HD-SDI vs CAT5e

[genepensiero]

still trying to sort this out.

can you guys give me your opinions on why i should choose to distribute over CAT5e or HD-SDI? what are the pros and cons of each from your experience?

we've had success using CAT5e in the past, but i keep hearing people talk about SDI.

let me have it!

[Esoteric]

The primary reason we do HD-SDI is for broadcast quality effects (cuts, wipes, fades, etc) in recording and iMAG.

Other than that, we use CAT5e. Of course, when you are doing on part of a building in SDI, doing the whole building in SDI is usually easier/cheaper than a hybrid system (but that is not always the case).

But our general rule of thumb is for iMAG or broadcast quality recording (especially from multiple sources) we go SDI.

If we are just doing distribution (announcements, single camera view of the service, things like that) then we tend to lean toward CAT5e.

[petereit]

For critical signal paths (camera-to-switcher, switcher-to-projectors) we use HD-SDI because of it's rock-solid reliability and high bandwidth. We don't use CAT5e at all for video (we had nothing but bad experiences with CAT5 baluns), but if we did, it would be for non-critical signals like running to foyer and nursery displays.

We figure if HD-SDI is good enough for Monday Night Football, it's probably the best solution for our critical video paths.

[Esoteric]

True Mark. True.

Although I have rock solid CAT5 gear that has never given me a bit of trouble.

But I prefer HD-SDI whenever possible.

[Brad Weber]

It should be noted that there are a number of different general concept and hardware options that relate to running video over UTP/CAT cable. Lumping them all in one is about the same as equating HD-SDI to composite video simply because they both run over a single coax cable.

For example, HDBaseT and AVB are both forms of video and audio over UTP/CAT but they are very different from a simple, cheap balun that is only converting the physical wiring. And between those are a number of variations in regard to quality and flexibility.

There is also no reason you can't mix technologies or approaches, using each where it offers the greatest strengths. However, you may want to consider where and how you transition between them.