connect differences

[dale331]

Without starting a major discussion on benifits of one over the other, could someone lead me to a link that shows the difference between connections?

I have connectors that all end in RCA plugs. Some of the connectors have 3 plugs, some 2 and some only 1. Can I plug a red, white and yellow connector into a red, blue and green socket (component)? Can you use Analog audio connects for Component video?

How do I tell if the single plug connector is Coaxil?

The only ones I'm sure of are the s-video and the 75ohm antenna wire.

Thanks, Dale

[Resident Loser]

Without starting a major discussion on benifits of one over the other, could someone lead me to a link that shows the difference between connections?

I have connectors that all end in RCA plugs. Some of the connectors have 3 plugs, some 2 and some only 1. Can I plug a red, white and yellow connector into a red, blue and green socket (component)? Can you use Analog audio connects for Component video?

How do I tell if the single plug connector is Coaxil?

The only ones I'm sure of are the s-video and the 75ohm antenna wire.

Thanks, Dale

...is an RCA plug...is an RCA plug...red, white or yellow...the colors are only to help identify them...to make sure that your left is your left (white), that your right is your right (red) and that your video is neither (yellow)...They can be single with or without color-coding, double usually red and white for a stereo pair or R/W/Y for A/V hookups.

Interconnect wiring terminated in an RCA-type connector is usually shielded and is by definition coaxial...a insulated center conductor wrapped in a shield which is at the same time another conductor. Normally it would have a round profile.

There are exceptions however, some less expensive systems may use RCA-type connectors to terminate speaker wiring for installation ease. It is usually a flat twin-lead similar to lamp cord, with the conductors side-by-side...this does not afford any signal shielding as does coaxial interconnects. Since, as a speaker wire, it is carrying a higher level signal, this is, generally speaking, not an issue. You should not use such wiring between components (CDP to receiver, etc.) due to the lower signal levels involved (they are un-amplified) and the susceptibility to certain forms of interference.

jimHJJ(...hope that helps...)

[markw]

For all intents and purposes, you can consider all those wires coaxial (one wire surrounded by the ground shield). A very, very few may be parallel unshielded cables but they are in the minority.

Video and digital coaxial specify 75 ohm cable. Audio is more forgiving but, in this day and age, you can pretty much assume that they are also 75 ohms.

Video and digital coaxial require more bandwidth than audio cables.

The colored ends are more for your convenience in identifying them than anything else.

The standard colors are:

Red and White - Analog Audio

Yellow - Composite Video

Red. Blue, and Green - Component Video

Orange - Digital Coaxial.

Generally, all video cables are interchangable, but by adhering to the color code, it make setup a lot easier.

And, for Digital Audio, I've found that virtually any color cable will work.

[dale331]

I'll have to look again when I get home. I suspect some on the connects I have are the unshielded type. I guess otherwise if the plug fits, try it.
Dale

[markw]

I'll have to look again when I get home. I suspect some on the connects I have are the unshielded type.It's possible, but why do you say that? Can you feel two wires? If so then you're probably right. Hum and noise pickup may be a problem if that's the case.

But I strongly doubt any except the red/white cables would NOT be shielded. Shielding is pretty much a requirement of video cables.


I guess otherwise if the plug fits, try it.Sensible plan. If it doesn't work, you've lost nothing. And, if it does work, the money you save might be your own.

[Smokey]

Resident Loser and Markw have made good remarks and here are more.

Two connections one have to worry about RCA connections are the yellow cable for composite video, and green color cable for component.

For composite cable with RCA plugs, yellow cable carry higher frequency than red and white cables, and on quality cables yellow is usually is thicker due to being 75 ohm and have better shielding.

Same with component cables. Although three cables are usually the same size and thickness, Green cable carry the higher frequency than red and blue.

So if you are trying to use miscellaneous cables for componet connection, use the better cable (or thicker one) for the green connection.

[dale331]

What may be my best cable is a composite cable. Each wire is 1/4". If I use it for a component connection I need to make sure the yellow plug is used on the green socket. Hopefully I can get to it this weekend with eveyrthing else going on. When it rains it pours. Thanks for all the info. Dale

[hermanv]

Shielded wire is not automatically coax!! While similar, no effort is made to keep it a 75 Ohm imedance.

Coax has a controlled impedance which is critical for video or any high speed signal such a digital cable. Ordinary shielded wire does not have this attribute.

In traditional 3 wire cables (Red, White, Yellow) only the yellow wire is coax. The other two are shielded and meant for audio.

While some manufacturers might use the same wire for the two audio cables that they used for the video (yellow) cable, there is no guarantee that they have done so and it's not a very good idea because coax usually has a much higher capacitance than most audio interconnects.

Controlled impedance cables (coax) has a controlled diameter of the inner conductor, and controlled insulator spacing, this fixes capacitance per foot and inductance per foot. They are carefully made so attenuation per foot is esentially constant at all frequencies.

Using audio cables especially on RGB HDTV will likely cause either smearing or ringing of edges.

[dale331]

ok, ok, I'll spend the extra 10 bucks and get what I'm supposed to and stop being so cheap. I just feel that I'm being ripped off when I look at the Radio Shack cables and on the back of the package the 10 selling points are the same for both the component and composit cables. Even the picture diagrams are the same. The only thing different that I see are the color codes and price.
Thanks, Dale
I'll bite the bulet or in this case the BB.

[hermanv]

Yeah, I know, I also dislike spending money I don't need to. If you are like me, you'll have this stuff many years. At ten years it's ony a dollar per year :) :)