Guide 1: Cables and Basics
Chapter 1: Video Cables and Connections
The RF Adapter
30 years ago, on the forefront of gaming there was only one type of video input into a television, COAX Cable. To use this, a device called an RF Adapter was needed. This little box would take the video output from your console and would convert it to a signal your TV could understand. The box would usually have a switch allowing you to choose a channel, probably 3 or 4. Then all you had to do was set your TV to that channel and turn on your console. As VCRs became more popular, AUX inputs became a standard, and eventually TVs carried these same inputs. The RF adapter became a thing of the past. For those of you who still wish to hook up your $400 console to your 25 year old TV this may be the only option. Hit up RadioShack and pick up a standard RF adapter. Connecting the device is simple, simply plug in your TV/Antenna cable into the RF adapter, and then plug the RF adapter into the cable/antenna jack on your TV. Afterwords take the Composite Cables from your console and connect them to the RF Adapter. Red to Red, White to White and Yellow to Yellow.
The highest resolution an RF Adapter can support is 480i.
Composite Cables (Standard RCA Connections)
Composite cables are the current standard cable of video game consoles. This analog cable type is almost universally compatible with any TV made in the last 20 years. So while this holds true, composite is also going to provide the lowest quality connection (next to the RF Adapter), and it will provide that connection without any support for HDTV Resolutions. Composite cables usually come in a set of 3. The connectors on the end are Red, White and Yellow. The Red and White carry the left and right channel for stereo audio while the yellow cable carries the video signal. On the back of your television or receiver you’ll find female connectors (circular with a slot to plug the cable into) that match the same color on these cables. Simply plug the male connectors into the female connectors and you have your connection.
The highest resolution Composite Cables support is 480i.
S-Video
S-Video is another analog signal format. S-Video as the name implies, only carries analog video. This means in order to get the audio from your console to your TV/Receiver you’ll still need to use a set of composite cables (red and white) or a digital audio cable. So why use an S-Video connection then? S-Video carries a higher quality video signal than a standard composite cable. An S-Video male connector is usually consists of a round outer section, with an inner section of 4 small pins. The female connector usually has an inlet outer ring, with 4 holes in the middle that line up with the gold pins of the male connector. The cables and connectors for S-Video are usually black.
The highest resolution S-Video supports is 480i.
VGA
VGA is an analog signal format. Most VGA connectors look similar to the connector on a computer monitor. There is another type of connection called BNC which is usually used in professional video equipment. Like S-Video, VGA is video only. You will still need to run a separate cable(s) for audio. A male VGA connector had a square shaped head, with two screws on the sides pointing towards its face. Typically the color of the connector is Blue or Black. On the face is a metal squished circle shape sticking out with two rows of pins. The female connector will be the counterpart to the metal shape, with two rows of holes for the pins and a equal screw holes on either side to attach the VGA Connector’s screws.
VGA supports a wide range of resolutions including: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p as well as any non standard resolution in between and even higher.
Component Cables
Component cables are our last form of Analog video. Like S-Video and VGA you’ll need to run separate audio cables to your TV or receiver. Component Cables are typically a set of 3 cables colored Red, Green and Blue. A VGA signal (discussed above) is actually a subset of component video. While VGA Component typically carries the signal in an RGB format, most component connections found on consumer electronics use a Y’PbPr scheme which passes luminance with color. Component Cables look identical to Composite Cables in both the male and female connectors. They only differ in the color of the connectors at the end, and the quality of the cable. Component Cables are typically a higher quality cable than Composite Cables. To connect these cables simply match up the color on the cable connector to the color of female connection on your TV or Receiver.
Component Cables support resolutions of: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. While 1080p is supported, most consumer electronics don’t support 1080p over this connection.
DVI or DVI-D
A Digital Video Interface (DVI) connection is our first digital connection. In actuality, the DVI specification supports analog signals over its cable. Most consumer electronics that support DVI will be using the Digital Version of this cable. The cable is video only, so separate audio cables must be run. The male connector looks quite a bit like VGA, though it’s wider and usually colored White or Black. Like VGA, the connector has 2 sets of screws pointing towards the face, and on the face you have a raised metal section. Inside you’ll find 3 rows of pins and an offset group of pins. Sometimes the offset is a long flat pin, others it’s a long flat pin with 4 square pins around it. If there is only the flat pin, this is the digital only version of the cable. If there are the 4 pins with it, the cable supports both digital and analog. Whatever the configuration is, make sure the female connector on your display device or TV can accept the pin configuration.
DVI can support the following resolutions: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p.
HDMI
A High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is the current king of connections. This all in one cable carries both digital video and digital audio. This makes hooking up devices quite a bit easier, though it can complicate things in a home theater setup. The cable itself is also easy to work with being quite thing and flexible, with a small male connector at the end. This is one time where size doesn’t count! The connector is usually has a black thick plastic piece on the end in a slight half hour glass shape. The face of the connector as a double thin metal piece sticking out with gold or copper contacts on the inside. The female connector will match this metal end.
HDMI Cables support the following resolutions: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p.
Chapter 2: Audio Cables and Connections
Composite Cables (Standard RCA Connectors)
Composite audio cables look exactly like composite video cables. The difference is the color of the connector at the end. Typically you’ll find the cables with a Red and White connector. Each cable carries one channel of sound. Hooking them up is as simple as matching the colors on your TV and receiver. Just make sure you put these cables on the same input as you put the video connector. Otherwise you won’t be getting any sound out.
Composite Cables for audio support the following sound fields: Mono, Stereo, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Analog 5.1/7.1 (via 6 or 8 cables).
Digital Coax
Digital coax cables look almost identical to composite cables. The cables though are usually have a higher quality build, and like the name suggests, carry a digital signal rather than an analog signal. One cable will carry the entire audio stream. Most consoles don’t support this connection, but a lot of DVD Players do offer it. Match up the digital audio connection on the DVD player to the same digital audio connection on your receiver. The port color is usually orange, and looks like a composite connector.
Digital Coax cables support the following audio fields: Mono, Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital EX, DTS
Optical (TOSLink)
By far the most popular digital audio connection, Toshiba Link (TOSLink) carries a digital audio signal in the form of a beam of light. The advantage of this is the cable isn’t prone to signal interference from electrical cables. The end of a Toslink connector is flat on the top and sides with a semi rounded bottom and a small pin that sticks out of the middle. When plugged into the matching port on your console or TV/Receiver you can see the bright red signal shining through.
Toslink cables support the following audio fields: Mono, Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital EX, THX, DTS, DTS-ES
Chapter 3: Connecting and Data Flow for a TV
All audio and video follows a defined dataflow. Everything will have a defined starting point and an ending point. Everything between these two points can do a variety of things, but they will all adhere to 1 basic rule: Data-In/Data-Out. What do I mean by this? Lets break it down and slowly add on.
Example 1: Console to the TV
This is the simplest example. Video and Audio will come out of the Console and then go into the TV on a set of Video/Audio inputs.
Example 2: Console to Receiver to TV
In this example you insert a intermedary device into the chain. Why would you place a receiver between your TV and Console? Perhaps you want to use the receiver to choose between multiple components, or perhaps the receiver is part of a home theater system and you want it to decode Dolby Digital Signals for you. So how does the dataflow work here?
Your console will output the Video and Audio and go into one of the Video and Audio inputs on your Receiver. Then signal would travel through the receiver and out of the Receiver’s Video and Audio output into your Television’s Video and Audio input. Variables here would include setting the receiver to the correct input (where the console connects to) and setting the TV to the correct input (where the receiver connects to). By having all these things set you will have 1 complete chain for your signal to travel down.
The previous two examples are simple and common high level situations for connecting components. You can replace “Console” with any A/V device like a DVD Player, Satelitte Receiver or Hi-Def Player. You can replace “TV” with any display device like a Computer Monitor or a Projector. We’ll go into more detailed and more advanced methods of connecting devices later on.
