What is cable? Like a pipe that carries water to your home, or waste from it, the role of cable is to carry an audio or video signal from one device to another. Cables carry signals between DVD players and TVs, stereo receivers and speakers, and computers and video projectors.

What is cable? Cables don't change the nature of the audio or video signal they carry. They don't convert or process signals in any way. That's the job of the devices on either end. The cable itself is just the messenger.

What is cable? Cables are made up of three basic parts: conductor, shielding and connector [source: Graves]. The conductor is the wire that actually carries the signal. One or more layers of shielding prevent the wire from acting as an antenna that picks up radio frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) [source: Graves]. The connector is the plug at the end of the cable that connects to your device.

Audio Cables RCA audio cables come in pairs with two connectors on each end, a red one for right stereo and a white (or black) connector for left stereo. They are often bundled with video cables.

Audio Cables Most audio recordings are digital nowadays, and there are several newer cables that specialize in carrying high-bandwidth digital audio signals. Optical digital cable (also known as fiber-optic and Toslink) transmits audio signals as pulses of light and is impervious to interference [source: ecoustics.com].

Audio Cables XLR –The XLR connector is a style of electrical connector, primarily found on professional audio, video, and stage lighting equipment. The connectors are circular in design and have between 3 and 7 pins. They are most commonly associated with audio interconnection, but are also used for lighting control, low-voltage power supplies, and other applications.electrical connectorprofessional audio

Audio Cables A TRS connector (tip, ring, sleeve) is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two (a TS connector) or four (a TRRS connector). It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, jack plug. analog signalsaudio 1/4 Inch 1/8 Inch

Audio Cables Specific models are known as stereo plug, mini-jack, mini-stereo, headphone jack, tiny telephone connector and Bantum plug

Audio Cables Originally invented for telephone switchboards in the 20th century this plug is still widely used today The connector's name is an initialism derived from the names of three conducting parts of the plug: Tip, Ring, and Sleeve

Audio Cables Here is a list of audio connectors and cables: onnectors This is a cheat sheet for your test!!!

Video Cables The most common type of video cable is called composite video. A composite video cable consists of one yellow RCA connector that's usually bundled with red and white RCA analog audio cables. It's called composite video because all of the video information -- color, brightness and sync -- is composited, or squeezed, onto one cable [source: Miller].

Video Cables Composite video cables were designed for older TVs and have a maximum resolution of 330 lines. They're fine for watching VHS tapes on the old TV in the basement, but if you have a newer television, or an HDTV, composite video cables simply won't cut it.

Video Cables S-video (or separate video or Y/C) cables are a step up from composite video with a maximum resolution of 400 lines. You will recognize an S-video cable by its circular, nine-pin connector. S- video separates color information from picture information, resulting in a crisper image. Although S- video jacks are found on a lot of TVs, DVD players and home theater receivers, the cable's initial popularity was quickly eclipsed by component video.

Video Cables Component video cables consist of three RCA connectors colored red, green and blue. With component video, not only is color separated from picture, but the color portion is split into two separate signals [source: Miller]. The result is a super-sharp image with deep color saturation. Component video cables are ideal for connecting high-definition video components like Blu-ray players and HDTVs. Most home theater receivers come with several sets of component video jacks.

Video Cables The various RGB (red, green, blue) analog component video standards use no compression and impose no real limit on color depth or resolution, but require large bandwidth to carry the signal and contain much redundant data since each channel typically includes the same black and white image.bandwidth redundant data Most modern computers offer this signal via the VGA port. Many televisions, especially in Europe, utilize RGB via the SCART connector. All arcade games, excepting early vector and black and white games, use RGB monitors.VGA portSCART

Video Cables DVI (digital video interface) cables were designed specifically for use with HDTVs and other high- definition video components. They have large, 18-pin connectors that look like computer cables. DVI cables offer the exact same image quality as component video cables, except that DVI comes with a built-in copy protection protocol called HDCP (High- bandwidth Digital Content Protection). Critics of DVI claim the built-in copy protection mechanism causes compatibility problems with certain devices.

Video Cables Here is a comprehensive list of video cables: nectorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_con nectors This is the cheat sheet for your test!!!

Audio/Video Cables There are a handful of cables that transmit both audio and video signals. For years, coaxial video cables were one of the only choices for connecting video components. Coaxial video cables have that famous one-pin connector, sometimes called a stinger, that can either be pushed or screwed into place. Coaxial video cables are now mostly confined to outside connections, such as satellite TV or cable TV lines that come through the wall. A single coaxial cable carries both video and audio signals.

Audio/Video Cables HDMI cables are an updated version of DVI. HDMI cables were also designed for use with HD components, but their connector is much slimmer, like a large USB cable. HDMI also includes HDCP copy protection. Manufacturers of HDMI cables tend to advertise their product as the only choice for connecting HD video components, but that's not true. DVI cables work equally well.

Audio/Video Cables FireWire is capable of carrying compressed MPEG-2 video and digital audio. You might use a FireWire cable to connect a digital video camera directly to your home theater system to show off some unedited footage.

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