The SFP optical plug-in cartridges from Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, are small, hot-pluggable devices used to provide fiber connectivity to 3G/HD/SD products. By using single-mode fiber instead of co-axial cables, these interfaces can be used over much longer distances without degrading signal quality very useful when carrying 3G signals.

SFP cartridges can directly slide into any product offering SFP connectivity. Within the Densité family, compatible rear panels use an easily identifiable -F extension at the end of the part number to signify SFP cartridge hosting capability. SFP cartridges offer either one or two fiber connections, available as single Tx or Rx, dual Rx, dual Tx or as a bidirectional Rx/Tx. Efficiency can be increased by transporting two channels on a same fiber using WDM Series SFP cartridges. For more demanding applications, up to 18 channels can be multiplexed onto a single fiber using SFP cartridges from the CWDM family (external CWDM mux/demux required), minimizing transmission costs related to the use of metropolitan dark fiber.

SFP cartridges can accommodate for one or two fiber connections on LC/PC optical connectors. Grass Valley SFP nomenclature indicates the availability of optical terminals and light direction using R and T letters for Receive and Transmit channels respectively. The transmitter SFP models (T) also contain transmission method and wavelength information. S is used for single 1310 nm wavelength, W for WDM wavelengths and C for CWDM wavelengths. A number follows and uniquely identifies the wavelength used by a specific transmitter channel.

Single wavelength (1310 nm) is used to carry one 3Gbps/HD/SD SDI signal per fiber link. Ideal for long-distances/point-to-point signal deliveries of a single SDI signal.