Different types of cables

[sebman21]

I just hooked up my dvd recorder/vcr to my TV. I used regular RCA cables because I do not have component video cables. If I were to buy component cables, would I see any difference in picture quality, or are they just the same cables with green, red and blue stickers on them? Thanks

[lumis]

you might see a difference, but probably not..

unless you were going from coax to dvi..

[Bob W]

I may be wrong however I think the RCA cables are 50 ohm and the component cables are 75 ohm and optimized for high frequency. If you were to have a long run like 20 feet then maybe you might have some signal loss using the RCA cables but for a short run (6ft) I doubt there would be much difference from using real component video cables.

[edDV]

It depends on your TV. Is it ED or HD?

If it's a regular TV with interlace YPbPr inputs the quality will beat S-Video but not by much. The better your TV, the more difference it will make.

Moving up from composite to S-Video is a big step in the right direction. S-Video should be the minimum for a DVD player.

Walmart has Philips basic analog component YPbPr cables for around $9.50. If your TV is ED or HD progressive, I'd recommend the more expensive $19 YPbPr cables also available at Walmart.

All coax used with any TV should be 75 ohm impedance. Interlace component YPbPr needs about 5-8MHz bandwidth. 1080i HD or progressive 59.94 fps video needs upwards of 30MHz bandwidth.

[Ennio]

If you tv doesn't support component video input, I'd would also suggest RGB (via scart), if possible. Important is that video cables are 75 ohm indeed, and have proper shielding I'd say.

cheers