The HD15 Plug Problem:

The HD15 connector may be a favourite with today's video equipment designers, but it's a lousy video connector and gives rise to a real cabling problem. The connector body is too small, and the pins are too closely spaced, for the connector to accommodate full-sized precision video cable. This problem can be solved in one of two ways. Either we can (1) use a miniature coax bundle which is sized to fit the HD15, or (2) fit a "breakout" adapter to the HD15, running miniature cable out just a short distance to BNC jacks which can then be joined to full-sized coax for the remainder of the run. Which of these options is better will depend on run length; for short runs, a high-quality miniature coax will deliver excellent results, while keeping excess connectors out of the signal chain, while for long runs, the lower-loss characteristics of the full-sized cables will make the breakout the better choice. It's very hard to say in principle where the breakpoint occurs between these two methods; as a somewhat arbitrary rule of thumb, we usually recommend the single cable for runs under 5 metres, and the breakout for longer runs.

Belden 1522A: The Mini-Coax Solution

For short runs where miniature coax is the best answer, or for applications where keeping cable size and convenience down is important, we offer cables made with Belden 1522A; a picture of this cable, stripped, is displayed to the right. Belden 1522A is a bundle of five tiny precision video coaxes designed for RGBHV use; despite the small size, this is an extremely well-made and high-quality cable. Each of the individual coaxes is covered with a two-layered foil shield, which in turn is covered by a 90% coverage tinned copper braid. These five coaxes are then covered with another outer shield of foil, with a drain wire for solid ground connection. Although signal loss is always a concern with miniature coax, we have tested computer monitor cables made with Belden 1522A out to 12 metres, and have seen no loss of image quality on a conventional computer display at that length.

HD15 to HD15 Cables:

Our HD15 to HD15 cables, made with Belden 1522A, use a standard gold-pin HD15 solder-type pin body, and a solid all-metal shell for good mechanical stability and electrical shielding.

HD15 to RCA or BNC Cables:

We also offer cables with an HD15 on one end, and the other end terminated with Calrad solder-type RCA plugs or RF male 75 ohm BNC plugs, also using Belden 1522A (note: the male BNC is not what you want if you need a breakout cable--see our breakout adapters below). These are available with three or five plugs, depending on your application--three for component or "sync on green" RGB, five for RGBHV (and yes, the five-way will work with RGB with composite sync).

The Cable: Belden 1694A, 7711A or 7712A:

Any 75 ohm video coax can be used for RGBS and RGBHV runs; but the very best performing cable for this application is Belden's top precision video coax, Belden 1694A, or its bundled versions, 7711A (four-conductor), and 7712A (five-conductor). (Note: if you're looking for three-conductor RGB or component cable, visit our component video department, where we have Belden 7710A, the three-cable version). These cables use a high-density polyethylene foam dielectric for low capacitance and exceptional velocity of propagation, and their shielding--two layers of foil and a dense tinned copper braid--give them maximum protection from EMI and RFI. This excellent isolation from noise, while important in every application, is especially so in the long cable runs that are typical in home theater applications. One warning: 7711A and 7712A are very BIG cables; 7712A is almost an inch thick, 7711A almost 7/8 inch thick. If you're running cable through walls or conduit, you may find that 1694A, though not bundled, is much easier to work with. View the technical specs for Belden 1694A.

The Connectors: Canare RCAPs and/or BNCs

On our full-sized cables, we use Canare plugs; we offer both RCA and BNC plugs from Canare, at your option. The Canare BNC plug is a true 75 ohm connector, and the RCA plug is designed for the best possible impedance match with 75 ohm cable. Between the tight impedance tolerance of the Belden cable and the impedance-matched design of these connectors, you'll get the best possible impedance consistency between your equipment, for minimum signal reflection. The Canare crimp assembly system provides a superb, electrically sound, mechanically reliable connection with both the centre pin and the connector body through the use of tight compression dies made specifically for these connectors. View Canare's description and specs for the RCAP plugs. View Canare's description and specs for the BNC plugs.

Breakout Adapter from AVLink:

If you're connecting to an HD15 plug, you'll need a breakout adapter with female BNCs on one end, and you'll want the accompanying cable to have male BNCs to connect to that adapter. At left is our HD15 breakout to five female BNCs; this adapter is made in China and no specs are available for it, but our customers have used these for years without problems.

Alternative Breakout Adapter: Belden 1522A

If you prefer, we also offer our own breakout adapter, which we produce using Belden 1522A, a solder-type gold-pin HD15, and RF crimp-type female BNCs. We offer this adapter both in three-BNC and five-BNC versions. While technically this is a better product than the Calrad, we have to admit that in most applications there will be no observable difference in performance between the two because the length of the adapter is so short--so we heartily recommend the less-expensive Chinese adapter.

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