Discover How Converters and Connectors Can Ease the Analogue to Digital Transition

                                                                                         

At first this looks a tedious subject, however what is amazing is just how many converters and connectors there currently are as we move from Analogue to Digital and to High Definition (HD). This article will hopefully give some indication of what to consider when looking to mix different standards and formats. The key point is that with the help of converters you don’t need to upgrade the whole ‘chain’ at the same time but rather manage a transition through the use of converters.

Over the years in the audio and video world different formats, and their associated connectors have come and gone. For the most part in the broadcast video environment it has been the ‘BNC’ and in the audio the ‘XLR’.

The BNC and XLR connector ruled the roost for many years but with the advent of Digital technologies there has been an explosion of different formats and types such as: IEE1394 (also known as Firewire), USB, HDMI, D-SUB 15 pin, D-SUB 9 Pin, GPI D-SUB 25 Pin , DVI-I 29 Pin type , DVI-A, DVI-D, SVGA, RG45, Composite RCA, Mini jack, DIN 6-pin, mini USB, 4-Pin mini S-Video Y/C, RCA audio.

When we upgrade or change to a new format (i.e. Analogue to Digital) we need to be aware that it is likely we will need different cables and nearly always a converter to get from one format to another.

Often this is not as easy as it seems, particularly when attempting to mix “professional” equipment with “consumer”. (Equipment that can be seen as low end professional or high end consumer is referred to as “Pro-sumer”) In the past the mix of pro and consumer was ill advised, however nowadays, with digital technology being of such high quality, the only differentiation between “Broadcast quality” and Domestic equipment is the type and number of connectors. Broadcasters tend separate video and audio sources to allow greater flexibility in editing whilst in consumer land it is not always recommended so as to keep connections and complexity to a minimum and so you get the HDMI connector which carries both video and audio signals.

This is where the converters come into play, there are many different types of Audio and Video signal basic categories include, Analogue / Digital, balanced / unbalanced, stereo / mono, etc... Within the sub category of video we have: Composite, Component, Y/C and HD to name a few. There are many reasons why you may need to convert one to another, to save money, to interface technologies, maintain formats, to separate audio from an ‘embedded’ signal, to prevent interference... etc...

Changing from one transmission standard to another (i.e. the European video standard of ‘PAL’ to the American version ‘NTSC’), is a huge challenge particularly when it comes to the real time calculations required to convert fast moving action. Motion compensated standards conversion really is an amazing achievement.

To help out there are many converters available, most common are Analogue to Digital and Digital to Analogue, (known as ‘A-D / D-A’s’) These convert signals such as the analogue video ‘Composite’ and ‘Component’ signals of Standard Definition (SD) video to the digital standards of High Definition and Serial Digital Interface (HD/SDI).

Then there are the Standards Conversions within the digital domain to cope with the ever increasing connector types: i.e. HD/SDI to DVI (or HDMI).

With audio you may need to convert analogue to digital or the other way round, this may be in conjunction with video. There may also be the need for De-embedding, or separating, the signals from each other.

About the author:
Whatever the challenge, most equipment can now be made to work in unison, be it digital microphones or audio monitors, with the comparatively cheap and humble work horse that is the converter.


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