Note: these are separated by connector type, not the signal. For example, a YPbPr signal can be carried by (among other things) three RCA connectors or three BNC connectors. We’ll get into that in a different article.

RCA Connector

Anyone who has hooked up a VCR in the past 25 years knows what this looks like. One pin (usually color-coded as to its intended use) with a metal ring around it, it’s definitely a staple for consumer electronics connections.

The RCA Connector was originally manufactured by the RCA corporation for phonograph connections and is sometimes reffered to as a “phono plug”. It can be used to carry a lot of different signals including a power signal, but is most commonly found on consumer electronics in the form of a composite and component connection.

Basically, you know these babies – they are everywhere.

BNC

Short for Bayonet Neill-Concelman, the BNC connector is one of my favorite connector types. Why? BNC connectors area able to lock themselves to their female components. The locking mechanism is similar to that of a case for a stack of  writable CDs or DVDs – you fit it on and twist to lock. Just fit and twist.

Obviously, this means that if you’ve got something connected with BNC and it’s locked, and someone trips over a cord, tears will follow. However, in situations where you don’t want an RCA cord just falling out, then BNC is pretty cool.

BNC is used to carry a variety of signals, and is common on professional video equipment. Not just cameras, but other heavy duty studio equipment like genlock generators. You probably won’t run into it on many prosumer camcorders, but once in a while you may come across a BNC jack on something you’re working with. I always like to carry a BNC cord on larger shoots, and I always have a RCA to BNC adapter in my bag just in case.

It’s worth to note that there is some variations on the BNC like the twinax and triaxial connectors, but the chances of you running into one are slim to none on a DiY project.

XLR

Contrary to what it might seem like, XLR is not exclusively an audio connector. It is actually an electrical connector, and it has a lot of variants besides the classic three pin XLR3 commonly used for audio connections, and a lot of other uses other than carrying electricity. As you probably guessed, you are going to run into the three pin XLR most often, so just keep in mind that if someone is referring to a socket that looks like an XLR and has 6 pins and you say “that’s not XLR, n00b!!”, he gets to punch you in the nuts. NO EXCEPTIONS.

XLR is the standard for quality audio connections, and your camcorder may have XLR inputs right on it. If so, great! If not, and you have a 1/8″ jack for audio input, consider investing in something like the Beachtek Dual XLR Audio Adapter which screws right onto the bottom of any camcorder like a tripod plate, and allows for 2 balanced XLR connections. You can also screw a tripod plate into the bottom of the audio adapter, making a kind of camera sandwich that hey, everyone can get along with.

But wait, remember I said that XLR is an electrical connector? You may have seen them on theatrical dimming switches and other power applications like a lot of podium lights. Well, XLR is so talented it can carry both the audio from the microphone AND the power the mic needs (if it needs any). This is called phantom power, and if you have a camera with XLR inputs, open up your manual and check and see if it’s a feature. If it is, then take the batteries out of your mic and plug it in – if phantom power is on, it should still be working.

Pretty cool, huh? The name – phantom power – is also cool. Much better than the original name, “flaccid power”.

TRS Connectors

I bet you have a TRS connector in your bedroom or house, and you don’t even know it. That’s because TRS connectors are really common, but are rarely referred to as TRS connectors except by nerds (like DiY filmmakers). If you have headphones they probably have a 1/8″ TRS connector, commonly known as mini-jack. If you play guitar, it’s probably connected to your amp by a 1/4″ TRS connector. They are all around us – watching (maybe).

TRS stands for Tip, Ring, Sleeve, and the lines are the insulation between elements. The tip is the … tip. The sleeve is the sleeve usually at the bottom. TRS. Pretty easy, eh? One thing to note is that there can be 2 rings (a TRRS) for some applications.

If you have ever touched a live guitar cord connected to a mic, you know that the different parts of the connector (the tip, the ring, and the sleeves), do different things, because if you touch the tip, you get noise out of the amp, and you don’t with the rest of the plug. Basically, the different parts of the plug carry different parts of the signal based on which signal it’s carrying. For instance, if we are using it to carry a stereo signal, the tip is the right channel, the ring is the left channel, and the sleeve is the ground (the sleeve is almost always the ground).

Wikipedia has a handy chart that you can reference, and a whole lot of information that we can’t cover here. Like we mentioned though, there are everywhere, so it is a good idea to be familiar with them and their capabilities.

Handy side note: Since TRS connectors can carry a balanced signal, they can be interchanged with XLR (no phantom power, however). You might, as a result, see some XLR jacks with a hole in the middle for a 1/4″ TRS connector. Choices!

Speakon

I mention these because you might run into them in a setting where there are PA speakers set up. These cable connectors are usually used almost exclusively to connect to high end professional speakers from sound systems. You probably won’t need to use them, but it’s good to know what they are.

So, these are the guys I am willing to bet you are going to run into 99% of the time while doing some DiY filmmaking. The thing is, there are some really weird connectors out there. Check out some old video equipment, you’ll see some things that will haunt your dreams. If you run into something you just can’t figure out, try these sources:

Wikipedia’s video connector list

Wikipedia’s list of audio and video connectors

Those are the basics, so remember – if you don’t know what it is, look it up! No just trying to wedge in whatever cord you have in your hand into a socket just to seem cool. Say no to cable peer pressure, and happy hookups!