Help & Frequently Asked Questions
Which video signal is the best quality - composite, s-video or component ? |
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In order of quality, component is the highest quality followed by s-video then composite. The three signal types are explained below: Component A Component Video cable separates the information, with the picture’s luminance information, red colour-difference information, and blue colour-difference information on three separate conductors. Component Video provides better colour resolution than S-Video. It also has wider bandwidth, which is necessary to deliver high-quality video from DVD players, digital satellite systems, and HDTVs. S-Video An S-Video cable carries the picture’s brightness information and colour information separately on two conductors. This improves brightness and colour accuracy over Composite Video. S-video signals are also sometimes referred to as S-vhs or Y/C (Y for luminance and C for Chrominance) Composite In Composite Video cables, the brightness information, the colour information, and the synchronization signals are all combined in one conductor. This can reduce the picture quality with blurred edges, dull colour, and less detail. |
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Why do I get a black & white picture when I use an s-video connection? |
| An s-video picture is made up of two parts; a black and white picture signal and a separate signal for the colour information .Some equipment requires that s-video is selected as the video signal in the equipment setup menus. If the equipment is set to receive a composite video signal but is being fed s-video the picture will appear as black and white. |
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What is HDMI? |
| HDMI enables delivery of both uncompressed, all-digital, high-definition video and uncompressed, multichannel, digital audio through just one cable. HDMI enables full digital surround sound and is ideal for connecting digital display devices and digital source devices. |
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What is the difference between HDMI & DVI ? |
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The main difference is that HDMI carries both digital video and digital audio. DVI cables only carry digital video. HDMI is backward-compatible with DVI. HDMI-to-DVI cables and adapters allow connection of HDMI-enabled components with DVI-enabled components, delivering all-digital, high-definition video. |
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What is the difference between DVI-D, DVI-A and DVI-I ? |
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DVI-D are digital only cables. DVI-A are cables used for interfacing with analogue equipment. DVI-I are integrated cables and can carry both analogue and digital video signals. |
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Do all Scart cables work in both directions? |
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The Scart to Scart cables that Clearly AV sell are all “fully wired” unless specifically stated otherwise. These cables will work in both directions.
Scart breakout cables like the ‘scart to phono’ or ‘scart to s-video’ are generally designed with the signal direction being from the breakout connectors to the scart connector. |
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What is the difference between Component and RGB? |
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This is common question and a subject that causes much confusion.
The real answer is that RGB is a component signal, so is s-video for that matter as both systems separate the video signal into 2 or more components for transmission. That said, you are probably referring to component as what is also known as a “colour difference” signal also referred to as YUV, YCbCr or YPbPr. A component video signal consists of a black and white image (luminance) which is presented on one connector and colour information which is split between the other two connectors. In this type of signal the synchronisation signal is embedded with the luminance. RGB signals are slightly different in that each wire carries a colour signal; red, green or blue. The synchronisation signal is either sent on a separate wire in the case of RGBS or included with the green signal in the case of RGsB. When connecting equipment using component or RGB we recommend that you carefully check the specification of each piece of equipment and choose a format which is common to both. |
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What is RGB3 and RGB4? |
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These are alternative ways of describing how the synchronisation signal of RGB video is transmitted.
RGB3 is also referred to as RGsB or RGB Sync on Green. The signal requires 3 wires, red, blue and green with a combined synchronisation pulse. RGB4 is also referred to as RGBS or RGB + Sync. The signal requires 4 wires, one for each colour signal and one for the synchronisation pulse. |
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What is the difference between Single Link and Dual Link DVI ? |
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DVI Single link supports resolutions up to 1920x1080 at 60 Hz and has a maximum bandwidth of 165 Mhz. DVI Dual link supports resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 at 60 Hz and has a maximum bandwidth of 165 Mhz. So even a single link DVI cable will support a 1080p signal at 60 frames per second (148.5 Mhz). Dual link is really only required for very high resolution graphics applications but in practice there are more dual link cables on the market than single link. There is no problem using dual link cable in an application where only single link is required.  Single Link DVI Dual Link DVI |
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Which pins are used on a scart cable. |
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The wiring convention for a fully wired scart cable is as follows. Please bear in mind that not all scart cables are fully connected and scart cables wired with other types of connectors on one end will only have the neccessary pins connected.
As you can see from the table above the pins have different uses depending on whether the video signal is composite video, s-video (YC) or RGB video. |
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What is the difference between YUV, YCbCr and YPbPr? |
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A component cable consists of three RCA connectors at each end, different component cables have different types of wiring configuration, these being YUV, YCbCr, YPbPr. The Y in YUV stands for "luma," which is brightness, or lightness, and black and white TVs decode only the Y part of the signal. U and V provide color information and are "color difference" signals of blue minus luma (B-Y) and red minus luma (R-Y). Through a process called "color space conversion," the video camera converts the RGB data captured by its sensors into either composite analog signals (YUV) or component versions (analog YPbPr or digital YCbCr). For rendering on screen, all these color spaces must be converted back again to RGB by the TV or display system. One of two primary color spaces used to represent digital component video (the other is RGB). The difference between YCbCr and RGB is that YCbCr represents color as brightness and two color difference signals, while RGB represents color as red, green and blue. In YCbCr, the Y is the brightness (luma), Cb is blue minus luma (B-Y) and Cr is red minus luma (R-Y). YPbPr is the analog counterpart of YCbCr. It uses three cables for connection. |
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What is the pin configuration on a VGA cable? |
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