Which RG6 Quad Shield & Cat6 Cable to Use

It's all the same.

Local electric supply store may have cheaper.

I have bought cat6 from Monoprice, no problems.

I've used monoprice bulk quad shield RG6 and preterminated Cat6 with great results. If you want the best cable available though, Belden about as good as it gets.

UTP is most commonly used. The shield reduces...interference, but makes the connections more complicated and expensive.

STP is for specialty applications that 'require' a grounded shield, used with grounded connectors. There is a 9th wire in the jacket, that is connected to the shield. I think it's attached to the chassis ground of the attached devices. You'd also need shielded patch cords.

I have read of Crestron DM and some HDMI extenders 'requiring' STP, but I think most of the time the signal passes fine without it. The shield can help to limit interference, reducing device troubleshooting if there is a problem.

I want to say to go with the box that's stamped with 'made in the US', but I don't think any category cable or RG6 is made in the US anymore.

A lot of HDMI extenders recommend STP as well but I think thats more covering than anything else. If someone can't get it to work it could be anything so as long as the product works with a short patch cable, they can just say the longer runs should use STP. I don't blame them for taking this approach.

HDBaseT extenders don't need stp. Other extenders recommend stp though, for interference reasons.

My point was that problems with non-HDBaseT units are more likely caused by something other than interference. However, from a support perspective, the seller of the extender has very little control over a user's setup and very little capacity to investigate problems. If the device works with a patch cable then they can simply say "too bad for the longer run - you should have used STP". They don't really have a choice in this as it would be way too time consuming and expensive to investigate issues in complicated setups and I would think the use of extenders in the first place probably means the setup is more complicated than the average household.

In my case I used UTP Cat5e with monoprice (non-HDBaseT) extenders coupled with a receiver and it all worked perfectly over a 40' run. In the OP's case I would highly recommend fully testing the cables with any extenders before the walls go up.

The CCI products are both made in the US (as of my last check) and are reputable. The 500' prices that you have from Home Depot don't look like they are quad. The CCI quad is a true 60/40 braid unlike many of the others that cheat on braid coverage like 40/35 is pretty normal.

For bulk wire, I'd stay away from Monoprice if you can. I use them for other stuff, but don't trust that they quality-check their import sources well enough to trust... And - don't ever buy the pre-terminated stuff. You should be punching category cables down at the jack and then using a patch cable.

Carl

These are traditional ELECTRICAL wire manufactures. Also popular in traditional home low voltage such as thermostats and doorbells. Coax and CAT 5 are somewhat new products for them but I would guess it's all OK. At least these are all well known US companies that have been around for many years.

If you go with big name communications wire manufactures like Belden, you will pay a lot more.

No name off shore stuff is questionable.

You need to be very careful when buying coax and Cat5/6 cable. Because of the cost of copper skyrocketing many companies have gone to copper clad wire instead of pure copper. I only use pure copper myself and if I were building a new house I would do it right the first time. Spend a little more and get the good stuff. I always shop eBay for stuff like that.

Carl, next time you see a box of CCI cable, read the box. I haven't found mention of US made RG6 or cat 5e/6 online. I'm just curious, not questioning.

Southwire as the name implies is made right here in the United States. Carrollton, Ga. to be exact. Here is their spec sheet for RG6 Quad Shielded. http://www.southwire.com/ProductCatalog/XTEInterfaceServlet?contentKey=prodcatsheet414

I'm going to rewire my house soon, and have yet to decide on how much i want to spend. I personally don't think Belden is worth the money. Cable TV is a broadcast digital signal. 1's and 0's. Don't get me wrong... if you got the cash to burn, get it. I'd spend the extra money on a power conditioner for my AV system. more bang for your buck.

If you're stuck between the quad-shield spools over at the local home depot, go with the Southwire. The Cerrowire is not UV rated and will degrade if outdoors.
Edited by Andrew LB - 1/19/13 at 1:05pm

Manufacturers such as Belden, Times Fiber, and CommScope are the preferred cable manufacturers by CATV systems all across the country for a reason. The 1s and 0s are carried around on r.f. carriers just as the analog information was, and as such are just as susceptible to the same signal related issues.

Unless you live in a large metropolitan area or are close to broadcast towers (or other transmitting towers), don't waste your money on quad-shield cable.

That's not exactly a spec sheet. A spec sheet would list attenuation and capacitance.

CATV is actually the opposite of broadcasting.

64 QAM has more than 2 states.

Actually, CATV is exactly the same as broadcast in that both are a means whereby information (whether it be digital or analog) gets from point A to point B. Both send that information by piggybacking it on an r.f. carrier. Sure, they use different schemes of modulation (8 or 16VSB vs QAM (64 or 256)), but it still comes back to getting information from point A to point B. Currently, CATV uses does QAM for all of their digital transmissions. There's a strong likelihood thay they will do OFDM for at least internet in the not-too-distant future. OFDM is currently used for high speed internet in the wireless world.

By definition, cable tv, sattelite and IPTV providers are not broadcasters, they're narrowcasters...their audience is limited.

By your criteria, the telephone network, the internet and the postal system are also broadcasters.

Narrowcasting has traditionally been understood as the dissemination of information (usually by radio or television) to a narrow audience, not to the general public. Narrowcasting involves aiming media messages at specific segments of the public defined by values, preferences, or demographic attributes. CATV, Satellite TV, and IPTV is for the general public. Yes, one has to have the proper equipment to receive it, but then one also must have the proper equipment to receive OTA broadcasts. Actually, OTA audiences are more limited due to terrain or distance or other reception issues.

I didn't set any criteria. I just wrote that CATV and OTA are just different methods of doing the exact same thing.

In your opinion, we'll have to agree to disagree.

...and I just wrote that CATV and broadcasting are not the same thing...i didn't set the criteria either.

I for one didn't have any problems with the information in "egnlsn" posts. The OP's question was only about cables.

thanks for adding your 2 cents....really made the thread shine

I see that you have solid copper coax and thats best, and needed with DirecTV for the deca system for whole home video but the quad coax is not need with digital. use southwier or it's equal

I would also stick with solid copper RG6 for everything. The reason steel core RG6 is made is not really a cost issue although it is cheaper. The steel core makes it stronger for pole to house drops and that's really why it's made. Directv and Dish send the operating power for the antenna LNB through the cable as well as low frequency control signals and steel has too much resistance for the DC power. The RF which is at 1200mhz is as happy as a clam running on copper clad wire due to skin effect. Baseband video however including HDTV goes down to DC and here the steel wire is not a good choice.