Signal Path

Signal Path must always be planned ahead of time.

Often the signal path is established well before any show ever takes place. And there's a good reason for that. Cabling is always limited and smart planning is required to ensure that you can transport signals to where you need them for the performance. Signal path is the term used to denote how you get certain types of A/V signals from point A to point B and then back again. You might be required to account for literally hundreds of different wires that are all carrying signals of a different type, strength, and usability and could quite possibly be quite dangerous.

 Only by planning ahead can you ensure that you are prepared to get a signal where you need it. Diagrams and documentation are the first and foremost part of planning, but the creative visualization techniques discussed in Chapter 1 are good to employ when one is planning an event. Audio and video engineers are often called on to provide signal feeds from mixing consoles to support everything from TV feeds & multi-boxes to multi-track recording. Understanding the characteristics of the cables and the connectors and the signal you are using is important for normal operation and all of these mentioned have different characteristics.