JerryRigging - Using an XLR cable to carry video.... at DVinfo.net

Conrad VanLandingham · October 1st, 2009, 04:16 PM

So I'm simply asking about the possibility of using a bnc-xlr converter to carry video, and what problems I might run into. If you care about the back story, read on...

I'm shooting a weekly event that takes place at a local stadium. Our control room of sorts is located in the press box on the 3rd floor. The camera/video deck, where two of our cameras are located, is on the 4th. There is a tie-line panel on the wall of the deck and our control room where we have access to 2 bnc and 2 xlr tie-lines. Currently, we are using the 2 bncs for our cameras, and 1 of the xlrs for our intercom.

The people sponsoring the event got us a 20ft jib they want us to use down on the field. There's a cable chute running up the press box to the 4th floor, but there's no access to it from the third floor. So the only way we can run lines for our camera from the field is up the cable chute and to the 4th floor. Not a problem, but there is no way we can run the cable from the 4th floor to the 3rd unless we use one of the tie lines, and our only free tie-line is xlr.

So therefor my question stands, what problems will I run into, if any, using a bnc to xlr converter to simply plug into the xlr? I'm sure the impedance of the cable varies somewhat and there'll be some degradation, but is that it?

Jason Robinson · October 1st, 2009, 06:54 PM

choose which two cams are most important and send them using the native BNC drops. Then the third cam is your experimental. from the sounds of it, the venue people place a big importance on the jib, so I'd put it as one of the BNC drops. other than that, I have no knowledge or input. Are there any ethernet drops? You could get a video balun to run your 3rd cam signal through a ethernet drop.

Conrad VanLandingham · October 1st, 2009, 07:23 PM

Thanks for the reply. No, I don't believe there are any ethernet drops, unfortunately. If there are, they'll just run to the network and not a 1 to 1 drop.

I could use the wide cam as the "experimental" and the jib and the 2nd box cam that shoots a little closer through bnc. Quality isn't a huge concern since the footage is only being shown to people in concessions waiting in line and various places around the stadium for staff, etc. They want to see the jib on the live footage, but it will also be used for promotional material from the tape on the camera.

I think I might have some xlr-rca converters laying around somewhere and tomorrow I'll see what it looks like with video. I've heard of someone doing something similar before when shooting a theatre type event - ran video through the sound engineer's xlr stage lines. His only complaint was that he at times got weird feedback from the audio lines. (i think, it was a while ago when I remember hearing this)

October 1st, 2009, 04:16 PM	#1
Conrad VanLandingham New Boot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 13	JerryRigging - Using an XLR cable to carry video.... So I'm simply asking about the possibility of using a bnc-xlr converter to carry video, and what problems I might run into. If you care about the back story, read on... I'm shooting a weekly event that takes place at a local stadium. Our control room of sorts is located in the press box on the 3rd floor. The camera/video deck, where two of our cameras are located, is on the 4th. There is a tie-line panel on the wall of the deck and our control room where we have access to 2 bnc and 2 xlr tie-lines. Currently, we are using the 2 bncs for our cameras, and 1 of the xlrs for our intercom. The people sponsoring the event got us a 20ft jib they want us to use down on the field. There's a cable chute running up the press box to the 4th floor, but there's no access to it from the third floor. So the only way we can run lines for our camera from the field is up the cable chute and to the 4th floor. Not a problem, but there is no way we can run the cable from the 4th floor to the 3rd unless we use one of the tie lines, and our only free tie-line is xlr. So therefor my question stands, what problems will I run into, if any, using a bnc to xlr converter to simply plug into the xlr? I'm sure the impedance of the cable varies somewhat and there'll be some degradation, but is that it?

October 1st, 2009, 06:54 PM	#2
Jason Robinson Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 1,997	choose which two cams are most important and send them using the native BNC drops. Then the third cam is your experimental. from the sounds of it, the venue people place a big importance on the jib, so I'd put it as one of the BNC drops. other than that, I have no knowledge or input. Are there any ethernet drops? You could get a video balun to run your 3rd cam signal through a ethernet drop.

October 1st, 2009, 07:23 PM	#3
Conrad VanLandingham New Boot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 13	Thanks for the reply. No, I don't believe there are any ethernet drops, unfortunately. If there are, they'll just run to the network and not a 1 to 1 drop. I could use the wide cam as the "experimental" and the jib and the 2nd box cam that shoots a little closer through bnc. Quality isn't a huge concern since the footage is only being shown to people in concessions waiting in line and various places around the stadium for staff, etc. They want to see the jib on the live footage, but it will also be used for promotional material from the tape on the camera. I think I might have some xlr-rca converters laying around somewhere and tomorrow I'll see what it looks like with video. I've heard of someone doing something similar before when shooting a theatre type event - ran video through the sound engineer's xlr stage lines. His only complaint was that he at times got weird feedback from the audio lines. (i think, it was a while ago when I remember hearing this)