Spot Monitors Via Network

dtownshend

n3wb
Jun 8, 2023
2
0
USA
Just walked a job today. They want 2 spot monitors installed. No PC's, just the monitors. The NVR is in the MDF room in the basement. After trying to find a pathway for some Cat6 or fiber to run to the two offices(1 floor difference). We were unable to find a pathway. Talking with the IT department there, they have two switches we could use. One in the MDF and 1 in the IDF. What kind of equipment would I need to transmit video to a spot monitor between the two switches. Or can this even be done?
 
Talking with the IT department there, they have two switches we could use.
And those 2 switches are and will be part of an operating, in-use LAN ?
 
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I have not used these BUT....they are highly rated and amazon will allow returns if they don't work out for you. According to the vendor, they CAN be used over a LAN, preferably gigabit, and are IP-addressable. They are limited to 1080p but for monitoring purposes, that should suffice, IMO. We're talking monitors with HDMI inputs, BTW.

You put a TX at the NVR, run Ethernet to the switch then put a RX at each monitor and connect that RX to the switch with Ethernet.

Cost for 1TX +1RX = $100 then another RX at the 2nd monitor for $54 = $154 total for 2 remote monitors via HDMI over IP.

gofanco HDMI Extender Over IP Ethernet Balun - 1080p, Up to 394ft (120m), Direct 1 to 1 Extender Over CAT5e/6/7 or 1 to Many Over Gigabit Switch, Network LAN, IR Extension, HDMI Over IP (HDbitTv2)

Edit 060823 @1608 hrs CT: member @Kameraad said in July of 2022 that the above units worked well for him BUT dedicated switches are recommended. I read that they can be used with non-dedicated switches (part of an operating LAN) but the switches need to be gigabit otherwise these HDMI-to-IP adapters can throttle a LAN down with a lot of traffic.
 
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mirabox hdmi over ip extender. Yes, it need a separated network switch (giga recommended), used from one (tx) to multiple (rx). In my case, the weakest link is the power pack, changed a couple in almost 6 years of service (12Vdc instead of the original 5Vdc). It needs power at both ends. New models now include poe.


 
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I used to have a set of wireless HDMI transceivers. Chances are they're in a box somewhere in my garage. They are meant for people with a lot of home theater gear that don't want to junk up their living room with gear and wires. As I recall, they worked ok, but had some latency. I think I got them from B&H Photo.
 
Just walked a job today. They want 2 spot monitors installed. No PC's, just the monitors. The NVR is in the MDF room in the basement. After trying to find a pathway for some Cat6 or fiber to run to the two offices(1 floor difference). We were unable to find a pathway. Talking with the IT department there, they have two switches we could use. One in the MDF and 1 in the IDF. What kind of equipment would I need to transmit video to a spot monitor between the two switches. Or can this even be done?
Lots of good hardware suggestions.
Apologies for being so dense here, but if there is no pathway then how are the MDF and IDF switches connected?

Spot monitors attached to HDMI extenders (meaning using the UTP as mechanical connections) is the typical
solution, but since the "unable to find pathway" issue is involved, it sounds as if video as IP traffic is willing to be
tolerated on the network, so is the client really opposed to have tiny PC's: NUC, Pi's, media players, thin client, etc.
attached to the back of the monitors running UI3? It sounds as though the client might have made a semi-artificial
requirement with the spot monitors.

Again, apologies if I am missing something obvious - I often am! :wtf:

(you are absolutely certain you can't pull some UTP?? :lol:)
 
Apologies for being so dense here, but if there is no pathway then how are the MDF and IDF switches connected?
According to the OP, there's an in-place, functioning LAN with accessible switches...unless I misinterpreted....which is very possible...wife says I do it a lot these days. :winktongue:
 
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MDF and IDF locations are most often interconnected. In some rare cases it might only be a couple CAT 5e/6 cables, but typically it is a multi pair fiber cable.

Pretty good odds the interconnect route between the two closets exceeds the maximum length limitation of copper.
 
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... is the client really opposed to have tiny PC's: NUC, Pi's, media players, thin client, etc.
attached to the back of the monitors running UI3? It sounds as though the client might have made a semi-artificial requirement with the spot monitors.
Someone recently gave me what they thought was a monitor, but was actually an all-in-one computer. I know Lenovo, HP and Dell make them. It looks just like a monitor, but is actually a workstation. Sort of like an imac, but very basic in terms of computing power.
 
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Someone recently gave me what they thought was a monitor, but was actually an all-in-one computer. I know Lenovo, HP and Dell make them. It looks just like a monitor, but is actually a workstation. Sort of like an imac, but very basic in terms of computing power.
Just don't buy the HP "wm" suffix model at Walmart..it's a bottom tier Sempron or the like with 4GB's of RAM and it struggles just opening a browser.

My chiropractor bought one for his clerk/receptionist to access the special doctor-type s/w over their network and it was pitiful. I replaced its HDD with a Samsung EVO 870 SSD and hard-wired it to the router (it was wireless) and it went from running like molasses in January to 10W-30 oil in June....tolerable. :cool:
 
If a big screen is required, maybe a smart tv would work. The catch is that they often have very restricted internet abilities. You'd want to try it before you buy it.
 
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I got curious thinking about whether a smart tv would work as a stand-alone monitor. I have an older Samsung "smart TV." It shows definite signs of senility, being slow, crochety and reluctant to try unknown programs. I had put it aside because I couldn't load any programs that weren't on the Samsung App store. But I thought, well, if I give it the Blue Iris computer's web address, it might show UI3. And sure enough, it does. Makes a nice security monitor.
 
But I thought, well, if I give it the Blue Iris computer's web address, it might show UI3. And sure enough, it does.
That's good to know, I had my doubts, had heard newer Samsungs with later O/S would not view UI3 but don't know that for a fact.
But it just goes to show you....newer isn't always better. :cool:
 
This one is several years old, maybe seven or eight. Weird how they sell them as a machine that does it all, and then they tie it up so it doesn't do what people might normally want. I have the same issue with Amazon Fire products.
 
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