Cable recommendations for newbie

Pedro · #1 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 02:31 PM

Hi,

I'm new to all this but have been doing quite a bit of research before I take the plunge.

I am about to buy a canopus ADVC110 A-D convertor to allow me to get my VHS recording into my PC in digital format

As Im splashing out on an ADVC110 I want to keep the analogue signal going into the convertor as clean as possible.

I plan to use a switchable scart adaptor to plug into my VCR. From there I'll run S-video and 2xphono(audioL&R) to the advc110

QUESTIONs:
1. Can anyone recommend quality cables for the s-video and 2Xphono (AUDIO) cables to minimise signal loss?

2. Do I also need to keep the cables as short as possible or will the loss be negligable even if I go up to say 3 metres?

any help is greatly appreciated

Cheers

pete

Mihai · #2 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 03:59 PM

Keep the cables as short as possible and if you can, go for cables coated with 14K gold on the ends.

Pedro · #3 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 04:04 PM

thanks for that. any brands you can recommend that have the 14k gold ends?

I cant seem to find any web reviews of cables at all - been hunting all over. any websites you know that review such things?

the brands ive been looking at are:-

QED
Profigold
IXOS
THOR
belkin pure AV (not the silver version)

thanks

pete

Mihai · #4 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 05:19 PM

Well Belkins are surely OK, and there's also a German manufacturer, VIVANCO, much cheaper.

Marc Peters · #5 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by svhs

Keep the cables as short as possible and if you can, go for cables coated with 14K gold on the ends.

I was intrigued to know why you'd keep the cables short, so googled the answer:

Mismatched impedance is one of the most common and most frequently experienced sources of signal degradation. This phenomenon occurs when a high frequency bandwidth signal, designed to be matched to a characteristic impedance of 75-ohms, encounters different impedances through its signal path (IE. Transmission Line), usually on the order of 35-ohm or 50-ohm for Home Theater applications. It can occur in long runs of video cables (> 1/10th the wavelength) that do not use true 75-ohm cables, or it can occur from the DVD player or the TV monitor, depending on the nature of their internal impedances. This mismatch can create a bounce back effect or reflection that results in a delay and/or loss of signal level for certain frequencies. Thus for component video cable, transmission line effects of any cable lengths beyond 3 meters (remember 1/10 of 30 meters) must be considered.

Source: audioholics.com

Pedro · #6 (**permalink**) 06-20-2005, 06:28 PM

thanks for the info.

I had a reply back from canopus as well saying they recommend 6feet maximum for video cables.

there seem to be many options out there - bu I like the look of the pureAV silver range from Belkin - anyone had any experience with those?

cheers
Pete

Ian in Northampton · #7 (**permalink**) 06-22-2005, 08:46 AM

Pete: one thing to look out for - there may be a post on here somewhere dealing with it that I think I recall seeing recently, but I can't be arsed to go and look for it - is a potential issue using a SCART to S-video converter: did I read somewhere that you'll only get a monochrome transfer? Or was that in relation to a specific hardware/software configuration. Fyi, I use SCART to whatever they call it with the three RCA plugs, and it works fine (but maybe not of the quality you'd be looking for).