Recommendations/sources for video cables and patch cables

Post your good and bad experiences with various cables and sources to purchase them.

I’ll start! My favorite RCA cables for video synths are the Thinline brand, available in 1/5/10/15/20/25 ft lengths from L-Com. They are very high quality, proper 75 ohm impedance for professional video, and have a thin flexible cable similar to minijack patch cables.
PWD_CTL1R-_

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I use the LZX/Blackmarket cables which come in 5, 12, and 24 inch lengths. They’re particularly useful for setting up multi-Vessel systems:

https://www.lzxindustries.net/shop/product/rca-sync-cable-3014

I’ve also had good luck so far with these from Amazon:

They come in 4, 8, 15, and 25 foot lengths.

I got some coloured RCAs from Selbys, they have a nice soft feel to them and they come in short sizes as well as others. Build quality seems fine and the colours are helpful in a nest of cables.
https://www.selby.com.au/8-pack-of-30cm-selby-rca-to-rca-plug-cables-ap2432-30cm.html

selbys

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I stumbled upon Calrad products at Ametron in Los Angeles and they have been flawless so far.

55-875-6 - 6ft Shielded BNC to RCA (75 Ohm)
55-875-12 - 12ft Shielded BNC to RCA (75 Ohm)

55-750G - 6in RCA Male to RCA Male Multi Colored Shielded Patch Cable
55-751G - 1ft RCA Male to RCA Male Multi Colored Shielded Patch Cable
55-753G - 2ft RCA Male to RCA Male Multi Colored Shielded Patch Cable
55-754G - 3ft RCA Male to RCA Male Multi Colored Shielded Patch Cable

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@JunkRhythm those RCAs look amazing!!!

. i have four sets of the 3’ cables - solid feel and the plugs are snug but not tight on equipment. i’m glad you posted this b/c i forgot where i got them from! :slight_smile:

I ended up buying some of these Amazon basics component + audio cables and just cutting out the audio cables.

I’ve got a cable question regarding the Andor. I purchased what I thought was a replica of the cable that came with my friend’s deeluxe Andor for running the Andor into the Visual Cortex. The one posted below, however, does NOT sync w the VC as the one that comes w the deeeeluxe Andor. Does anyone who’s bought the plain old pedestrian Andor know where to source a reliable 3.5mm AV mini-plug to RCA cable?
Cmple - 3.5mm to 3 RCA Camcorder Video Audio Cable - 6 ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW6VJ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_p7DHBbZ3YKA79

Easy fix! I forgot where I read this, maybe via LZX, but I tried the red RCA, rather than the yellow as we would assume. The Andor synced immediately to the VC.

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@DesertMuseum Regular 3.5mm stereo audio-only cables do work with the Andor 1, although there is a bug that causes analog audio to not work when the Andor 1 is used with some HDMI monitors (a fix for this is coming in the next week or two).

As far as analog audio/video breakout cables, that Zune cable you linked is one I would recommend. I have one here and it works great.

There are a lot of different wirings for those red/white/yellow 3.5mm breakout cables. Some work as expected, some have the video and audio switched, and some don’t work at all. Generally cables that say they are for the “Zune” or “iPod” will work.

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FYI, this cable does NOT appear to work with my Andor1. Audio works fine, but video is scrambled, though I can sort of make out the setup screen, enough to flip through options.

Pretty sure it’s not the Andor1, as it works with HDMI and is on the latest firmware.

Repeat, does NOT work with Andor1!

Wonder if anyone has experience with/thoughts on Polar Noise shielded patch cables?

I’m thinking of maybe picking some up.

I swapped to using just these on my video synth and they’re great. They have a nice feel and have eliminated any cable related noise I was having.

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My local shop has really good prices on 3.5mm cables. They seem to be working fine so far.

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I like CTRL cables, especially for crowded patches.

I stick to Canare L-3CFW for BNC, it’s beautiful.

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I’ve had good experiences with the CTRL crono cables and the multi color cables. The plugs are designed to take up as little space as possible while still being rugged. I really like their 1/4” cables (and the 3.5mm to 1/4” adapters) for the same reason.

Okay, another (similar!) question:

How about Tendrils (or other right-angled patch cables)? Thoughts?

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It gets a little tight using right angle cables on some modules. But definitely looks pretty neat.

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I’m a big fan of Tendrils, for more “committed” patching - they’re super flexible and tuck out of the way, perfect for routing that you don’t expect to change very often.
Here’s an example with an audio rack - EGs to VCAs to final mixer… and I’ll do similar with my video rack soon enough - ie RGB matrix to output module

Now that there are more colours available, and the video rack is soon to be in need of them, I’ll definitely order more Tendrils!

Another favourite patch cable is from Synth Cable Supply Co - good feel with super thin and flexible cable, and low profile plug. Being local they’re relatively cheap, and hardly any packaging is a bonus too.

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