Types of Video Cables – Understanding the Differences

With the rapidly advancing technology that has taken place over the last decade or so, many people find themselves with entertainment devices that span several years. The average consumer may be looking for a way to connect a VCR from 10 or 15 years ago to a large high definition television that was bought only a few months ago. This will require a number of different cables and connections in order to get every peripheral device connected to that new HDTV. Knowing exactly what cable goes with what device can be confusing and more than a little frustrating.

One of the cables that has been in use for quite some time and is still incredibly popular is the RCA cable. This cable typically has three connections on each end that are colored red, white, and yellow. The connections will be one video and two audio connections. These types of cables were the standard of the industry for a very long time and most modern televisions have at least one set of RCA ports built in. RCA cables are analog cables so they did not deliver the same crisp quality of picture or sound that modern connections do.

DVI and VGA are two types of video cable that were generally used to connect computers to their monitors. VGA is an analog connection that was the industry-standard for many years. As better monitors became available, manufacturers began to see the need to upgrade the video connection to a digital one rather than analog in order to provide a better quality picture. DVI delivers a picture quality that is beautiful and vibrant beyond anything that was available through a VGA connection. Unfortunately, both DVI and VGA are video-only cables so if an individual was using a television as a monitor he would have to hook up a separate set of audio cables in order to get sound.

The new standard, and by far the highest quality cable so far, is HDMI. HDMI cables deliver full 1080p high definition video as well as crisp high definition audio. These cables are now the new standard among electronics manufacturers and have quickly replaced just about every other type of cable. In fact, even manufacturers of portable devices like smart phones and digital cameras are beginning to include HDMI ports on the devices so that they can be easily connected to an HDTV. With the quality of audio and video provided by HDMI, it is likely to be with us for quite some time.