Preventing Damage to SDI Outputs

Summary:

Under certain circumstances, it is possible for an SDI connector to incur damage when connected to an accessory and powered without using shielded cables. RED recommends only using high quality, shielded BNC cables that are rated for 12G-SDI signals and only using shielded power cables for powering SDI accessories.  

Make sure power is connected to the SDI accessory at all times before you connect the BNC to the camera. Ungrounded power from SDI accessories can damage the camera’s SDI port. To avoid this possible damage, attach the power source to the accessory before attaching it to the BNC cable. When using RED Approved Third Party battery plates, unplug BNC prior to hot swapping.  

When possible, avoid using P-Tap (also known as D-Tap) cables to power accessories. To avoid damage when using P-Tap/D-Tap, it’s imperative that the connect/disconnect sequence (below) is followed precisely. 

Instructions:

When attaching SDI accessories:

1. 1. Connect a power source to the SDI accessory; power on the SDI accessory. 
   2. Ensure a power source is connected to the camera.
      • This ensures both are grounded prior to connecting the BNC.
      • The camera's power state does not have an impact on SDI attachment sequence.
   3. Connect the BNC cable to the accessory, then to the camera.

When detaching an accessory mounted to an SDI output, ensure that you remove the BNC connection to the camera before removing power to the SDI device: 

1. 1. Shutdown the SDI accessory. 
   2. Disconnect the BNC cable from camera. 
   3. Disconnect the power source from SDI accessory. 

When you need to swap out a battery on an accessory mounted to the camera’s SDI port, you must:  

1. 1. Shutdown the SDI accessory. 
   2. Disconnect the BNC cable from the camera. 
   3. Replace the battery on the SDI accessory. 
   4. Connect the BNC cable to the camera. 
   5. Power on the SDI accessory.