Cabling
WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE OF CABLE TO USE?
Pulse-Eight products use HDBaseT standard that utilises regular Cat cables. Typically, the minimum
cable use on a neo system is Cat5e but you could increase the range and bandwidth by using higher tier
cables such as Cat6, Cat6A & Cat7 which have stricter shielding requirement and therefore reduces the
data loss between data pairs.
We highly discourage patch cabling as this might degrade the signal. Whenever possible, use a long,
single high-quality cable for each HDBaseT port as this allows the system to function at its best peak
efficiency.
We do not recommend the use of pre-made leads unless you are certain of the correct specs (i.e., solid
core 568B), the use of lower quality cables will lead to signal degradation and quality of the
transmission.
Please note Copper Clad Aluminium (CCA) cables are not supported. Due to the inherent properties of a
CCA, this will cause an HDBaseT performance issue.
SHIELDED CABLES
If you prefer shielded FTP cables, please ensure compatible shielded features are used such as
grounding & termination. A badly terminated cable can cause interference instead of eliminating it.
CABLING BEST PRACTICE
Our recommended and best practice policy is to use a straight cable directly from the Pulse-Eight matrix
to the receiver. This will ensure the best quality of signal and achieve maximum distance. You can find
further information on "HDBaseT Best Practices" on the HDBaseT Alliance website.
WALL PLATES & PATCH PANELS
If the patch panels are terminated correctly, there is minimal loss of distance. The use of wall plates and
patch panels, however, has the potential to cause increased resistance on the cable if not done
correctly, introducing pinch points for signal transmission, and could reduce advertised transmission
lengths. Instead of using RJ45 wall plates, you can use brush plates to maintain the neat finish.
