Componet cables vs. Coax ? (1 Viewer)

[RussellTodd]

Can anyone tell me what the difference would be if you use the componet cables running from my cable box instead of just running the coax cable. I run componet left and right audio cables from my cable box directly into my receiver. However is the signal quality on the video any better using the yellow cable to the VCR and then to the TV or is it just the same using the coax. I can't realy tell the difference but I might not know what to look for.

Thanks

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Your terminology is all confused...

"Component" refers to component video connections which is a three-cable connection for strictly video that is usually terminated with RCA plugs on each end, and uses three 75ohm coax video cables, and is necessary for progressive scan and hi-def.

Yellow video cable is a single composite video connection also usually terminated with RCA plugs and is one 75ohm coax video cable, and is inferior to component connection, and does not support progressive/hi-def etc.

Red and White cables are for stereo audio, left and right, and are usually two coax cables terminated in RCA also. Audio cables may not necessarily be 75ohm and if they are not are not adequate for video.

Digital coax uses a single 75ohm coax cable, usually terminated in RCA to transmit digital audio for 5.1, etc.

So I'm unclear as to what you have hooked up how, since you give options of comparing totally separate audio and video connections. Furthermore, cable boxes are confusing, because you may need to run both digital coax AND analog depending on what your cable box is doing with the audio, often non DD material is not output at all via the digital output, so you may need both.

If you could figure out what exactly you have hooked up where, along with cable box info, and your TV and audio capabilities, it would help those more familiar with your equipment help you out.

hope that helps unmangle your terminology a bit. Also see the Primer and FAQ, I think somewhere there is also a basic setup/connections guide, though I don't have the link at my fingertips.

 

[Drew_W]

The Primer and the Cables forum might help...

 

[Allan Jayne]

In this case, using the yellow video cable would give a better picture, but the difference may be hard to tell.

The cable box, when it tunes in a channel, takes a band of VHF or UHF frequencies (I think Channel 2 is 54 to 60 MHz) and demodulates it into "baseband video" in the 0 to 5 (4.2) MHz range. An analog channel is now composite video, ready to go out the yellow jack. A digital channel needs additional conversions and can also be made into composite video altough component video is better.

To output via an antenna coax cable the cable box needs to re-modulate that baseband composite video to become (usually) channel 3 or 4. Then the TV when it tunes that in, demodulates the video signal back into composite video and now the signal path joins the signal path from the TV's yellow jack. More steps means some degradation in quality.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Tod Golden]

Allan

In other words, for better video quality use the composite video out (yellow) from the cable box. Correct?

Tod

 

[Drew_W]

The hierarchy of connection quality, worst to best:

F-pin coax
Composite
S-Video
Component
DVI/HDMI

 

[ChrisWiggles]

OT, but Drew, don't forget RGB somewhere there with DVI.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Put RGB as a bit better than component although not as good as DVI or HDMI.

Component video can be as good as RGB but in practice, source material transmitted or stored as component video has half the Y channel horizontal resolution on the Pb and Pr channels while RGB has full resolution on all three channels.

In addition, some equipment may correspondingly skimp on the bandwidth of the Pb and Pr signal paths.