Home Theater Connector Types
There are many different connector types developed
for HDTV and various other displays. The display con-
nectors are designed either for digital or analog transmis-
sions, or for a combination of both digital and analog.
Some manufacturers have tried to cut production costs by
designing connectors to work with both television and
computer systems. While making multiple-application
connections is reasonable, it has caused some physical
and electrical incompatibility between designs due to a
lack of one general standard for all manufacturers. As
long as different standards exist, compatibility issues will
arise between the devices from different manufacturers.
Look at the various connection designs in Figure 23-50.
A home theater center can consist of many different
electronic devices connected together. The equipment
that comprises a complete home theater may involve a
wide variety of cable connections. Audio cable does not
require shielding from interference or cause interference
the way video signals do. The speaker wiring has a low
frequency and does not use a carrier wave because it
transmits the sound pattern as an analog signal. Video
cables must be shielded to protect the video signal from
interference and, in turn, so the video cable does not
broadcast radio wave interference to surrounding devices.
You need to be able to identify each type of connection
and understand its capabilities.
RF and F-type
RF and F-type connections support the poorest qual-
ity video images and are found on the oldest technolo-
gies. The RF and F-type cables use standard coaxial cable
made of a solid or stranded copper core conductor. The
core conductor is surrounded by a thick insulator mate-
rial. The insulator material is completely wrapped around
by a conductive mesh or foil referred to as the shield. The
shield protects the core conductor from outside electro-
magnetic interference. RF and F-type cables provide the
poorest signal quality transfer between support home
entertainment devices. Refer to Figure 23-33.
Composite video
Composite video cables use only one cable for the
video signal and two or more for stereo sound. See
Figure 23-51. The composite video will provide a better
signal than RF or F-type cable connections but worse
than S-video or component video.
S-video
S-video is a four-pin connector that delivers separate
signals for video signal chrominance (color) and lumi-
nance (brightness). It is a very simple way to connect
components together because there is no way to miscon-
nect the audio and video cables. There is a nine-pin ver-
sion that is used for video-in and video-out (VIVO) con-
figurations. The nine-pin connector allows for video to be
streamed in both directions. The four-pin connector is
used for applications that only require video in one direc-
tion. See Figure 23-51B.
Component video
The component video is found on high-performance
devices and produces better quality pictures than S-video
or composite video. The cables used are constructed from
flexible coaxial cable. Each individual cable consists of a
single conductor surrounded by a dielectric and a shield
to protect it from receiving or generating interference.
See Figure 23-51C. Component video does not carry the
audio signal. Audio signals are typically supplied through
two separate ports.
Chapter 23 Television and Video Display Units 417
Digital and Analog
Combination DVI
Connector
Digital only DVI
Connector
Analog only
Connector
Digital Single Link
Digital Dual Link
DVI-I
DVI-D
DVI-A
DVI-D
DVI-D
Figure 23-50. Various connection designs.