CAT-5 Video Baluns and Video Distribution for CCTV Camera System

A customer recently contacted us with the following questions related to using CAT-5 video baluns, a CCTV video distribution box, and CAT-5 cable for CCTV.

Here are the customer's questions:

I am hooking up a 4 camera CCTV system. I have Cat5 at each camera location. What video balun do you suggest that will work the best? I am also looking for something to be able to connect my tvs in house to my Dvr system which has a video out jack. Please let me know what you recommend.

Here is CCTV Camera Pros recommendation:

Thank You for contacting CCTV Camera Pros. If you are only using the CAT5 to run video to the cameras, I recommend these BNC video baluns for CCTV:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/BNC-Balun-Video-p/vb-2v.htm

If you are running both video and power the your cameras, then I recommend these video and power CAT-5 baluns:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/UTP-CAT5-Balun-p/balun-pv5fm.htm

In regards to connecting a surveillance DVR with a BNC video output to multiple TVs in your house, you can use on of these cables to the video output of your DVR:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/CCTV-Video-Cables-p/bnc-j01.htm

To connect to multiple TVs or monitors, you will connect the other end of the BNC jumper cable to the video input of this CCTV video distribution box / splitter:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/CCTV-Video-Distribution-Box-p/vds-1004.htm

Then use another BNC jumper cable to connect each output of the distribution box to the video input of your TV or monitor. If your TV uses an RCA video input, then you will need a BNC to RCA converter:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/CCTV-BNC-p/bncfemaletorcamale.htm

On each TV, you would select the video input that you used to switch the view from TV input to CCTV camera input.

Please let us know if we can help further.

Follow up questions from customer:

Thanks for the great info. Couple more questions though. I am wanting to hook the cameras up through my coax cable going to my tvs. There is nothing on the coax as my cable tv service is on Ethernet and on different inputs of the tv. Also for power do you recommend using the power adapters that came with the system or do I need to run a power supply panel. Not sure of the difference between the 2.

CCTV Camera Pros reply:

Yes, you can leverage the RG6 or RG59 coax cable that was used for your cable TV system. You can use the same jumper cables that I emailed you earlier about to connect to your wall outlet. You will just need to convert BNC connector on the one end to the F connector that your existing cable outlet uses. As far as the power supply, that is kind of a matter of preference. If you are running everything back centrally anyway, a lot of people prefer the power supply boxes like this one for example:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/Power-Supply-Box-p/pspro-dc9.htm

However, they are more expensive than using an individual power supply for each camera like these:

https://www.cctvcamerapros.com/CCTV-Power-Supply-p/pspro-12dc500.htm

Please let me know if I can help further.