Splitting Cat5 ethernet

[Eischman]

?? I already have a 60' ethernet cable running from the router to the BlueRay and now need to connect my new A/V receiver that is 6' away from the BlueRay, do I have to run a new cable or is it ok to split it before it goes into the BlueRay and run that to the A/V receiver?

[Feanor]

?? I already have a 60' ethernet cable running from the router to the BlueRay and now need to connect my new A/V receiver that is 6' away from the BlueRay, do I have to run a new cable or is it ok to split it before it goes into the BlueRay and run that to the A/V receiver?
Yes, you can split your current 60' ethernet at the end of its run to feed both your BluRay and your AV receiver. To do this you'll need something called an "unmanaged ethernet switch"; your current cable goes into one socket as input and you will need two, shorter cables to output to your BluRay and AVR. A switch such as the one below is necessary so that your network will know which device is sending or needs to receive a network signal. It needs no software and will allows both devices to function simultaneously if that's happens to be what you need.

See HERE (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2077111&CatId=2796) for example.

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/skuimages/gallery/large/D700-2490_vmain01_jh_gl_2077111.jpg

[Markwinstanley]

Cat5 is rarely used now days. Most Telephone Service Providers (http://blog.telesystemscorp.com/)
use Cat6 or at least Cat5e for optimal performance. Even Cat5e works fine under 100ft length after that you need Cat6 and its require for uninterpreted gigabits internet connection. In the end you have to choose what you want.

[JoeE SP9]

I have "hot-rodded" a CAT-5 cable. It is four twisted pairs which means there are four wires in each cable that can be used separately. You can separate the striped wires from the solids and run two separate Ethernet connections with each CAT-5 cable. This is not recommended for distances over 50ft.

Any cable that uses twisted pairs can be "hot-rodded".