What Is a WECO Connector? Standard vs Mini-WECO Video Patchbays Explained

Posted by AVP Broadcast

If you're speccing a video patchbay for a broadcast plant, truck, or master control room, you'll run into the term WECO almost immediately — usually with no explanation attached. Here's what it actually means, how WECO patching works, and how to choose between standard, MidSize (mini-WECO), and micro formats.

What "WECO" means

WECO is the de facto standard 75-ohm video patch jack and plug format used in professional broadcast patchbays. The name traces back to the Western Electric Company, whose early patch hardware set the pattern the industry standardized around. Today "WECO" simply describes the jack/plug geometry — a rugged, self-aligning coaxial connector designed for thousands of patch cycles — rather than any single manufacturer.

A WECO video patchbay puts two rows of these jacks on a rack panel. Sources terminate on the top row, destinations on the bottom, and a short 75-ohm patch cord lets an operator re-route any signal in seconds — no re-termination, no software.

Normalling: why patchbays "just work" with no cords

The magic of a broadcast patchbay is normalling. In a normalled jack pair, the source on the top jack flows automatically to the destination on the bottom jack whenever no patch cord is inserted. Insert a cord and the normal breaks, letting you re-route the feed. That means the patchbay sits invisibly in the signal path 99% of the time and becomes a manual router the moment you need it — during a failure, a special event, or maintenance.

Panels come in normalled and non-normalled configurations, and with terminated or non-terminated jacks depending on whether unused inputs should see a 75-ohm load. If you're unsure, normalled/terminated is the common choice for plant wiring — full decision guide: how to choose a video patchbay.

Standard WECO vs. MidSize (mini-WECO) vs. micro

  • Standard WECO — the full-size format. Maximum ruggedness and the largest install base; a 1RU panel typically carries 2x24 jacks. See AVP's standard-size WECO video patchbays.
  • MidSize / mini-WECO — the same concept scaled down, fitting 2x32 or 2x36 jacks in 1RU. This is the sweet spot for most modern plants: familiar WECO handling, significantly higher density. See the MidSize mini-WECO patchbays, including 12G-SDI UHD versions.
  • Micro (HD-BNC style) — the highest density for space-critical builds like OB trucks and flypacks. See the MicroSize 12G patchbays.

Bandwidth: don't put a 12G signal through an SD-era panel

A patch jack is an RF component. As SDI rates climbed from SD through HD, 3G, and now 12G-SDI for 4K/8K, jack and panel designs had to keep pace — return loss and insertion loss at 6 GHz and above separate a modern panel from a legacy one. If your plant is moving to UHD, choose panels explicitly rated for 12G-SDI (AVP's UHD 4K/8K 12G+ patch panels cover mini-WECO, micro, and E-Series formats, with E-Series rated to 20 GHz). For a deeper dive, read our companion guide: 3G vs 6G vs 12G-SDI: choosing a video patch panel for 4K and 8K.

Quick chooser

  • Legacy HD/3G plant, maximum durability: standard WECO.
  • New build or refresh, best density-to-handling balance: MidSize mini-WECO (2x32/2x36 per RU).
  • UHD/12G workflows: any format, but 12G-rated — mini-WECO 12G, MicroSize 12G, or E-Series.
  • Trucks and flypacks where every RU counts: MicroSize.
  • Confidence monitoring without breaking the path: choose a model with a monitoring row.

AVP MFG & Supply has manufactured broadcast patch panels and connector hardware since 1985. Every patchbay above is built by us and sold factory-direct — and if you need a configuration you don't see, ask us for a quote.