Cables, Cables everywhere!!!
Here is a breakdown of the different types of video and audio wires that are being used today. I am listing them in order of the quality of signal they offer; the first being the lowest and the last being the best. Keep in mind quality of the wire makes a difference also.
VIDEO:
Coaxial Cable: typically used for connecting your antenna or cable signal directly into the back of your
TV. VCRs have this type of connection also but should not be used if your TV has other
types of connections on it. Both your audio and video signal run through the one
wire instead of being separated like they are on all other wire types. When this is done you will achieve
a much better picture quality
Composite: Also popularly known as the yellow, red and white cables. They separate the video and
audio into three wires. The yellow is for video, the red is for right audio and the white is for
left audio. Most devices have this type of a connection as a bare minimum.
S-Video: This is the least commonly used connection now a days. It is designed to only send video
Through and is actually two wires combined into one. One of the wire is used for the black and
white information and the other wire is used for the color information.
Component: Typically referred to as the red, green and blue wires. They only carry video and are the
most commonly used wire for High Definition signal right now. One wire carries the black
and white information and the other two carry the color information. Note: this type of
cable is sending only the video information to your TV and is sending it as an analog signal.
DVI: Mostly used on computers now, this connection was the first used to send High Definition signal
digitally to an HDTV. It was replaced pretty quickly with the next type of cable.
HDMI: A cable that looks very much like an oversized computer cable (USB for you computer literates).
This is the preferred way to send a signal from any device you have (DVD player, Blu-ray or cable
Box etc.) since it carries the signal digitally and will send the audio signal through it also. It
produces the most accurate video and audio signal in comparison to all the other types of cable that are out
there now.
AUDIO:
Composite or RCA: These are the red and white cables referred to earlier in the video section. They split
the signal into left (white) and right (red) audio.
Optical or Toslink: This sends the signal through a fiber optic wire from the source (CD player, DVD Player
etc.) to the receiver. It can hold up to 5.1 channels of information on it as well. The
optical wire translates the 1s and 0s (the digital information) into light blips, then back into 1s and
0s on the other end.
Digital Coax or SPDIF: This looks exactly like the composite or RCA cable but the internal wire is designed
a more like the composite (video) wire. It sends the exact same information that the optical wire
does but does it without having to do any conversion like the optical has to. You will probably
wont notice any differences between optical and coax but technically coax is better.
HDMI: As explained earlier this send audio and video signal out of the many bundled wires inside. The
advantage HDMI has is that it can handle more audio (and video) information so it can handle the
newer versions of surround sound that have better sound quality and more channels of sound (like 6.1 and 7.1).
So there you have it, all the varieties of wire wrapped up in a tiny little morsel for you to sink your teeth into and devour. I know it was pretty dry but I wanted to make sure it was concise enough for a blog entry and not some novel of information. As Apu from The Simpsons always says "Thank you, come again".
VIDEO:
Coaxial Cable: typically used for connecting your antenna or cable signal directly into the back of your
TV. VCRs have this type of connection also but should not be used if your TV has other
types of connections on it. Both your audio and video signal run through the one
wire instead of being separated like they are on all other wire types. When this is done you will achieve
a much better picture quality
Composite: Also popularly known as the yellow, red and white cables. They separate the video and
audio into three wires. The yellow is for video, the red is for right audio and the white is for
left audio. Most devices have this type of a connection as a bare minimum.
S-Video: This is the least commonly used connection now a days. It is designed to only send video
Through and is actually two wires combined into one. One of the wire is used for the black and
white information and the other wire is used for the color information.
Component: Typically referred to as the red, green and blue wires. They only carry video and are the
most commonly used wire for High Definition signal right now. One wire carries the black
and white information and the other two carry the color information. Note: this type of
cable is sending only the video information to your TV and is sending it as an analog signal.
DVI: Mostly used on computers now, this connection was the first used to send High Definition signal
digitally to an HDTV. It was replaced pretty quickly with the next type of cable.
HDMI: A cable that looks very much like an oversized computer cable (USB for you computer literates).
This is the preferred way to send a signal from any device you have (DVD player, Blu-ray or cable
Box etc.) since it carries the signal digitally and will send the audio signal through it also. It
produces the most accurate video and audio signal in comparison to all the other types of cable that are out
there now.
AUDIO:
Composite or RCA: These are the red and white cables referred to earlier in the video section. They split
the signal into left (white) and right (red) audio.
Optical or Toslink: This sends the signal through a fiber optic wire from the source (CD player, DVD Player
etc.) to the receiver. It can hold up to 5.1 channels of information on it as well. The
optical wire translates the 1s and 0s (the digital information) into light blips, then back into 1s and
0s on the other end.
Digital Coax or SPDIF: This looks exactly like the composite or RCA cable but the internal wire is designed
a more like the composite (video) wire. It sends the exact same information that the optical wire
does but does it without having to do any conversion like the optical has to. You will probably
wont notice any differences between optical and coax but technically coax is better.
HDMI: As explained earlier this send audio and video signal out of the many bundled wires inside. The
advantage HDMI has is that it can handle more audio (and video) information so it can handle the
newer versions of surround sound that have better sound quality and more channels of sound (like 6.1 and 7.1).
So there you have it, all the varieties of wire wrapped up in a tiny little morsel for you to sink your teeth into and devour. I know it was pretty dry but I wanted to make sure it was concise enough for a blog entry and not some novel of information. As Apu from The Simpsons always says "Thank you, come again".
Jim Carter's Technology Blog
Posted 4/10/2008