Of course SDI is still used: there's nothing better! The only update was to minify it so we now have SDI on smaller gear. Smaller, but still with twist lock. When it comes to professional cameras, I don't want an HDMI cable any where near my setup.
Reminds me of the Technic 1200s. Built in the 70s, nearly perfect on first release, no major updates required. Only small tweaks with no bearing to core functionality. I feel the same way about SDI. Feature complete!
>Very sturdy cable, too -- very resistant to damage.
depends on the cable, but yeah, it can be. for permanent installs into post facilities, there is a much smaller cable that still qualifies for the higher bandwidth signals, but much thinner cable. it is lighter, easier to pull, and requires so much less space in the racks. this is convenient when cabling patch panels, routers, etc. it does tend to not hold up as well if you have to bend past 90 degrees though.
>And if you need to convert to/from something else (like HDMI), then BlackMagic has some awesome converter boxes.
you can also go to cat6 which is even cheaper and more readily available for HDMI over long distance.
I agree there’s nothing better. What theoretical bandwidth can SDI support? A typical BNC (50 Ω) goes up to around 6 GHz while precision coax connectors (screw-on) can be up 67 GHz+. The ‘low’ performance of BNC is primarily blamed on the twist-lock.
Reminds me of the Technic 1200s. Built in the 70s, nearly perfect on first release, no major updates required. Only small tweaks with no bearing to core functionality. I feel the same way about SDI. Feature complete!