TV and Computer Cables 101

Cables, which ones to use?
Right now there are 5 different ways to display video on your TV, and 2 different ways to display a computer image on your TV or monitor. Here is a brief description on which type of cable to use:

Coaxial or RF:
This is the most common cable, it is generally used to connect an antenna or CATV to the TV. It can also be used to connect a VCR, cable box or SAT receiver to the TV, but this cable is not the best available option the following cables offer a better video display.

Composite or CVBS:
This is a set of 3 cables. 1 for video and 2 for audio and it has the colors yellow, red and white. Yellow is used for video and red and white for stereo sound. These cables can be used to connect a VCR, video camera, game console DVD player or cable box to the TV.

S-video:
This cable will provide better video than Composite and comes in a set of 3 cables. The main S-video cable is a black cable with 4 pins in the inside, and a red and white cable which are used for audio. It has the same uses as composite cable, but if your play back device has S-video I recommend it over composite.

Component:
This cable comes in a set of 5. The colors are green blue red for video and white and red for audio. This cable is used for high definition connections, and is recommended over coaxial, composite or S-Video.

HDMI:
This connector only consists of 1 wire, and it will provide both audio and video. This cable can be used with the latest cable or satellite boxes. It can also be used with upscaling DVD players HD-DVD and blue ray players, and it will provide better video and audio than all the other cables

VGA:
This cable can be used to connect a computer to the TV or monitor, and is the most common cable to do so.

DVI:
This cable does the same thing VGA does except this one will do it digitally which in the end is a better picture. If you have a TV you might need a DVI to HDMI adapter to use this type of  connection.

For an illustrated guide please see our connector guide