When tech goes away....

[Worf101]

It goes away FAST. I was working on a bedroom system for a friend. She's broke so I've mostly been using Craigslist and my cast-off hand-me downs. Everything was cool until I needed a longish (about 6 feet long) Component Video Cable. Try as I might I couldn't find one in any of the usual haunts. Wally World, Home Despot, Rat Shack.... none of em had ANY Component cabling left AT ALL. When they switched over ot HDMI I guess they all went in feet first. I had to go 12 miles out of my way ot Best Buy before I finally found a set and it was too short. I finally had to bust down and order one online.

The moral to this story is I was here in Component came in and I'm here to see it go away... who knew it would be sooo fast.

Da Worfster

[bfalls]

If you have a Big Lots discount store, I've been very lucky finding good quality audio RCA and Component video cable very reasonable. Both Audio and Component cables were fully shielded 6ft versions with good quality RCA terminations. The Audio cables were $4, the Component cable $6. Excellent for your type of project. I used them for a while, but they were a little less flexible than I like. I've since replaced them with Emotiva Ultras. I still keep them around for secondary use.

[Hyfi]

I have many of these in 10 or 15 feet lengths.

Pay for shipping and I'll send ya one.

[markw]

Some dollar (type) stores have an amazing assortment of audio/video gee-gaws. They may not be of monster type costruction but they do work..

[recoveryone]

I know the feeling Worf, my garage is filling up with spare parts from my computer upgrades to HT upgrades. The old stuff is still working fine, but just not up to speed any more and you always think that one day you will need it for something else.

My list (just off the top of my head)

Pioneer VSX 411 AVR (everything included)
Network interface Cards x4-6 (NIC) some new still in boxes
Pioneer Sat Speakers x2
900Mhz Computer with 30gigHD 756MB Ram (Old Server) XP Pro OS
U.S. Robotics 56k baud modem PCI Card
Motorola Cable modem
Creative labs Sound Card
assorted Cat 5 cables
RCA/AV cables
GE wireless phone system (base answering machine and 4 other handsets) Screen unreadable
New Verizon router/modem wireless (sent it to me as part of a upgrade plan)
Equalizer
20" CRT TV

One day I'll have that ultamate yard sale lol

[BadAssJazz]

I usually turn to eBay whenever I can't find legacy products locally.

Another source for component cables is good old Comcast. The last cable box they gave me included a set of component cables, even though the box has -- and I use -- HDMI connectivity. If your friend is a cable customer, have her walk right in (ok, there may be a line out the door depending on when she decides to go) and pick up one.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

With the component inputs and outputs going the way of the dodo bird, there is just no market for this kind of cabling. Bluray players are either eliminating the component outputs, or down rezzing them to 480p.

[Woochifer]

Yeah, as T mentioned, Blu-ray has made the first move by phasing out component video on all new players. It has been planned for years, and now that's driving the market with TVs and other devices similarly beginning to phase out component video. Even though a lot of people might still use component video connections, the market for new component video cabling is probably not that big, since most people who need component video cables for their system already have them.

[Worf101]

Thanks for the love folks. There IS a Big Lots store in the local strip mall. I'll head there tonight and see what a brother can scavange. Love that word scavange.... I mean when 8-track died I didn't care. The passing of Cassettes and Video Cassettes was met with cheering in my house. But those were formats who's time and come and mercifully gone. Coaxial didn't fully supplant composite, nor did toslink eliminate all RCA cabling, this shift if something different.

Worf

[pixelthis]

Thanks for the love folks. There IS a Big Lots store in the local strip mall. I'll head there tonight and see what a brother can scavange. Love that word scavange.... I mean when 8-track died I didn't care. The passing of Cassettes and Video Cassettes was met with cheering in my house. But those were formats who's time and come and mercifully gone. Coaxial didn't fully supplant composite, nor did toslink eliminate all RCA cabling, this shift if something different.

Worf

A CLASSIC red, white, and yellow cable will do in a pinch,
the picture will suffer slightly, but most civilians won't notice.
BASICALLY any RCA cable will work, specialized "component"
cables are really just marketing. There really is not much if any difference...really.

[pixelthis]

With the component inputs and outputs going the way of the dodo bird, there is just no market for this kind of cabling. Bluray players are either eliminating the component outputs, or down rezzing them to 480p.

OF COURSE there is "no " market, what with millions of DVD players still out there.
COMPONENT outputs will be around for years, and sets with them even longer. TYPICAL Talky clueless comments.

[Swish]

...but you can find stuff like that for peanuts. A friend of mine lost the charger cord for her old camcorder and went to Rat Shack (as you put it) and asked for advice. They told her to buy a new digital model because she won't find a cord for it due to it's age. I got the model #, punched it in the search engine on e-bay and got her one for $2.00 + about a buck for shipping. I was her hero and it took no time at all.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

OF COURSE there is "no " market, what with millions of DVD players still out there.
COMPONENT outputs will be around for years, and sets with them even longer. TYPICAL Talky clueless comments.

Well Pixelidiot, if there was such a huge market for them, why did Worf have such a hard time finding them? Things that have a high demand can usually be found easily(except maybe the newest Iphone). 5 years ago you would not have had such a tough time finding component cables, but now it is not so easy. Component cables don't break easily, so those millions of DVD player owners do not have to frequently replace cables - hence why there are millions of DVD players, and no cables to support them.

Technology moves on, but I guess you don't huh pixeless...

[pixelthis]

Well Pixelidiot, if there was such a huge market for them, why did Worf have such a hard time finding them? Things that have a high demand can usually be found easily(except maybe the newest Iphone). 5 years ago you would not have had such a tough time finding component cables, but now it is not so easy. Component cables don't break easily, so those millions of DVD player owners do not have to frequently replace cables - hence why there are millions of DVD players, and no cables to support them.

Technology moves on, but I guess you don't huh pixeless...

YEAH, NOT SO "EASY", you actually have to hit a search engine
on a computer.

[pixelthis]

OR maybe talkys right for once.
JUST GOOGLED "component cables" and only got
ten or so pages. MOVE OVER DINOSAURS!!!
Talky gets more clueless every day. You can still buy VHS
tape.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

YEAH, NOT SO "EASY", you actually have to hit a search engine
on a computer.

Worf was taking about brick and motar stores stupid, he was not talking about online. Man, you give new meaning to the word idiot.

[02audionoob]

From what I can tell, I think the single "digital" cable with RCA plugs is the same 75-Ohm design as the gang of three cables in the component set, except those have color coding on them.

[pixelthis]

From what I can tell, I think the single "digital" cable with RCA plugs is the same 75-Ohm design as the gang of three cables in the component set, except those have color coding on them.

AH, YES, the old "75" ohm bugaboo.
MATTERS about as much as the color the wire is.
NO OFFENCE to the big man, but if his chick lady is anything like
my various chick ladies it really won't matter, a picture at
all will bring shouts of delight.
JUST FIND three rca cables of proper length, most are 75 ohm
and if they aren't they wont be far off, and we are not talking about
the main display at the NSA.
have used the "throwaways " (plastic cables with a red, white, and yellow set of plugs put into every electronics box, from a thousand dollar dvd player to a thirty dollar one button job from DOLLAR general) in a pinch with quite good results.
NOT EVERYTHING needs to be engineered like the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, no need for an ace bandage when a band aid with
a cartoon mouse will do nicely.