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This is a three-channel set of custom-made Canare precision cables for component video. The cables are made with Canare's remarkable L-4CFB Serial Digital cable. We use Canare's matching "True 75 Ohm"
connectors, fitted with flexible color-coded silicone strain-relief boots. The
boots enhance the
appearance of the cables and avoid sharp bends at the connectors while providing visual identification of the channels.
Here is an
upgrade for your system that will be hard to miss -- from the professional
look and feel of the cables themselves, to the superior quality of the video that they
provide. Perfect for DVD or HDTV hook-ups!
If you are not sure which component cable to choose, please
click here for a comparison
of Canare component video cables.
Why Component?
In a word, simplicity. Component video hook-ups eliminate some
encoding and decoding steps. This is likely to improve picture quality
because encoding or decoding a color signal is not a very clean process.
Invariably some information is lost, and undesirable artifacts such as chroma
crawl, busy edges, loss of detail in colored areas, and cross-color rainbows are
generated. Each pass through the process adds to the problem, so the fewer times
a signal is encoded and decoded, the better. If your equipment supports component video connections, you will certainly
want to take advantage of it.
What Makes Canare So Great?
You can tell, just by looking, that Canare cables and connectors are well
made, and you can tell by reading the rave reviews that Canare cables are great
performers! Canare is the choice of professionals and discriminating
enthusiasts, alike.
We have found that the key to great video cables is in the connectors.
Exotic conductors
and shielding are fine, but it's the connectors that really make the
difference. You probably already know the prices for Monster, Tributaries,
and some of the other more esoteric cables -- they can be very expensive. On
the basis of price alone, it's hard to beat Canare, and if you consider
performance, it's even harder.
From reading Monster's website, we were not able to see that they even claim to have constant impedance
connectors! It's all very confusing, because a higher price does not
necessarily equate to better performance, and most of the "technical data" on high-end cables is
just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, with little or no basis in fact. Unfortunately,
superlatives
do not render a superior picture.
Here's what you need if you want the finest video that your equipment can
deliver. You need video cables that are capable of maintaining a constant
impedance. You don't want any bumps at the connectors, and you don't want
the cable itself to change impedance when it bends. Even the finest cable
changes impedance a little bit when it is bent sharply, so avoid doing so.
Nice, smooth, consistent 75 ohm impedance. That's what your equipment
wants, and that's what will deliver the best picture.
You also want superior mechanical integrity. Nice, tight connections
that will not degrade over time. You want to avoid dissimilar metals,
which can lead to corrosion and degrade connections. To avoid dissimilar
metals, try to stay away from soldered connections wherever you can, because
solder almost guarantees that dissimilar metals will be in contact. Good
solder work minimizes the problem, but there is also the challenge of making a
solder connection without heat deforming the dielectric material of the
cable. Any dimensional change in the dielectric will affect the impedance
of the cable at that point.
Of course you also want high quality cable. Flexibility is desirable
because it avoids stress on your equipment and the interconnects. Try to
avoid multiple materials in the conductors or shielding, because of the problems
associated with dissimilar metals. Low loss is desirable, but don't
sacrifice mechanical integrity in favor of small differences in loss
specification! Shielding is important, but don't be confused by exorbitant claims.
RCA Connectors
It is hard to imagine a finer RCA connector than
Canare's. They are precision machined to maintain a constant 75 ohm
impedance. We install them using a proprietary Canare tool that always prepares the
cable ends, just right. The connectors are crimped in place, using heavy, precision-machined dies.
The crimps are so tight that oxygen is
excluded, and thus corrosion is prevented. It's an awesome system, and the
resulting terminations are in a class of their own.
Generic RCA audio plugs and cables have been around for over 50 years, but
the old solder-type plugs typically have an impedance of about 25 ohms. They exhibit extremely poor return loss performance, even when mated to high
quality cable. Some of the so-called "high end" cables use
exotic-sounding materials and make unsupportable claims, but still fail to solve this
very real and important problem.
 Canare's new 75 ohm RCA crimp plugs solve these problems.
They are
impedance matched and achieve excellent digital and analog performance with a
usable bandwidth to at least 200 MHz! The connector design ensures consistent and
extremely reliable terminations. VSWR is typically less than 1.1 from DC
to 200 MHz. The crimp design excludes oxygen, preventing corrosion
associated with dissimilar metals, which can degrade even the best soldered
connections.
The center shaft is gold plated. If you look closely at the picture at
the right, you can see the internal pressure fingers, which ensure good contact,
while solving the "grip of death" problem, which has been a issue with
Monster's connectors. The "grip of death" connectors put
unnecessary strain on your equipment. Canare connectors connect up
smoothly, and maintain good contact, while protecting your equipment investment.
BNC Connectors
The BNC-type connector is the best connector that is commonly available for
applications of this type. In general, it is both mechanically and
electrically superior to an RCA connector. It has a twist-lock mechanism
to ensure that the the connection is mechanically secure, and the electrical
design of the connector does a good job of maintaining constant impedance at the
connector.
Canare takes this inherent superiority to the next level. For example,
many BNC connectors have a characteristic impedance of only 50 ohms, but
Canare connectors are engineered to maintain a constant impedance of 75
ohms. This make a lot of sense because virtually all A/V equipment is
designed to work best with 75 ohm cables. It follows that if you want the
best performance your equipment can deliver, you will need cables and connectors
that maintain this impedance.
This electrical superiority is the result of superior mechanical design, high-quality materials and precision manufacturing. Canare's BNC connectors are
almost artful in their design...and they work very well indeed.
In our experience, the key to great video cables is in the connectors. Exotic
conductors and shielding are fine, but it's the connectors that really make the
difference.
The Cable
These cables are made with Canare's remarkable L-4CFB Serial Digital
cable. They
are lightweight and flexible - more flexible than any of the Monster cables we tested. They have
PVC jackets with a smooth, non-glare finish. They have a foamed dielectric
for amazingly low loss and faster velocity of propagation. They are double
shielded for 100% coverage -- the inner shield is aluminum foil and the outer
shield is tinned braided copper. Here are some specs on the cable:
- Outside diameter, 6.1mm (.240 in.)
- Low loss - less than .029 db per meter at 10 MHz, and less than 4.3 db even
at 2 GHz!
- Tightly woven tinned all-copper shield with greater than 93% coverage,
combined with an aluminum foil shield with 100% coverage
- Nominal capacitance, 55 pF per meter at 1 KHz
- Nominal impedance, 75 ohms
- Velocity of propagation, 79%
To tell you the truth, the CFB series cables bend and even break some
of our own rules. The specifications and performance are
very high, to be sure, but you
should be aware that these cables were designed primarily for facility wiring
applications. They are double-shielded - the center conductor is solid
copper, the inner shield is aluminum foil, and the outer shield is tinned
stranded copper. They are less flexible than Canare cables that have all stranded
conductors, such as LV-61S video
cable, so one would expect performance to degrade with repeated handling or
movement. Canare's crimp system goes a long way in solving problems associated
with cable of this type, so if you demand specifications at this level, you
can take comfort in knowing that Canare's system is the best we have ever
seen. If you are able to install the cables where they won't get
a lot of handling or movement, you should be very pleased indeed.
If greater flexibility, flex life, and handling characteristics are
more important to you, or if you want a more extensive choice of colors, please consider our Canare LV-61S cable assemblies.
See For Yourself !
We have tested these Canare cables against Monster, and some other more
esoteric cables. In our test setup, no other cable outperformed a Canare cable of
a similar size. If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself. If you don't already have it, get a copy of the Video Essentials or Avia test
disks for your DVD or laserdisc player, and take a look at the test
patterns. Watch for the artifacts mentioned
above that can creep in with lesser cables, then
switch to the Canare cables and look for the difference that constant impedance can
make. We tested cables ranging in
length from 1 meter to 100 meters. Some of the cables that we tested had specs that
looked better on paper than Canare's, but in our real-world tests, Canare always prevailed.
Why Cable Solutions?
No one works harder than we do to get your order shipped out to you fast!
Customer service is our first priority. We do our best to help you find the
best solutions for your particular application. We're enthusiasts too, so
we know what it's like to wait for cables to hook up new gear. We stock
all of the components needed to build all of the items listed on our website, so we are
able to do something that most cable shops do not - we build and ship most
orders within one business day.
We also know how important it is to be able to
get a response when you need help, so you'll often find us working
long hours in an effort to get you the answers that you need. It takes
good people to do outstanding work...the kind of workmanship you want for your
custom cables. It usually costs more to keep good people, but the
importance of high-quality workmanship is second only to the importance of
superior service. I'll let you figure out for yourself why paying too
little for a cable can turn out to be just as bad as paying too much. Our
pricing is based upon the actual cost of building the cables.
Canare cable, Canare connectors, and Canare tools - an all Canare
system. When you take a system this good and put it in the hands of
technicians as good as ours, it becomes an awesome system! Design excellence, high quality materials, meticulous workmanship, and
superior service...put it all together and you get a superior product.
Don't get stuck with bad advice, poor service, slow shipment or an inferior
product. If you want the best, here it is.
Miscellaneous
Please click here to read our policies and disclaimer. Thanks for reading all of this! |
Click on any of the pictures below for a closer
view!
This picture shows a 2 meter set - please select the length that you need below. Our "standard" jacket color is yellow, but we also offer these cables in black as well.
This close-up will give you a better look at our RCA-type end preparations. This is our "standard" connector option, but you may also choose BNC or F-type connectors.
The red, green and blue silicone
strain-relief boots provide industry-standard color-coding for quick and easy
hook-up.
This picture shows a 1 meter set with black jackets. Please select the length/color that you prefer below.
Here is a closer look at the end preparations. Black jackets with red, green and
blue silicone strain-relief boots are shown.
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