Brands & Manufacturers

It just hasn’t been a perfect world for the Digital Video wire and cable manufacturing segment for consumer electronics. Problems surfaced early on as Digital Video was released bringing to the table an abundance of interoperability problems that, over time, almost de-railed the technology raising serious questions about Digital Video’s very existence. It was the Plug and Pray Ultimatum.

Any time a new technology is released it is assumed there will always be certain operating bugs that must be identified and corrected, a natural occurrence with any new technological development. We are human and mistakes are made that can be excusable when dealing with these types of complex devices. As the industry moved into a total digital communication standard product features exploded bringing forth additional functional responsibilities and giving way to unexpected physical real-world interoperability failures with a large percentage of consumer video environments. These casualties will not be forgotten and most likely will live on for many years to come.

Unfortunately, with Digital Video, it just wasn’t that easy to correct unlike other types of interface products manufactured in the past. This large consumer sales segment forced a race to market by scores of manufacturers and brands introducing a multitude of different cable styles and technical offerings with price being the Achilles heel. Building these types of multi-element cables takes more time and money, unlike other cable devices. To expect these prices to match less expensive builds is ludicrous limiting cable performance and reliability not to mention current increased resolution limits and ongoing R&D investment. Why did this particular product category move so far off-center?

The consumer electronics industry is divided into a host of segments supporting specific categories. With that comes a focus and energy devoted to a specific area like wire and cable products that, by overlapping over time, a solid historical proficiency takes place. The goal for all wire and cable associated products is to provide a level of connectivity that allows companion products such as displays, set-top boxes, distribution systems, and countless accessories all to work in harmony and perform as designed.

A vast majority of hardware and cable products introduced unique characteristics that could set each producer apart from competing products, a kind of technical flare, flaunting a wide customer base. These can be as subtle as outer jacket design cosmetics or substantial differences in material such as copper, silver, and gold, along with other specific design attributes claiming a more robust performance. These features can add or subtract from the products’ real-world performance. In some cases, this can be very effective but needs to be proven by way of some form of comparison to its expected increased performance. This can be accomplished by understanding what the intended expected goals are and running a series of test evaluations to prove the design. It is all doable and should always be compared against the current industry standard.

These uniquenesses can be very effective and can also cause negative byproducts that were not expected. Small details such as wire topology, sub-wire positioning within a cable, wire dielectrics, and gauge effectiveness can all have a direct relationship with the cable’s performance both negatively and positively. As an example, since these cables have as many as 19 different wires making up the cable itself flexibility can suffer. To improve these manufacturers may opt to decrease some or all wire gauge sizes offering a more supple feel and easier installation. However, negative effects can occur with one or all functions hindering the cable’s performance and reliability. This is just one of scores of examples discovered throughout the research period. Hence, performance and verification testing to the standard is advocated.

DPL Labs combines both traditional laboratory test standards and a cable’s real performance in a true physical world environment. This process initiates a series of comparison arguments that stresses the cable’s true performance under typical operating conditions. Designated as DPL Labs® Augmentative Matrix ™, it provides a full complement of tests that forces every known failed circumstance uncovered by way of hundreds of case studies spearheaded by DPL Labs® since 2012 covering both current and past revisions. This was a massive achievement comparing real-world applications to typical design standards encapsulating definitive conclusions.

These test procedures have been in service for over a decade and have proven time and time again that it was not necessarily a Plug and Pray world after all. By following the original specification operating in today’s physical environment in both Frequency and Time Domain testing analysis a diplomatic test outcome can be realized.

In keeping up with the technology DPL Labs® has introduced its more recent test methodology in its 48G Reference Standard Program™. This new program initiates all of the additional standard requirements used under 8K and 10k transmissions. Available for both copper and optical cable devices, DPL Labs® 48G Reference Standard increases its test procedures to include not only 2K and 4K data rates but also adds 24G, 32G, 40G, and 48G that support 8K and 10K resolutions. In addition, active cable products are also subjected to additional testing for all DC conditions including power supply, current consumption, source notification, and line bias values.

Currently, video cable industry standards must pass as many as 20 individual tests however, to achieve the highest level of performance and reliability within Digital Video’s eco space DPL Labs® powerful “Augmentative Matrix” test process expanded these test assignments to as many as 76 to earn a DPL Labs® 48G Reference Standard certification label where: