Live Production Cables - HDMI vs HDMI Fiber vs SDI vs Fiber

Are you struggling to decide which cable is best for your live production? In this video, we dive deep into the world of HDMI, SDI, and Fiber Optic cables, helping you make the best decision for your specific environment.

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[cah]

My speakers don't work, but luckily this guy speaks in sign language with his hands so I could understand what he was saying

[KLRCAT]

There are a lot of pros and cons to all these cables, but it all comes down to "Use case".
Fiber - Amazing, Robust, with an insane distance the cable can go (Ideal for TV and Broadcast Vans) [Expensive once you consider converters and everything else]
SDI - Reliable, Robust workhorse cable of the Broadcast industry. Locking connectors, easy to repair and terminate. [Expensive if you are consistently converting to HDMI] [Good for installs]
HDMI - Good reliable cable that works great at short to mid distances (Best to stay under 10m), cheap cable but near impossible/not worth to fix.
HDMI Fiber - Great cable for HDMI based systems (ATEM, mini/extreme series switchers) [Expensive and can be delicate, so best kept on a cable drum to extend its lifespan].

I personally use a mix of HDMI and HDMI Fiber (my HDMI cables stay under 10m, and my HFMI Fiber runs only need to go 30-40m at most), as ALL my gear uses HDMI, so converting every input and output would get ridiculously expensive. Ideally I would prefer to use SDI, but that would require me getting about 15 to 20 converters for all use cases.

[quantumangel]

Ethernet is actually a network *protocol* the cable is called *twisted pair* (as in "utp cat6").

[SiEmon_E]

Thanks for this very useful advice. I just bought a Canon XA60 and was shocked to find out it only has mini hdmi out and no sdi whatsoever. I need it for streaming a church service on Facebook in a small building where about 30m of cable should cover it. I would appreciate advice on the simplest and most cost effective way to achieve this, thanks.

[voiceofoppressedppl]

I need to transmitter video signal 600 feet away from the source . Source video was SDI . I used an SDI to HDMI converter, then HDMI to AV/bnc, a 600 feet RG6 and at the end bnc to HDMI and HDMI to projector . Quality was a little bit degraded but not so bad, but cost was a fraction of SDI .

[kganandh]

I've one source with HDMI output and 5 destination input should be in HDMI. Each destination is minimum half mile away from the source so i need suggestion in fibre optic

Can you suggest ?

[hiltonvibes]

please advise on the robustness of hdmi fibre cable. can it survive people walking over it?

[liquidsunshine]

Im so confused. I have a 4070 ti and want to conenct to LG C1. I initially got a 25ft Hdmi copper eithernet cable? (Traditional) then cancelled and got a Fibre Optic.

[laahah]

Will using a Fiber HDMI get me faster information while playing the game than say i use a High speed HDMI cable??? Like in advance thank you!

[zaftra]

i got a fibre hdmi for the xbox and it just makes the screen go fully grey every 30 seconds or so.

[Ioraek]

For me SDI is certainly not cheaper than HDMI fibre.

Looking at a 30 meter connection and assuming a decent cable brand like Canare L-4.5CHWS, I'm paying $200AUD, and that's shopping around. Add a Blackmagic converter ($110AUD) on each end and my total is $420AUD ($275USD)

In comparison I can by a Cruxtec 30 meter Optical HDMI cable for $95AUD ($62USD)

[jeffsaffron]

Just FYI no one actually uses cheap interior (yellow) fiber cables in live production. If they had they wouldn't be doing live production for long. These have very little rigidity, connectors break of easily and they are over all not made for flexible runs and repeated unplugging. These are made for home runs or data centers where they stay connected forever locked inside the rack. Professionals use tactical fiber which are way more expensive... cameras are used with hybrid SMPTE 304M fiber. This is completely different beast costing around 1000 USD per 150 feet.

[Marc_Wolfe]

So much of this talking out of your ass could be replaced with "that's outside of the official spec for that connection, so good luck". Those undersea intercontinental cables use to be copper.