Far out, Man!

There are lots of questions and myths about digital cables. And it’s important: a loose cable or an iffy signal can kill any feed.

There are lots of questions and myths about digital cables. And it’s important: a loose cable or an iffy signal can kill any feed.

For us, there’s a big gulf between Fibre and BNC cables (SDI), compared with AV / IT type cables. We recommend using DVI, Cat5 and HDMI mainly in video installations or in video systems where the cable is unlikely to be plugged in and taken out frequently. In our experience, their connectors and ports are simply not built to withstand over-use.

With Cat5, the plastic casings and clips can snap and wiring becomes compromised if it’s pulled by mistake. In the case of HDMI, any twisting of the cable can distort the port, jeopardizing signal reliability. It’s not the sort of thing broadcasters like to be dealing with.

SDI is our preferred cable for everyday use in the studio and on location because of its maximum length and strong physical connection. It takes tugs, pulls, and snags in its stride and in a busy production or live event environment, that’s going to happen every day. SDI is also easy to extend. Datavideo’s VP-633 is a powered transmitter that extends SDI signals by 100m. Users can daisy chain up to a further three VP-634 (un-powered 100m repeater units) for very long cable runs.

If you need to go longer, or need to run multiple 2-way signals over very long distances, we recommend FieldCast fibre. It’s easy to use and incredibly tough.