Can you?

This may be a stupid question but I will give it a try. I have a set of component video cables that aren't ebing used. Can these cables be used as regular composite video cables with audio? What I mean is, can I use the green cable as the yellow video cable then use the read and blue as the red and white audio cables?
I know this is not there intended purpose but they are just sitting around and was looking to setup another vcr in a spare room. Will they suffice or are they constructed differently than regular Video and Audio RCA cables?

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Originally Posted by tpcounty

This may be a stupid question but I will give it a try. I have a set of component video cables that aren't ebing used. Can these cables be used as regular composite video cables with audio? What I mean is, can I use the green cable as the yellow video cable then use the read and blue as the red and white audio cables?
I know this is not there intended purpose but they are just sitting around and was looking to setup another vcr in a spare room. Will they suffice or are they constructed differently than regular Video and Audio RCA cables?

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There should be no problem at all.

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Originally Posted by Geoffcin

There should be no problem at all.

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Thanks, but now this begs the question, will regular RCA cables work as component video cables?

Basically is a cable with RCA a connectors simply a cable with RCA connectors whether they are Stereo Audio, Composite video, component video cables?

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Originally Posted by tpcounty

Thanks, but now this begs the question, will regular RCA cables work as component video cables?

Basically is a cable with RCA a connectors simply a cable with RCA connectors whether they are Stereo Audio, Composite video, component video cables?

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Component cables have much better shielding, and are overall better built. The ones I use are like twice the size of regular RCA cables, and my guess is that's all extra shielding.

Video signals, and digital as well, work best if passed through cablews with a 75 ohm impedance. If a cable is designed for these functions, you can pretty much assume that they are interchangable. The fact that they ar terminated in with RCA connectors is an industry standard.

Audio, OTOH, works quite well with virtually any coaxial cable and are fairly non dcritical of the impedance. These can range from anywhere from 50 to 110 ohms. Audio doesn't care. If you notice, that 75 ohm cable used for video falls right smack in the middle here.

Back in the day, audio cables were pretty much anything. Since audio didn't care, most manufacturers were pretty easy to please. When video came along the need for 75 ohm cables became more critical. The same equipment could make both. They would need to retool specifically with 75 ohm cable for video and put different colored RCA jacks on the end. Somewhere, some guy got the idea that since 75 ohm works for everything and it doesn't cost more than the other stuff, why not make ALL RCA cables out of 75 ohm cable and simply change the RCS connectors on the end.

So, modern audio cable will PROBABLY work for video functions, there may still be some of the non 75 ohm stuff out there.

Thanks, great info!