Good Advice Janeybug!
I just wanted to offer a variation on this topic and that is option for the type of installation kit you buy. I think this is EXCELLENT advie and I am not attempting to undermine Janey's advice as it is great I am simply supplementing.
Coaxial Cable Connectors for HDTV
Before there was structured cabling and media center distribution panels we had master antenna television (MATV) systems and products to extend television reception to every unit in an apartment building or every room a private residence. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the industry was moving toward the installation of coaxial cable and coaxial cable connections to ensure reliable color television reception at every point in the television antenna system. Manufacturers of MATV products provided their connectors and crimping tools for system installations. The type of cable connector that was used is the type is a radial crimper that is seen in Janeybug's advice article.
Advancing 25 years later we have HDTV, satellite television service, and digital cable television all pushing the limits of coaxial cable and connector performance. New coaxial cable connectors have been developed to address the higher frequency performance requirements of digital television and HDTV. Likewise, manufacturers have developed specialized tools to properly terminate cables using the new connectors.
With many cable connector manufacturers providing products to the structured cabling business, what connectors are suitable for HDTV?
The best performing and most reliable connecters for HDTV are the newest “compression” type connectors. Older style cable connectors relied upon “radial crimping” (compressing the body of the connector around the cable) the connector body to hold it to the outer surface of the coaxial cable. Radial crimping has given way to the improvements in water-proofing and high frequency performance found in compression crimping connectors. The compression connector bonds to the cable when a plastic sealing ring is forced into the body of the connector. The plastic sealing ring provides a water barrier behind the body of the connector to prevent corrosion.
Compression connectors are designed to fit specific types of cables as foil/braid shield and quad-shielded coaxial cables. Compression crimping tools are easier to use and ensure consistence performance from connection-to-connection.
I found a video on using the rtadial crimper versus the compression crimper have a little time. This will give you a video depiction of how the connection works, YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE ABOUT 7-10 MINUTES TO BURN but it is a pretty good video. It is from a techie site DLTV.com.
How to find te video:
1) http://dl.tv/2006/10/episode_102_best_coax_cable_cr_1.php
and you will see the video with the crimper picture on it click to start the video
2) Once the video starts scroll down to the four videos and click on the one titled "Coax" between Chang and DigitalLife.
There is a little 15 second ad that runs and then Jim Adelbeck and the host talk about file sharing for 5 minutes They then start talking the types of crimpers and actually show the proces of how they work.
You will see the difference between the two crimpers and trust me once you use a compresion style you wil never use anything else!
I hope this is a nice supplement and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
James D. Van Raden
Owner~ Paragon Renovations
(November 2007) (
