What SMPTE hybrid fiber carries to a system camera
One cable links each system camera to the control room: video, power, return video, intercom, tally and camera control.
In a multicam production, every system camera is linked to the control room by a single cable: SMPTE hybrid fiber. It is the reason a camera can stand at the back of an arena and still deliver the same picture as one beside the stage.
One cable, many signals
A SMPTE hybrid fiber cable combines two single-mode optical fibres with copper conductors in one jacket. The fibres carry data in both directions between the camera and its camera control unit (CCU); the copper carries power from the CCU to the camera head.
What travels on it
- Video from the camera to the CCU
- Return video to the operator’s viewfinder, so they can see the programme or another source
- Intercom between the camera operator and the control room
- Tally, the light that tells the operator and the performers which camera is live
- Camera control from the remote control panel, used by the vision engineer for exposure and colour
- Power for the camera head
Why it matters at the venue
Because one run carries everything, installation is faster and cable routes stay simple. The length each camera needs depends on the venue layout and the camera’s power draw, so every run is planned from the floor plan during the technical review.
In the NBS system
Each NBS Sony HDC-4300 and HDC-3500 system camera connects to its own CCU with Canare SMPTE hybrid fiber.