, I've heard folks say that A was used because the two middle pairs are more consistent (and thus backward compatible) with 2-line phone hardware. But if it's just a point-to-point run between two wall jacks then that's not a consideration for you.

Also, unless there's a big price difference, I'd go with Cat6 cable over Cat5e. The Cat6 and 5e jacks are pretty similar and having used both I'm not sure I see a big enough difference to justify the extra expense there. But Cat6 cable has a strong nylon spline that runs through the center of the cable that Cat5e doesn't. If you have to pull it at all, that spline will add strength to the cable overall and help insure the twists in the wire pairs don't get out of wack. I'd say in that case it is worth the extra money especially for something high bandwidth like streaming video if your Blu-Ray supports that. And if you think you need 50' then I'd be safe and buy 75' or 100'. At the monoprice prices, it's cheap insurance.

eor

I believe "568A" was residential, but you can use either. If you have an "A" at one end of a cable and a "B" at the other, the cable is a crossover (an old fashioned way of connecting two computers without a hub or switch).

exalted512

I just did the same thing. I used these: No special tools, just a screw driver and wire strippers
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg8/R-100672715/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

thread:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110712

Fairly certain this was the way I wired it:
OrangeStripe <--> Blue
OrangeSolid <--> Orange
GreenStripe <--> Black
BlueSolid <--> Red
BlueStripe <--> Green
GreenSolid <--> Yellow
BrownStripe <--> Brown
BrownSolid <--> White (or gray)
-Cody

On3s&amp;Z3r0s

exalted512 wrote: »

I just did the same thing. I used these: No special tools, just a screw driver and wire strippers
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg8/R-100672715/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Fairly certain this was the way I wired it:
OrangeStripe <--> Blue
OrangeSolid <--> Orange
GreenStripe <--> Black
BlueSolid <--> Red
BlueStripe <--> Green
GreenSolid <--> Yellow
BrownStripe <--> Brown
BrownSolid <--> White (or gray)
-Cody

How does that work? It sounds like it has screw terminals. I like how the marketing says it "supports Cat5e or Cat6e(?!?)" cabling. That's kind of like saying "supports anything with eight little wires" as I'm sure that's not Cat6 certified.

It can be a little tricky to terminate your own walljacks, and you definitely need one special tool, a spring loaded punchdown tool like this: http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Punch-Krone-Blade-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D. You can also get non-impact versions at any Home Depot that are about $6, and then you'll have to trim the wire ends manually.

If you don't have those and can make a pre-terminated 50' cable work for your run, your better bet is probably one of these keystone couplers:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-R6D011-Female-Inline-Coupler/dp/B00006HTTE

exalted512

It does have screw terminals. Strip the wire back, slide it in the right hole, screw it down with a small flat head. Done.
-Cody

On3s&amp;Z3r0s

exalted512 wrote: »

It does have screw terminals. Strip the wire back, slide it in the right hole, screw it down with a small flat head. Done.
-Cody

Hmmm... I'd still recommend against it unless the OP also happens to be doing a coax run from his office to his HT. The punchdown keystone jacks are really not all that hard to wire and the color coding on them totally matches up with the color coding on the UTP wires so there's no keeping track of what you hooked up to the black screw terminal, etc. I'm not saying it wouldn't work... I'm sure it does, just saying in this case it seems like a workaround for a non-problem.

Lasareath wrote: »

...Some rooms in my house I have wall plates and some I just have ethernet cables coming out of holes in the wall. Like behind my TV and in my one of my Audio closets because nobody is going to see them anyways. Why waste my time to put in a jack.

True 'dat. Unless pretty is that important, one of the 50' preterminated straight through patch cables will work even better if you just run it from the router in the home office right through to the BDP without putting jacks in the walls. That's what I do with my surround speaker cables to avoid having extra jacks in the signal path. The same principle applies here.

To be fair though, a full Cat6 GigE connection in your wall is overkill even for video streaming over Ethernet. For example, if your BDP has Netflix on it the chokepoint is your cable or DSL modem, so gigabit ethernet inside your house doesn't matter so much.

exalted512

That's what my home is wired with. Seems to me any other way is unnecessary unless you do it a lot. Saves money and time from not having to buy a tool you'll use once then waste time looking for it when you need it again. I always know where my screw driver is.

The coax is the same, its just the ethernet that doesnt need a special tool.

disneyjoe7

I also use 568B wiring, running 5e cable 1gig wired network.

On3s&amp;Z3r0s

exalted512 wrote: »

... I always know where my screw driver is.

LOL... this statement alone tells me you're way more organized than I am. I know for sure I'd lose the piece of paper where I wrote down what color wire was associated with what color terminal on that jack and every time I wanted to add one I'd be ripping a wall apart. But I hear ya, there's a knack to the punchdown thing. I'm sure I did half a dozen over at least once before I got the hang of it (good lesson to always leave a foot of slack at each end of your cable!)

And as far as the coax goes I just meant since this is point to point the OP would potentially end up with a dead coax terminal at one or both ends if he didn't need to run coax there. Anyway, I give... whatever works. I'm sure the OP has more information than he wanted at this point.

exalted512

Well, my TV is where my coax cable is...I'm still on cable anyway. So it made sense for me to not make another hole in the wall for a separate jack.

It also allowed me to use the existing coax to help me run the wires through the wall. There was enough slack to where I could pull it tight, then tape the cat5 to the coax, and pull it back down through the wall...couldnt be easier.
-Cody

bigaudiofanatic

Why not just buy a device that plugs into your br player and grabs wireless signal? Plenty of them out there.

exalted512

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

Why not just buy a device that plugs into your br player and grabs wireless signal? Plenty of them out there.

For me, the adapter was more than buying the stuff I needed to wire it. Besides, if you're streaming Netflix or something, I'd rather have a wired connection.
-Cody

On3s&amp;Z3r0s

Most of them do have USB ports on the back that support a USB wireless adapter, but you'd want to check the manufacturer's website to make sure you were buying one that was compatible if you went that route. In that case, you'd want to look into a Draft N USB adapter, and if you didn't already have a Draft N wireless router, then you'd need that or ideally a dual band N router to support video streaming. If you don't already have that stuff, this is by far the most expensive option.

jgido759

Thanks for all the replys.

I already have a 50' ethernet cable that I ran through the rooms temporarily for the initial install of the BDP for the firmware update. I can get 95% of the material from work and plan on using the 50' cable, just re-terminating the ends. Wall jacks are definitey more astecially pleasing to the wife. :biggrin:

Good info on the streaming video though, I have a DSL modem and would be curious to see how it performs (Our cable system sucks for internet, hence the DSL connection. Very reliable, though.).

unc2701

Nifty network wiring trick:
If you don't have a punchdown tool, you can use the back side of a boxcutter blade, then just trim off the excess with the sharp side. I would not recommend this for repeated punchdowns on the same jack/patchpanel since you'll eventually bend it, but if you only do it once, it works fine.