the 3 colored componet hook ups to hook the dvd player to the tv, can i use regular rca cables or is the cables made for the componet hooks ups better? is there a difference in the cables if they are the same brand and quality? other than the labaling on the cables whats the difference?
componet cables are better than composite. but with componet cables, they are only video, you would have to hook your audio up using either coaxle or optical if you want a full digital signal. as for brands i couldn't tell ya what is better that is something i'm wanting to know myself
Yes you can use rca cables. Just be sure to remember the color assn. THe better cables are sheilded. As brandonb said, you also have to connect audio too. Most true component cables come with 5 way plugs, red, blue, green, red audio, and white audio. Monster cables are expensive claim to be worth it. Regular cables, are 15.00 to 100.00, us. "Yeah, that's why I used rca audio for so long."
well i've been told that you can see the difference in buying expensive cables but not hear the difference. i've been told a 20 dollar optical cable from walmart will sound no different than a 60 dollar cable from circuit city. and that was from a circuit city employee so its tough to say.
Well, I do know that you can split component red, green, blue with audio y-splitters. Hardly able to notice any signal degradation. But audio wouldn't go through. Go figure. The more expensive cables, "should," have better shielding, to eleminate any electronic noise. I use shielded cables if I have them.
Yes there is a diffrence between cables and technology. All of the following use 75-OHM cable for there connections. S-Video, DVI, and HDMI are the only ones that typically do not use RCA connections for its connectors (but any of them can use RCA, BNC, or Scart connectors. Except HDMI and DVI).
Here are some of the limits and abilities...
Composite Video - One channel for Y (Grey Scale)-Pb (Blue)-Pr (Red) signals. All signals suffer degradation. Maximum resolution is 480i.
Super (S) Video - Two channels; one for Y; one for Pb and Pr. Only the color signals suffer degradation. Very good gray-scale (contrast). Maximum resolution is 480i.
Component Video - Three channels for Y-Pb-Pr (sometimes noted Y-Cb-Cr on digital devices). None of the channels suffer from degradation. Very good gray scale and color reproduction. Can handle interlaced Scan and Progressive Scan video signals. Maximum resolution 1080i/p.
DVI (DVI-Digital): All digital connection that carries Component Video (in its digital form) for video transmission.
------ A/V Cable Technology ------
RF-Coax (when used to transmit analog signals): Uses Composite Video technology to compress the video signal. Only carries 1-Channel "Mono" audio.
HDMI: All digital connection that carries Component Video (in its digital form) for video. Will carry virtually any type of compressed or uncompressed digital audio format.
An update to HDMI:
As of HDMI 1.3 HDMI can support multiple color compression schemes as well as multiple color depths. The maximum signal bandwith has also increased.
The main reason to use component video or better connection (i.e. HDMI and DVI-D) is because video production equipment does everything using Component Video. It is how the information is compressed for consumer distribution. Composite and S-Video signals are derived from component video signals which adds some degradation before the signal is even transmitted.
Now cable type and manufacturer...
Brand doesn't matter as much as quality. Anything is better than free in-the-box cables that come with your equipment. What makes cables different is the amount of shielding against RFI and EMI, and build quality.
As far as digital cables...
Most people will tell you there is no difference in digital cables. Those people have a "it either will work great or not work at all" attitude. From what I have experienced bad digital cables can cause problems that will render your equipment useless. The main problem is jitter. Again, build quality should be the main concern. More expensive digital cables just last longer but are not better performers (some actually hinder proper performance.
