Cable Guide
For all the advances in wireless technology over the
past few years, most of your electronic devices are
still connected to each other by cords--and the variety
of different cable standards is only growing. So while
we wait for all of these wires to be Bluetoothed and
Wi-Fied into oblivion, it helps to know your plugs.
ANALOG CABLES
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VGA Video
VGA is an analog video interface used for
hooking up PC monitors. DRAWBACKS: For
flat-panel monitors, a VGA connection requires
that your PC's video output be converted from
digital to analog.
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Composite Video
This common, yellow, RCA-style video cable
carries color and brightness information in one
wire. DRAWBACKS: Video fidelity is
considered the lowest among analog video cables.
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RCA Audio
Invented by RCA in the 1930s, these "phono"
connectors are commonly used in pairs to carry
stereo sound. DRAWBACKS: Dual-plug format
can't carry digital multichannel sound.
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Component Video
These RCA connectors separate brightness and
color info into Y (green), Pb (blue) and Pr
(red). Considered the best analog choice for HD
video. DRAWBACKS: Still inferior to
digital cables.
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RF Coaxial Video
The "cable" of the cable industry, co-ax is
capable of carrying everything from digital data
to analog TV. DRAWBACKS: In the future,
fiberoptic lines from telcos should offer bigger
bandwidth.
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S-Video
Super Video separates picture info into two
channels, carried in a single cable. It ranks as
a step up from composite video. DRAWBACKS:
Inferior to component video and carries no
sound.
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Minijack
Two channels on a single tiny plug, these
connectors generally are found on earphones.
DRAWBACKS: Attaching portable music devices
to stereos usually requires minijack to RCA
adapters.
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DIGITAL CABLES
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USB
The most versatile of all cables, these cords
link thousands of USB 1.1 (12Mbps) and 2.0
(480Mbps) devices to PCs. DRAWBACKS:
Despite USB's flexibility, it is rarely used for
AV connections.
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Mini-USB
Often found on the opposite end of the cable
from a standard USB plug, it carries both data
and 500 milliamps/5 volts of power.
DRAWBACKS: Looks similar to other,
incompatible digital camera plugs.
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Ethernet
Aka RJ-45, these wires are the standard for
computer networking. Quality cable can handle
10Mbps to 1000Mbps. DRAWBACKS: Not many.
Ethernet is so successful that many new houses
have it built in.
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Optical Audio
Sometimes called Toslink, fiberoptic cable
delivers multichannel sound with zero
interference. DRAWBACKS: Conversion from
electrical signals to light pulses can introduce
errors.
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Digital Coaxial
The alternative to optical cables, digital co-ax
cables use an RCA connector to carry digital
multichannel sound. DRAWBACKS: Improperly
shielded co-ax cables can be affected by
electrical fields.
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HDMI
The current state of the art in digital AV, HDMI
carries uncompressed high-definition video and
multichannel sound. DRAWBACKS: HDMI cable
can get incredibly expensive--shop around.
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DVI
Digital Visual Interface cables do dual duty as
connectors for computer monitors and HDTVs.
DRAWBACKS: Older DVI equipment may not be
compatible with current copy-protection
standards.
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FireWire Six-Pin
Sometimes called IEEE 1394a or i.Link, standard
FireWire can trasmit data at 400Mbps.
DRAWBACKS: The original FireWire standard is
losing steam against the faster and more
ubiquitous USB 2.0.
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FireWire Four-Pin
Often used for digital video cameras, the
four-pin FireWire connector is sometimes also
found on laptops. DRAWBACKS: Unlike its
six-pin brother, this connector is unpowered.
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FireWire 800
This IEEE 1394b FireWire update is twice as fast
as the original. DRAWBACKS: The standard
is backward compatible, but the nine-pin plug
isn't. Maybe that's why it hasn't caught on.
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