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Component video cable
Quadriflax - Feb 29, 2004
  Quadriflax Feb 29, 2004
Does anyone have a good place to get cheap component video cables? I just got a new TV and want to take full advantage of my DVD player. I found one at Amazon.com.... It seems reasonable enough, but if anyone knows a better place, I'd appreciate a link. Thanks.

 gameboy900 Feb 29, 2004
If the source and target (DVD and TV in your case) both use three RCA jacks for the output you can use ANY 3 plug RCA cable. The only thing that really makes a difference between a AV cable (the three cable one for stereo sound) and a component cable is the color of the plugs. So you can get an inexpensive standard stereo AV cable for the video and then a standard stereo audio cable for the sound. There's really nothing special about the actual component cables other than the plug color.

Now keep in mind that getting cheep ass $2 cables will of course give you less than optimal video quality. So getting more expensive gold plated cables would improve on that.

 Alexvrb Feb 29, 2004
That cable you posted from amazon would probably be fine. You have the audio cables already, right? Anyway, don't go with anything cheaper than that, I've been burned before with poorly insulated cables (because yes, insulation is probably more important than just getting gold plated ends). You don't need Monster brand super-ultra-expensive cables for this sort of thing, but you don't want something that has interference problems.

 Tagrineth Feb 29, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by gameboy900@Feb 29, 2004 @ 12:59 PM



 If the source and target (DVD and TV in your case) both use three RCA jacks for the output you can use ANY 3 plug RCA cable. The only thing that really makes a difference between a AV cable (the three cable one for stereo sound) and a component cable is the color of the plugs. So you can get an inexpensive standard stereo AV cable for the video and then a standard stereo audio cable for the sound. There's really nothing special about the actual component cables other than the plug color. 



Now keep in mind that getting cheep ass $2 cables will of course give you less than optimal video quality. So getting more expensive gold plated cables would improve on that.


The main difference is that Component cables are expected to carry a HELL of a lot more aggregate data, so the have MUCH better shielding... that's why they're so much more expensive. The quality of the metal tends to be much higher, too, to be more reliable with so much more bandwidth.

720p and 1080i would probably end up looking like absolute CRAP using regular AV cables as Component substitutes.

 Taelon Feb 29, 2004
Good point, I have to agree.

While regular audio cables have worked well for me for regular composite video (NTSC standard), they probably would suck for high-def video.

 gameboy900 Feb 29, 2004
Keep in mind he did say DVD player as the source so you'd be doing regular ntsc signals anyway. And I seriously doubt he'd notice the difference anyway.

 Taelon Mar 1, 2004
I was just assuming his new TV might be a HDTV-capable display, and the DVD player would thus feed a hi-def signal through the component cables. You know, 16:9 progressive and all that. 'course I could be wrong.

 ExCyber Mar 1, 2004
Even a standard NTSC-resolution video signal carries frequencies over 100 times higher than an audio signal. If you look at attenuation specs for pretty much any kind of cable, that can be a pretty big difference. Still, if you keep the cables as short as possible and don't use totally cheap crap, it's probably feasible to get decent results.

 dhau Mar 1, 2004
I found a great solution to this problem. I bought a fat gold plated Philips RGB

cable from a local electronic junk store. They sell those for 5$. Originally this

stuff was designed to ancient analog video-editing stations. It does a very good

job as a component cable.

 Quadriflax Mar 1, 2004
Thanks for the replies. I was wondering what, if any, the real difference between the cables are. But, just to be perfectly clear, I'll ask a stupid question. If I were to take my current composite cable (3 plugs, left and right audio, video) and hook it up to the component plugs, it would work? Then I could just take another composite cable and use only two of the three plugs for the audio? Esentially I'd be using 5 out of 6 plugs from two cables.

The one composite cable I currently use is pretty high quality. I think it's actually a monster cable. When my mother bought me my DVD player years ago she was suckered into buying a "better" cable for it. So if I understand correctly, it should probably work fine for the video. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also forgive me if my terms are confused/incorrect. It seems simple enough, but therefore could be just as easy to screw up.

And for the record, no, it's not HD compatible. It's a Sony 27" WEGA... set. I got it new for $100. I couldn't pass it up for that price.

 ExCyber Mar 1, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			If I were to take my current composite cable (3 plugs, left and right audio, video) and hook it up to the component plugs, it would work?


Yes. Fundamentally, a video or audio cable is just a transmission line consisting of two wires (signal and ground/reference/shield) for each signal. The only question is what signal losses (attenuation), interference, and distortions (capacitance/inductance will warp the signal) will occur with a given input signal on a given length of that cable.


  
	
	

		
		

			The one composite cable I currently use is pretty high quality. I think it's actually a monster cable. When my mother bought me my DVD player years ago she was suckered into buying a "better" cable for it. So if I understand correctly, it should probably work fine for the video.


It's probably fine. Basically I'm just saying don't use the "wire dipped in handi-dip" kind of flimsy crap that came with the DVD player you got for $30 on Black Friday.


  
	
	

		
		

			And for the record, no, it's not HD compatible. It's a Sony 27" WEGA set. I got it new for $100. I couldn't pass it up for that price.


Nor could I. Nice find.

 Alexvrb Mar 2, 2004
If it is decently insulated, it should work fine. You should be able to tell if you're getting issues pretty quickly.

A while back I used a cheapo all-5-wires-together component hookup for my Xbox, bad plan. The friggin thing actually blocked outside interference fine, but there was nothing to keep the audio signals from fuxxoring the video and vice versa! Whenever it sent strong sound signals, the video would distort, and whenever intense colors were on the screen, my speakers would buzz! I replaced that pretty quick, though I suppose I could have hacked it up really good and fixed it, if I wanted to waste a lot of time.

 ExCyber Mar 2, 2004
Someone should really sell crimp-on RCA connectors that fit quad-shielded RG-59 or RG-6 cable. That would pretty much make all other hookup cable look like worthless crap, and at a decent price.

 Alexvrb Mar 3, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by ExCyber@Mar 2, 2004 @ 07:05 PM



Someone should really sell crimp-on RCA connectors that fit quad-shielded RG-59 or RG-6 cable. That would pretty much make all other hookup cable look like worthless crap, and at a decent price.


Well, as long as it isn't twist-on. What about ones that convert from an already-crimped end? F-Pin female to RCA male adaptors are readily available, I used the reverse (f-pin male, RCA female) converter to test my colecovision and atari 2600, as my RF adapter was shot. Not really a replacement, but it let me know they worked and play some Kung-Fu Master!

But yes, quad shielded RG6 owns, I recently replaced a bunch of coax with that stuff + long neck waterproof crimp on ends. Signal quality is so much better, some of the higher analog channels went from unwatchable to good, and some of the digital channels get less crawl and a more reliable stream.

 ExCyber Mar 3, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			What about ones that convert from an already-crimped end?


I suppose that would probably work as long as it's designed for RF use (and all should be, since that's essentially the only thing F connectors are ever used for). However, I'm not a big fan of adapters since they make the hookup harder to work with and in some cases the additional leverage can cause stress on the mating connector.

 Alexvrb Mar 3, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by ExCyber@Mar 3, 2004 @ 07:42 PM



 




  
	
	

		
		

			What about ones that convert from an already-crimped end?
		

		

	



However, I'm not a big fan of adapters since they make the hookup harder to work with and in some cases the additional leverage can cause stress on the mating connector.


I know, I was thinking the same thing, but it'd be good if you needed range/insulation and weren't going to be bending it in tight spots to get it to plug in. Basically if it comes in at a good angle it'd probably work great, and once you get them screwed on you're good to go.