Scalability is the byword in any aspect of custom installation these days. That fact hasn’t been lost on StartTech.com, a maker of A/V and digital signage connectivity solutions.

The company has just introduced a product series offering that aspect of flexibility, along with providing a simple, relatively inexpensive but reliable way to narrowcast VGA content to remote locations at long distances.

StartTech.com’s newest devices in its Converge A/V UTPE Series of VGA-video-over-CAT5 extenders are said by the company to be designed to work as part of an overall system of extending and splitting VGA video using CAT5 cable between the transmitting and display points.

The devices are the STUTPTXWAL extender transmitter wallplate; the STUTPRXWAL extender receiver wallplate; and the STUTPWALL bundle, which includes both of the wallplates.

The UTPE Series differs from competitors, according to the company, in that the wallplates are linked to other extender devices using CAT5, as opposed to proprietary cable and connectors. CAT5 is easy to run and much less costly than proprietary video extender cabling – which can sometimes cost up to $5 a foot, says StarTech.com product manager John Mardinly.

He also points out the future-proof aspects of using CAT5 in this application; it makes upgrading throughout a building from VGA to DVI or HDMI just a matter of swapping out wallplates rather than having to completely rerun new cabling.

The products are being made available through leading resellers including D&H, Ingram Micro and SYNNEX.