2009General Discussion forum
Lightweight BNC cable selection for HD-SDI applications
17 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Ready-made lightweight BNC cables are available from commercial suppliers as an alternative to making them yourself with crimping tools.
- Cables with solid center conductors offer reduced flexibility compared to stranded conductor cables.
- Stranded conductor cables can work reliably for HD-SDI in short camera runs, though solid conductor cables are marketed as certified for broadcast use.
- For short distances near cameras, flexibility is often prioritized over official HD-SDI certification, while longer runs to video monitoring areas may benefit from more flexible options.
Depends on
- No testing data provided comparing cable types under actual HD-SDI conditions.
- Experience reported is specific to short cable runs on video production sets, not broadcast recording or live production environments.
- The question of whether non-certified cables produce measurable performance problems at short HD-SDI distances remains unresolved.