Belden 1808A Brilliance S-Video Cable

This custom made S-Video interconnect cable is built with Belden's best "BRILLIANCE" 1808A S-Video cable.  The cables are fitted with high-quality, mini-DIN connectors, which have all-metal bodies and spring-type strain-reliefs.

Here is an upgrade for your system that will be hard to miss -- from the professional look and feel of the cables themselves, to the superior quality of the video that they provide.  Perfect for VCR, satellite, cable box, TV monitor and many other home theater and A/V system hook-ups!

Why S-Video?

The S-Video format, sometimes referred to as Super VHS, S-VHS, or "Y/C" requires two coaxial cables to allow for separate transmission of the two parts of a video signal; the luminance (Y) and chrominance (C). The chrominance signal contains the color information and the luminance the black and white or brightness information of the video signal. This separated transmission of the video signal provides better picture resolution with less noise.

What Makes Belden So Great?

If you've seen our other auctions, you can probably tell that we are great fans of Canare cables and connectors, but unfortunately, Canare does not make S-Video connectors or cable!  It was this dilemma that inspired our search for a high quality S-Video solution for our customers, and for use our own home theater demo room.

A big part of the problem with S-Video cables, in general, is the mini-DIN connector.  It's too small to accommodate the cable size that's needed to ensure low loss, and these connectors tend to be both electrically and mechanically poor.  In short, just about everything that one would NOT want installed on a high quality interconnect cable.

After some less than ideal attempts at a good solution, we finally decided to design our own.  Our connector may have a familiar look, but the design has been modified to our specifications.  Our connector has a metal shell that can accommodate larger than average cable. It has a nice fit and finish, the contact surfaces are gold plated for good electrical integrity, and the body is better than most such connectors in terms of mechanical integrity.  It also has a very nice custom-designed metal spring-type strain-relief.  Unlike similar-looking S-Video connectors that you may have seen, our strain-relief is properly designed and sized to actually reduce stress on the cable.

Having solved the connector problem, we then searched for the very best cable that would fit into it.  We wanted cable of consistent quality, from a well known manufacturer, and we wanted the lowest loss and highest performance we could get.  What we've settled on is Belden's 1808A "Coax - High Flex SVHS Cables".  Take a look at the chart below for the specs.

Excerpt from Belden's Description

Coax, 2 coax, 30 AWG, stranded (7x38) TC - Tinned Copper conductors, Foam PE - Foam High Density Polyethylene insulation, Spiral Serve Shield, inner PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride jackets, overall PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride jacket. Miniature 75 Ohm S-VHS Round Video Cable. Coaxial. Brilliance. Construction accepts 4 and 7 pin Mini-DIN connectors, Round construction...  Belden's SVHS cables have been designed specifically for use in this format.  The Round design provides better aesthetics and is more rugged. ...highly flexible. BRILLIANCE is a Belden registered trademark.

What it all Means

If you've seen our other items, you may notice that these cables break many of our own rules.  They are hand soldered, not crimped. They use a foamed dielectric, and by design, no mini-DIN connector can maintain a 75 ohm impedance, so these don't either.  On the other hand, the cable exhibits low loss, considering it's size, it is highly flexible, and the connectors are of the highest quality. Fit, finish, and build quality, right down to the solder work are all excellent.  These cables make the S-Video specification work better than it reasonably should! 

It's all very confusing, because a higher price does not necessarily equate to better performance, and most of the "technical data" on high-end cables is just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, with little or no basis in science.  Unfortunately, superlatives do not render a superior picture.  You probably already know the prices for Monster, Tributaries, and some of the other more esoteric cables -- they can be very expensive.   On the basis of price alone, these cables are hard to beat, and if you consider performance, it's even harder. 

See For Yourself !

We have tested these Belden cables against Monster, and some other more esoteric cables. In our test setup, we never tested any cable (other than our own high-performance S-Video break-out setups) that produced a visibly superior picture. If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself.  If you don't already have it, get a copy of the Video Essentials or Avia test disks for your DVD or laserdisc player, and take a look at the test patterns.  If you compare to composite video, you should see less "dot crawl".  If your composite cables are not Canare, you'll probably also notice additional resolution with these cables!  In most cases, S-Video will not perform as well as component video, but if S-Video is the best option you have, these cables will make the best of your signal.  I think you'll agree that when it comes to S-Video cables, these are great performers.

Why Cable Solutions?

No one works harder than we do to get your order shipped out to you fast! Customer service is our first priority.  We do our best to help you find the best solutions for your particular application.  We're enthusiasts too, so we know what it's like to wait for cables to hook up new gear.  We stock all of the components needed to build all of the items listed on our website, so we are able to do something that most cable shops do not - we build and ship most orders within one business day.

We also know how important it is to be able to get a response when you need help, so you'll often find us working long hours in an effort to get you the answers that you need.  It takes good people to do outstanding work...the kind of workmanship you want for your custom cables.  It usually costs more to keep good people, but the importance of high-quality workmanship is second only to the importance of  superior service.  I'll let you figure out for yourself why paying too little for a cable can turn out to be just as bad as paying too much. Our pricing is based upon the actual cost of building the cables.

Canare cable, Canare connectors, and Canare tools - an all Canare system.  When you take a system this good and put it in the hands of technicians as good as ours, it becomes an awesome system!  Design excellence, high quality materials, meticulous workmanship, and superior service...put it all together and you get a superior product.  Don't get stuck with bad advice, poor service, slow shipment or an inferior product.  If you want the best, here it is.

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