Cables

Multiple cables are made with different purposes and qualities. Some are for audio and others for visual.

Such as the composite (analogue) video cable, this cable is yellow and allows visual with analogue transmission but no audio. It carries standard definition typically at 480i and 576i resolution. It is used for standard formats such as NTSC/PAL and SECAM. It only carries one channel and doesn't have as high quality as other cables. 

   

Separate video, more commonly known as S-Video (analogue) cable has a higher definition then the component cable and can carry two channels by separating black and white colour signals meaning it makes a better image but at lower resolution than the composite video cable. It also carries the standard definition of 480i and 576i. Each signal pin is paired with it's own ground pin which is why there is four. The fifth is used to hold the cable in. 

The component video (analogue) uses red, green and blue coloured cables to distribute the signal three ways. It allows resolution up to full HD but because of digital TV's, conversion is needed to create artefacts with edge clarity.

   

VGA (analogue) is usually used for connecting computer monitors, the fifteen pins can connect to video cards, laptops and can be bring the screen of the computer on to HD TV's as well as other equipment. It uses the same red, green and blue method like the component cable and allows high resolution from 640x400 up to 2048x1536 but needs coaxial wiring and insulation for higher quality and doesn't carry audio meaning another audio cable is needed if videos are to be watched on the HD TV screen from the computer.  

Digital Virtual Interface or DVI cable is a digital cable which means it uses a binary code of ones and zeros to transfer the data meaning there is no loss in the quality. It is used on HD TV's and video cards. The interface is designed to transmit uncompressed digital video and can be configured to support multiple modes such as

DVI-D, DVI-A, DVI-I. The cable comes in single and dual link and uses resolution up to 3840x2400 but doesn't have audio.  

A single cable that can carry both audio and visual is the HDMI cable which uses digital meaning it like the DVI uses binary to cary the data meaning no signal is lost. It is used for computers, cameras, monitors, blu-ray and gaming consoles like the playstation 3. There are different versions that allow different quality like version 1.0 for  1920x1080p and version 1.4 for 3840x160p at 30 frames per second (fps) and also supports 3D. There is also a version 2.0 which supports 3840x2160p at 60 fps.  

The RCA cables (analogue) are used to carry video and audio signals through different wires. It is primarily used for stereo equipment and is still used for other devices from before and after the digital switch over like VHS, DVD players and TVs. However the longer the wire the more of the quality is lost and a lot of it can even pick up radio waves meaning other noise and hum can show up in the audio. 

Phone connector (analogue) uses 1/4 jack and 1/8 jack (3.5 mm) which can be found in phones, DSLR's while the 1/4 jack is typically used for audio recording equipment, stereo equipment and guitar and bass leads. The tip is the positive part while the rings are negative and the sleeve stands as the earth. 

XLR conector (digital) is the most common cable used for microphones, the three to seven pins work in a similar way to the phone connector jack's. There is a female connector (left) and male connector (right). Te female is used for source while male is used for input. The are clips on the connector so that they are held in and don't disconnect if something pulls on them.