Video Formats - From Worst to Best

Unlike analog audio, which can be transmitted via different connectors (rca, ¼", xlr, balanced/unbalanced, etc), analog video is transmitted in many different formats. These formats are not converted easily by just changing the connector or wiring type. Each format represents a different 'recipe' of how the many different video components are combined.

RF or Modulated video and audio:

This is what comes into your home via an antenna, cable TV or Satellite dish. A composite video signal is combined with an audio signal and modulated onto an RF (radio frequency) carrier that can be broadcast. The cable used is typically a stiff coax cable with a screw on F connector on each end. Some type of tuner must break down this signal, whether it is a TV, VCR, cable box or satellite box.

Composite Video:

(video only) This is a single wire video signal that is separate from the audio signal. All of the video signal components including color, sync, chrominance, are combined into a single signal. The typical cable and connection is an RCA coaxial cable. Often this is a yellow RCA grouped with red and white RCA's for left and right audio. More professional applications may use a true 75ohm BNC connector for the composite video.

S-Video: (or Y/C video):

(video only) Most midrange and premium video equipment provide this option. Although it may appear as a single cable, internally it has two 75 ohm coax or twisted pair cables. This allows for the video signal to still be divided into two very different signals of chrominance and luminance. The plug on the end of an S-Video cable is a small 4-pin Din connector.

Component Video:

(video only) In it's purest form and typically for computer video and high-end graphics, there are 5 main components. R-G-B-H-V, which stands for Red, Green, Blue, Horizontal sync, and Vertical sync. These five components are carried on five separate coax cables and terminated with RCA or BNC connectors. There are custom cables that look like a single thick cable but are actually five separate miniature coaxes in one jacket. Other component formats combine a few of these signals and are transmitted with three or four coax cables. These may be identified as Y, R-Y, B-Y. or R-G-B-S