Component Cable vs. A/V Cable (1 Viewer)

[JoshuaRob]

This is probably a dumb question, but is there a difference in the cable that makes up a component video(red, blue, green) cable and a cable with L/R(red, white) audio and a single Video(yellow). It seems odd that they all have the same specifications except for price. So what I am asking is if a A/V cable can be used for a component cable.

Thanks,
Josh

 

[David_Stein]

in the a/v cable, there is no gaurantee that the audio cables in it are 75ohm cables. i think thats really the only difference, other than im guessing the component cables will seem better shielded (whether or not they actually are depends on the cable, but the wires are usually thicker).

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Joshua. Welcome to HTF!

No, it's not a dumb question. It's actually a source of great confusion.

Here are the 'rules':

- A video cable is made with something called "75 ohm" coax. The RCA plug on the end is usually colored yellow to reflect this, except in the case of a component cable set.

- A audio cable can be made with any of the popular types of coax and connectors: 50, 75, 110, 300.

(while I am in lecture mode)

- A coaxial-digital cable must be made with "75 ohm" coax. Yes, the people had a video cable in mind when they came up with the specification.

- A Composite video cable is a single coaxial cable with RCA plugs on the end.

- A SVideo is 2 75 ohm cables in a single bundle and a funny 'keyboard' connector on the end and gives roughly a 20% better picture than a composite connection.

- A Component Video cable is simply 3 identical length composite cables bundled together. It gives roughly a 25% better picture than composite.

if a A/V cable (Red/White/Yellow) can be used for a component cable

The answer: perhaps

Years ago, some companies who made bundled audio/video cables used 75 ohm coax for all 3 and just colored the plugs differently. They made dandy, inexpensive component cable sets. A few years ago, someone cut a newer-version Radio Shack bundle open and discovered that the video coax was different. (No, you cannot tell the impedence of the coax by looking at it, they just eyeballed the disected cables).

So it's a bit of a gamble. You can always try it and see if it works for the cables you have around.

Patch Cables vs Coax Cables

Often a DVD/VCR will include some cheap patch-cables that look like Walkman-headphone cable or very-thin round wires. These should be avoided for in-your-rack use.

All good audio/video interconnects should be as thick (if not thicker) than your CATV coax. If you cut them, they will look exactly like a cut piece of CATV coax - a center conductor surrounded by white foam, then a foil or braided 'shield'. The shield protects the real signal that runs on the center conductor, and serves as a zero-volt reference. (blah, blah, blah)

In simple terms: Thin wires or patch cables are not shielded so they really wont work well in the mass of signals/noise behind your equipment. The cheap Radio Shack or AR brand are much-much better.

Component vs HD Video

Yes, you can use $30 component cables from AR/Radio Shack to send HD signals to your new HDTV. If thats all you can afford, go for it.

But cables are like roads: the same asphalt is used in both, but different cables are built for different speeds.

If the package says "Component Video", it only has to carry component video frequencies. Here are the max video frequencies in a modern system:

Component Video - 4 Mhz
Progressive Scan Video (480p) - 13 Mhz
HD Video (720 & 1080) - 35 Mhz

So if you are using HD video - buy cables designed for those frequencies.

Hope this helps.

 

[JoshuaRob]

Thanks for the information.