Thomson's Tech Tips

SDI Cable Troubleshooting: Is It the Cable or Something Else?
The monitor's showing sparkles. Or black. Or some weird artifact that shouldn't be there. Before you start swapping cables, let's figure out what's actually broken. The Troubleshooting Mindset Signal problems have three possible sources: The source (camera, playback device) The cable (and connectors) The destination (monitor, recorder, switcher) Cables get blamed for everything, but they're only responsible for about a third of problems. Before you condemn a cable, rule out the other two. Symptoms and What They Actually Mean Complete Black/No Signal Likely causes: Source isn't outputting (wrong output selected,... Read more...
How to Test Your SDI Cables: A Field Guide
Need a reliable reference cable? Every field kit should have one cable you know works. Make it a StormCable. Shop 12G SDI StormCables → Your cable looks fine. The connectors are tight. But something’s wrong with the signal. Is it the cable? Or something else entirely? Here’s how to know for sure. The Quick Visual Inspection Before you grab any tools, look at the cable: Connector damage: Bent pins, cracked housings, loose BNC locks Cable damage: Kinks, crush points, cuts in the jacket Strain relief: Is the cable pulling away... Read more...
Why Quality SDI Cables Cost More (And Why It's Worth It)
You're looking at a $15 Amazon cable and a $60 professional cable. Same BNC connectors. Same coax. Why the 4x price difference? Let me break down exactly where your money goes. The Components That Actually Matter 1. The Center Conductor Cheap cable: Copper-clad steel (CCS). A thin layer of copper over a steel core. Looks like copper. Conducts like... not copper. Quality cable: Solid copper or bare copper braid. Copper all the way through. Better conductivity, less signal loss, more flexibility without breaking. CCS cables lose noticeably more signal over... Read more...
3G vs 6G vs 12G SDI: What's the Difference and Why Should You Care?
Somebody’s going to ask you this on set. Here’s how to answer without sounding like you’re reading a Wikipedia article out loud. The quick version 3G-SDI handles 1080p60. It’s been the industry backbone for over a decade. 6G-SDI handles 4K30. The middle child nobody remembers. Showed up late, left early. 12G-SDI handles 4K60. The only one worth building around. The numbers Standard Data Rate What it carries HD-SDI 1.485 Gbps 1080i/720p 3G-SDI 2.97 Gbps 1080p60 6G-SDI 5.94 Gbps 4K30 12G-SDI 11.88 Gbps 4K60 Each one roughly doubles the last. More... Read more...
SDI Cable Length Limits: How Far Can You Actually Run?
Running 12G-SDI on set? Cable quality is the difference between a clean signal and a scrambled one. Shop 12G SDI StormCables → “How long of a cable can I use?”Depends on three things: the signal speed, the cable quality, and how much you enjoy troubleshooting problems you could’ve avoided.The spec sheet numbersHere’s what the specs say for Belden 1694A (the industry-standard RG-6 SDI cable everyone benchmarks against): Standard Data Rate Max Distance SD-SDI 270 Mbps 300m+ HD-SDI 1.485 Gbps 100m 3G-SDI 2.97 Gbps 70-100m 6G-SDI 5.94 Gbps 50-60m 12G-SDI 11.88... Read more...
Can You Use 12G SDI Cables With a 3G Camera?
Yes. We’re done here. Okay fine, I'll keep going. This question lands in my inbox like clockwork, and people treat it like some forbidden mystery when it's really just physics being polite. The dead-simple answer 12G-SDI cables are backward compatible with everything. 3G, 6G, HD-SDI, that dusty SD-SDI rig your uncle won't let go of. Plug it in. It works. A 12G cable doesn't have a brain. It doesn't look at your signal speed and throw a tantrum because you're only feeding it 3 gigs. It's rated to handle 12... Read more...
Which Cameras Use 12G-SDI?
This is the list you bookmark. If your camera’s on it, you need 12G cables. No wiggle room. What 12G-SDI actually means 12G-SDI (SMPTE ST 2082) pushes 11.88 Gbps over a single cable. That’s enough for 4K/UHD up to 60fps, DCI 4K (4096 × 2160), large format resolutions at full bandwidth, HDR without compromises, and high frame rates without splitting signals. No quad-link spaghetti. No dual-link headaches. One cable. Full fat signal. Cinema cameras running 12G-SDI RED (current generation) DSMC3 (all of them): RED KOMODO 6K, RED KOMODO-X, RED V-RAPTOR... Read more...
Which Cameras Use 3G-SDI?
Short answer: most of them. Still. 3G-SDI has been the load-bearing wall of professional video for over a decade, and it’s not going anywhere overnight. Here’s the full picture. What 3G-SDI actually is 3G-SDI (SMPTE 424M) runs at 2.97 Gbps. That gets you 1080p up to 60fps (clean and reliable), 2K at lower frame rates, and 4K technically, if you’re willing to play games with quad-link or accept compromises nobody wants to make. It’s the standard that carried us through HD and got us into 4K. Still baked into the... Read more...
Cable Crimping Quality: Why Your "Pro" Cables Are Failing
You paid good money for “professional” SDI cables. They showed up looking sharp. Six months later, you’re chasing intermittent signal drops on set while the AD breathes down your neck. The cable isn’t the problem. The crimp is. What a crimp actually does A BNC crimp is where the connector meets the cable. It’s a mechanical and electrical junction that has to do two things perfectly: maintain 75-ohm impedance across the transition, and hold the connector to the cable under real-world stress. Mess up either one and you’ve built a... Read more...
12G SDI Port Safety: Stop Killing Your Camera's BNC
You don’t “have a 12G-SDI port.” You have a tiny, high-frequency RF connector bolted to a very expensive board inside a camera that doesn’t care about your shotlist. Treat it like a door handle and you’ll eventually pay for it. The quiet disaster nobody warns you about That BNC on your cinema camera is pushing 12 billion bits per second. Twelve. Billion. Every second. Through a connector that was never designed to do it   And yet… on set, people do this all day: yank the cable sideways because the... Read more...
All about the all-new StormBox Pro!
The StormBox Pro breaks out all four EXT I/O functions on industry standard ports, so you can use timecode, genlock, SmallHD Control, and Run/Stop triggers, all at the same time! The same professional grade cables that work with other cameras and audio recorders, can now work with your Komodo-X or V-Raptor… no dongles or adapters required!   Features: 5 pin Timecode In/Out 4 pin RCP2 CTRL (for SmallHD monitors) 3 pin Run/Stop Trigger (Fischer-style) BNC Genlock Input  All-aluminum enclosure Included Storm Lock quick release mounting system Ultra durable laser engraved port... Read more...