Audio and Video Connection Types Used Today

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.

Scart Connections

Scart Connectors where introduced in order to allow simple single cable connections between video equipment. Scart connections can still be found today on DVD players, Sky boxes and modern TV's. However they are being phased out and cannot be found on High Definition video sources such as Bluray players.

Scart is a multicored cable that carries a variety of video connections such as Composite and S-Video as well as Left and Right Audio Data all conveniently located in a single socket. Generally when using a Scart Connection this is the only connection required to connect a source to a display.

Scart cables also introduced a new video standard known as RGB in which the separate Red, Green and Blue colour signal. This additional separation gives better quality then Composite or S-Video connections.

The RGB video standard eventually evolved into the Component Video standard which is discussed below. Scart cables cannot be used to carry high definition video signals.

Component Video (Y, PB, PR)

Component video is an evolution of RGB mentioned above which uses higher quality cable and connectors so it can be used to carry high definition video signals (720P, 1080i but not 1080P). Component Video connectors are Phono (RCA) connectors as mentioned above for Composite Video but be aware that the cable is different.

Component video connections are the best quality Analogue (i.e. none digital) connections available. Component Video connections can be found on all High Definition equipment i.e. HD TV's, Bluray Players etc. Component Video Cables can be used for High Definition but please be aware that they cannot be used to carry 1080P signals.

HDMI

HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface and is a purely digital standard. HDMI cables carry Video, Audio and also Control data in a single cable. Control data is used to allow video equipment to control each other, e.g. for setting the correct TV input etc. However unfortunately the major TV manufactures all have their own systems for performing control so it is unlikely that a Sony Bluray player will be able to control a Panasonic TV.

A HDMI connection is currently the best quality connection available and should be the connection of choice for your High Definition signals.

As HDMI is a purely digital standard there will be no loss of quality over long cable lengths (as there would be with all the other standards above).

But please be aware that there is a maximum length for a HDMI cable, this is discussed in much greater detail in our Problems and Pitfalls of Home Video Distribution guide.

There are several versions of the HDMI standard which are briefly explained below;

HDMI 1.0: Original version of the standard
HDMI 1.1: Added support for DVD Audio (Higher Quality)
HDMI 1.2: Added for support for computer displays
HDMI 1.3: Added support for Higher Speed for future "Super" High Definition.

Added Support for "Deep Colour" & XV Colour (more colours displayed for a better picture if your TV supports it). Added support for Lip Sync, to get around certain Lip Syncing problems with some High Definition equipment New HD lossless audio formats, better quality audio.

HDMI 1.4: Added support for a data network connection, allowing things like Internet on your TV etc.

Added support for 3D video. Added support for Audio Back Channel, allows the audio produced by a freeview tuner in your TV to be played through your sound system.

All of the above standard changes seem to make HDMI a complicated choice but this is not the case. All HDMI equipment will work with all other HDMI equipment regardless of the version number. All that will happen is that only features supported by both pieces of equipment will be available.

There are several different versions of HDMI cables (i.e. V1.3, V1.4 etc) again they will all work but if you connect a V1.4 device to a V1.4 device with a V1.3 cable the additional features of V1.4 will not be available.

HDMI Cables can carry all High Definition Signals as well as all Audio standards currently in use. HDMI is the connection of choice for sending video around your home.

For more information on any products mentioned in this article or for further information about the technologies discussed please visit http://www.hdmi4u.co.uk.

Anthony Morgan
B(ENG) Electronics & Computing

Owner of HDMI4U an on-line store selling everything HDMI including HDMI Cables, HDMI Splitters, HDMI Switches, Wireless HDMI Senders, HDMI Over IP Solutions and other HDMI Distribution Products.

http://www.hdmi4u.co.uk

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