Introduction
There are available today quite a bewildering array of connection types used for Audio and Video. To further complicate things some of the same connectors and leads can be used for multiple connection types.
This guide will start with the very first audio and video connections and move up to modern High Definition connectors and leads. It will give the advantages and disadvantages of them all and hopefully by the end you will be a little bit more informed about how to get the best quality images from your setup.
In The Beginning
In the beginning things where simpler as there was only one way to receive TV signals, through an aerial.
This connection method is called Coax and is still used today for connecting Freeview Receivers up to the aerial on your roof (the freeview receiver can either be a separate box or built into your TV).
Coax cable is what is known as screened cable and is made up of a solid inner wire (core) with a wire mesh or foil surrounding it.
As all the Video and Audio Data is carried down the same cable Coax is bottom of the pile in terms of quality. Coax cannot be used to carry a high definition signal
Composite Video
Composite video is a step up from Coax in that the Picture and Audio data is sent separately. It actually requires 3 separate connections (Video, Audio Left and Audio Right) to be made in order to show an image with sound.
The connectors used are known as Phono (RCA) connectors and should be immediately familiar to anyone who owns a Hifi Separates System.
Component video is still used today to connect things like Video cameras and Nintendo Wii's to TV's. Most TV's will have a socket on the front or side in order to easily connect equipment to the TV.
The image quality achieved by a composite connection is better than with Coax but still not great and so is not really suitable for modern High Definition Equipment.
Composite cannot be used to carry a high definition signal.
S-Video
S-Video or S-VHS is an evolution of the original composite video standard in that instead of all the video data being sent down 2 bits of wire the image is broken down into a signal that contains colour data (Chroma) and a signal that contains brightness data (Luma). This gives a better picture than Composite
Similar to Composite Video, separate connections are required for Audio and use the same Phono (RCA) connectors as shown above.
S-Video connections can also quite often found on the front of modern TV and can used to quickly connect equipment such as Camcorders to a TV in order to show home video footage.
S-Video cannot be used to carry high definition signals.
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