AV Cable Schedule Template

What is an AV cable schedule?

A cable schedule is a list of every cable in an AV system, one row per cable. Each row gives the cable a unique ID, says what type and length it is, which device and port it starts at, which device and port it ends at, and how it gets there. It is the document you hand to whoever is pulling cable, and the one you reach for months later when a feed goes down and you need to know which run to check.

On a permanent install, like a conference room, lecture theatre or church, the cable schedule becomes part of the handover pack. On a live event it doubles as the cable pull list and tells the crew what to lay first.

Cable schedule vs patch list

The two overlap, and on small jobs one document can do both. The difference is the question each one answers:

• A patch list answers "what is connected to what?" Output to input, device to device. It is about the signal. See our guide on how to make a patch list.
• A cable schedule answers "what is this physical cable, and where does it run?" It adds the length, the route or zone, and installation notes such as containment, termination or labelling.

If you already have a patch list with cable labels and lengths, you are most of the way to a cable schedule. Add a route column and a notes column and you are done.

Cable schedule columns

• Cable ID. A short, unique label printed on both ends of the cable, such as V01 for video, A01 for audio, N01 for network and P01 for power. Keep IDs short so they fit on a label. See cable labelling for live events.
• Cable type. SDI, HDMI, XLR, Ethernet, Power and so on. Be specific in notes if it matters (for example 12G-SDI or Cat6).
• Length. The length of cable to pull or pack, including slack for dressing. The cable length calculator helps you estimate it.
• From device and from port. Where the signal leaves: "PTZ camera, SDI Out".
• To device and to port. Where it arrives: "Video switcher, SDI 2".
• Route / zone. The path the cable takes, such as "Rear wall to rack, ceiling void" or "Floor box to lectern".
• Notes. Anything the installer or operator needs: phantom power, tape across a walkway, converter location.

Blank cable schedule template (CSV)

Headers plus one example row to show the format. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets, delete the example and add your own rows.

Example cable schedule: small conference room

A typical meeting or training room: a lectern with a laptop input and a gooseneck mic, two wireless mics, a digital stage box on stage linked to the mixer in the rack over Ethernet, a PTZ camera on the rear wall, a video switcher, a ceiling projector and a pair of speakers. The laptop's HDMI is converted to SDI at the lectern for the 20 metre floor run, and back to HDMI at the projector.

A few things this example gets right. Every ID is unique and the prefix tells you the signal type. Long runs use SDI rather than HDMI. Ethernet runs carry both the digital stage box link and camera control, and each one is named so nobody unplugs the wrong port. Power is on the schedule too, because a lectern with no power is a failed show.

Using a cable schedule template in Excel

Once the CSV is open in Excel, turn the range into a table so you can sort and filter. Useful views: sort by Cable type to count how many of each cable to pull or pack; filter by Route / zone to hand each installer only their runs; sort by To device to check every input on the switcher or mixer is accounted for. Freeze the header row and print in landscape so the whole row fits on one line.

Generate the cable schedule from your diagram

The problem with any spreadsheet is keeping it in step with the design. Change a camera position and the diagram, the patch list and the cable schedule all need editing. In H2R Gear you draw the system once: real gear from the community library, cables dragged between real outputs and inputs. Give each cable a label (up to 7 characters, like V01) and a length, and they show on the diagram and in the lists.

On Pro and team plans, the Patches view lists every cable in the plan with these columns: Cable type, Cable label, Cable length, From item, Output, To item, Input. Sort it, filter it, hide columns you do not need, then export a CSV or copy it to the clipboard. The columns map straight onto the cable schedule:

Route and notes are not columns in the patch list, so add them in your spreadsheet after export. On the diagram itself, zones (also Pro) mark areas like Stage, Lectern and Rack so the route is visible at a glance. Cable lengths also feed the packlist, which is on every plan including the free Starter tier. See the patch list docs and cable docs for details, or try the free patch list tool if you just need a quick list.