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Component Video Cables

1152 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by JohnFR, Sep 30, 2003

JRL

Discussion Starter · Sep 14, 2003

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy quality component video cables at a decent price? I need about a couple 40 ft sets of component video cables. Or how hard is it to build them myself? Thanks!!

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Try Blue Jeans Cables ( www.bluejeanscables.com ).

Making them yourself is easy, but it's hard to justify the cost of tools if you're only making one set. For more info do a search for "canare" on this forum.

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philba

· #3 · Sep 14, 2003

If you dont use canare connectors (and tools), you can make your own for less than the cost of component cables. Check out parts express, their crimp RCAs are around $2 each and are of very good quality. I used crimper from home depot (as well as their rg6q). All in costs (tools, connectors and 500 ft cable) were abouit the cost of 15 ft blue jeans component cables. plus I had the tools and 370 ft of cable left.

oh, yeah, the quality is great.

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bpape

· #4 · Sep 14, 2003

Be very careful about the HD cable. Most of it is copper clad steel instead of pure copper. Also, I have not seen ANY of it that is SDI rated meaning that it will not have the bandwidth to be used for HiDef later on if you choose.

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Sorny

· #5 · Sep 15, 2003

Uh, RG-6 is more than capable of handling the bandwidth of HDTV. It works wonders for my HD-DBS satellite as well. Strangely enough, the wire running from my antenna to my HDTV is RG-6 and it manages just fine.

Sorny

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philba

· #6 · Sep 16, 2003

I just looked at some hd rg6q and its all copper. I've bought several different rolls from them over the last 18 months and to the best of my reccolection, it was all copper.

But that begs the question, why would it matter if it was copper clad steel? Doesn't the current flow on the surface of the wire? Especially high frequency stuff.

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bpape

· #7 · Sep 16, 2003

Worms everywhere!

Yes. Normal RG-6 will work. RG59 will work. Is it optimal, No. Same thing with copper clad steel.

As for skin effect, there is much discussion on this point. Fact is that the signal at these frequencies uses the whole wire - hence travelling in 2 different materials with 2 different VOPs at the same time. Again, not optimal.

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Swampfox

· #8 · Sep 16, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by bpape
Worms everywhere!

Yes. Normal RG-6 will work. RG59 will work. Is it optimal, No. Same thing with copper clad steel.

As for skin effect, there is much discussion on this point. Fact is that the signal at these frequencies uses the whole wire - hence travelling in 2 different materials with 2 different VOPs at the same time. Again, not optimal.

Actually, skin effect is real at these frequencies. Yet, a solid copper core is better for in-home use. Copper clad steel is best for applications that require the additional mechanical stability of steel.

RG59 is probably a better choice for component cables than RG6.

(I know it's against conventional wisdom) Mini-coax even works well for reasonable length runs.

Edited to qualify RG59 statement: for reasonable lengths of standard HDTV signals

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hvn4179

· #9 · Sep 16, 2003

If you're truly handy and wanted a very small footprint and very cheap. Try this http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...+cat5+shielded

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philba

· #10 · Sep 17, 2003

swampfox, why is 59 better than 6?

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Swampfox

· #11 · Sep 17, 2003

lHere are some approximations:

RG59: down 3db @ 120Mhz / 100ft

RG6 : down 3db @ 200Mhz / 100ft

HDTV bandwidth 37Mhz

Among enthusiasts it is common to believe if x is enough, then 10x is better, and 100x is better still. In engineering more is not always better. RG59 provides almost 3x the needed bandwidth for HD signals, so is fine for component cables for HD signals. It is easier to pull because it is smaller, and takes up less room.

My plasma, which I run at either native rate or 720P and 60 Hz, is wired with 35' of high quality minicoax. (Slightly smaller than RG59). It is more than adequate for the application. I chose this because I had to run wires behind an outside wall, and wanted two bundles of RGBHV, two cat5 lines and 3 speaker pairs.

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with using RG6. The added bandwidth can be a double edged sword, but it's usually easy to deal with. If you have a very high resolution monitor that you run at high refresh rates, or very long wire runs, RG6 becomes more attractive. Additionally, you can run broadband through RG6, but RG59 is more suited for baseband.

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JohnFR

· #12 · Sep 27, 2003

I want to make a 2 short (about 20") component cables to hook my HD satellite box and cable box to the switching inputs on my receiver. I think this thread (with thanks to Swampfox for the science) answered my question, which is can I safey use RG59. The smaller coax is much more pliable and seems a better choice for short cables that will route behind my rack. I have been using a 22' stretch of RG59 for a digital coax connection between my computer and my receiver and it works great with no drops, etc. For that cable, I simply went to Radio Shack and bought crimp-on F connectors and gold RCA connectors that screw into the male F connectors. Again, RG6 is cheap enough, but RG59 is much easier to route and handle, IMO.

I'm happy to use the heavy stuff if it offers a real advantage.

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Jscopus

· #13 · Sep 30, 2003

Problem with PartsExpress (which I use alot) is they don't have multiple channel RG cable like the Canare cable. Have to run three separate cables for component video. The Canare stuff is still quasi DIY and still alot less than the other fabricated products if you don't have to buy all the tools it seems. Are all their tools proprietary, or will any crimper of the correct size work?

Jeff

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JohnFR

· #14 · Sep 30, 2003

I ordered a bunch of the crimp-on RCA connectors from PartsExpress. Looks like I will be using RG6 for my component cables anyway because that's the size of the plugs.

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Component Video Cables

JRL

msieweke

philba

bpape

Sorny

philba

bpape

Swampfox

hvn4179

philba

Swampfox

JohnFR

Jscopus

JohnFR

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