question about cables in the back of my DVD player

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I want to use the component video function which instead of yellow has like blue and green and some other color. Can i still use use the old yellow white and red colors to hook this up? I mean I know I got to keep the colors consistent, but is there anything different about the cables themselves that I would need one with a green color on it for example?

 

[Outpost4]

The component colors are green, blue and red.

Just to confuse things, the regular RCA cables are red (again), white and yellow. Ignore these for now. You probably don't want them.

Use any good RCA cable for hooking up the component video, especially if the runs are short - 1 or 2 meters. If you really want to get a good component cable, you can find three ganged cables at your local stereo store.

You also need to hook up audio. Look for an optical or coaxial digital output and a matching input on your home theater receiver. You'll need either an optical audio cable or another good RCA cable to do this. If you don't have the matching jacks on the receiver, or you're hooking this straight up to your TV with no audio system in-between, use the analog audio outputs on your DVD player. That's that second red jack and its matching white one for the left channel (red is right). Again, use a good RCA cable, although if you have your choice, put the best cables you have on the component connections. They have a lot more bandwidth to deal with.

The yellow jack on your DVD player doesn't get used at all.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

thanks for the tips. i appreciate it a lot. i have an emerson lcd tv . i just took it back and got a new one, but I'm having the same problem. thought it was the fact that i was connecting the component video using the old red yellow and white. The problem: the picture isn't sharpp. almost like a subtle lranslucency between me and the pic. and when I get into deep shadow, it looks less black like a shadow and more like a gray blotch. An example on my T3 movie I freeze framed it at 1:40:06 an upclose shot of them holding hands, the shadow on her jeans looks awful!

can you help?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In addition to color, look for something like "Y / Pb / Pr". That's another way to find the component cables, they will be marked like that.

As for what cables to use: You should always use something that is clearly labeled as 'component video cables' on the packaging. I don't think just any old cable will work. That may be why your picture doesn't look right.

You don't have to get fancy-pants Monster cabling or anything, but you should get ones that are specifically said to be Component Video cables.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

ok I'll try that. I though al;l the cables themselves were basically the same save for the color (they all fit in the holes) and all they did was put the colors of component video on them to make money when in fact the old yellow white and red ones would do so long as the ends match (corresponding color-to-hole)

 

[Michael Chris]

Regular old RCA cables can certainly be used for component video. Just make sure if say you have the yellow cable going to the blue hole on the tv that it goes to the blue hole on DVD. It might also be a settings issue, what kind of DVD player do you have? Do you have an HDTV? If so, do you know what the resolution is?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

YYZ said:
ok I'll try that. I though al;l the cables themselves were basically the same save for the color (they all fit in the holes) and all they did was put the colors of component video on them to make money when in fact the old yellow white and red ones would do so long as the ends match (corresponding color-to-hole)

No, I don't think the cables are the same. I remember I once tried to use standard RCA cables with component video connections, and it didn't work either. Just because the connections can be physically made, that's not enough.

 

[Tim]

^ As long as the old RCA patch cables are properly shielded, they should work fine. The issue might more be that if they are cheap RCA patch cables, the degraded image quality might be more apparent with the newer TV and its component video inputs. The cables themselves are just coax with RCA connector terminations--nothing more.

 

[Johnny Rico]

Oh for crying out loud!!!

If regular ol' RED/YELLOW/WHITE RCA cables would work for Component inputs, they wouldn't bother MAKING the RED/GREEN/BLUE Component cables.

Look, the RED and WHITE plugs of RCA cables are for simple low-bandwidth left/right audio feeds. And that's it. Component cables use three separate VIDEO-grade wires. Video needs higher bandwidth. Wy do you think that's an issue for sending down audio and video from the ISS? Audio doesn't need much bandwidth, but full motion video needs a high-speed bandwidth connection. For the ISS and Shuttle they use Ku-band, which allows for real-time 480i transmission. But for sending HD feeds, they have to record it and send it down in bits.

Anyway, if COMPONENT hook-ups are all that you have available, go buy a set of COMPONENT cables. You can get a set of 6' cables for about $20 or so. Don't need to get the over-priced MONSTER-brand cables.

For auio, if you have a surround sound receiver, and your player is at least not an ultimate cheapo player, it'll probably have a digital optical (fiber-optic) connection. Use that if possible. Again, a optical cord is around $10-20 for a any standard cable. And again, don't bother with MONSTER cables, optical is optical. If fact, I've heard that MONSTER cables are overly stiff and may tend to come loose because their lack of flexibility.

 

[Arrqh]

Johnny Rico said:
Oh for crying out loud!!!

If regular ol' RED/YELLOW/WHITE RCA cables would work for Component inputs, they wouldn't bother MAKING the RED/GREEN/BLUE Component cables.

Look, the RED and WHITE plugs of RCA cables are for simple low-bandwidth left/right audio feeds. And that's it. Component cables use three separate VIDEO-grade wires. Video needs higher bandwidth. Wy do you think that's an issue for sending down audio and video from the ISS? Audio doesn't need much bandwidth, but full motion video needs a high-speed bandwidth connection. For the ISS and Shuttle they use Ku-band, which allows for real-time 480i transmission. But for sending HD feeds, they have to record it and send it down in bits.

Anyway, if COMPONENT hook-ups are all that you have available, go buy a set of COMPONENT cables. You can get a set of 6' cables for about $20 or so. Don't need to get the over-priced MONSTER-brand cables.

For auio, if you have a surround sound receiver, and your player is at least not an ultimate cheapo player, it'll probably have a digital optical (fiber-optic) connection. Use that if possible. Again, a optical cord is around $10-20 for a any standard cable. And again, don't bother with MONSTER cables, optical is optical. If fact, I've heard that MONSTER cables are overly stiff and may tend to come loose because their lack of flexibility.

This... isn't really accurate.

RCA refers to the type of connection plug, nothing more. It is however true that cables intended for audio are generally of poorer quality then those intended for video, but this isn't anything inherent in the design of the connection. So basically, everything Tim M said was correct. So if you've got the composite/audio cables lying around, it's certainly worth trying them out for a component video connection and as long as the audio cables aren't too cheap, it'll most likely work.

I don't see what your ISS/Shuttle thing has to do with anything... you're talking about the difference between an analog and a digital signal. Audio, composite and component signals on consumer electronics are all analog.

 

[Michael Chris]

Johnny Rico said:
Oh for crying out loud!!!

If regular ol' RED/YELLOW/WHITE RCA cables would work for Component inputs, they wouldn't bother MAKING the RED/GREEN/BLUE Component cables.

I've used composite cables for component cables in the past, including one at 1080i, and it worked fine. Sure, quality of cable can make a difference since it's analog. But they do work, generally. And that's not the reason they make them, they make them to make a profit. They can do that be selling fairly useless products.

 

[Trekker4747]

But they do work, generally.

So if you've got the composite/audio cables lying around, it's certainly worth trying them out for a component video connection and as long as the audio cables aren't too cheap, it'll most likely work.

"Work generally."
"Most likely work."
"As long as they're not too cheap."

Snerk.

Yes, they'll "work", but "work well" is a whole other matter.

For best picture quality buy a good set of component cables, as said it dosen't cost more than $5 - $10. Or, I guess, at the very least pull the yellow off of three seperate RCA cables.

Don't hinge your picture qulaity on "most likely will work" and "work, generally."

 

[Arrqh]

Scrooge4747 said:
For best picture quality buy a good set of component cables, as said it dosen't cost more than $5 - $10. Or, I guess, at the very least pull the yellow off of three seperate RCA cables.

Or, if one already has some composite cables laying around, try those first before going out and buying anything new. No sense in spending money on overpriced cables (all cables are overpriced) if you've already got a perfectly usable set lying around.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

ok i've tried everything. I tried many sets of RCA cables. The picture still looks grainy with grayish bloches in places of deep shadows and reddish blotches in areas of skin tone. I even exchanged my TV and got the same model. Plus I bought the correct component video cables. What's up... the pic still looks like it did

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Are you connecting the component cables where they should be? They should be labelled Y, Pb, and Pr. The component connections on the back of your DVD player should match these. Or at the very least they will be colored green, red and blue. Connect the Y part of the cable to green, Pb to blue, and Pr to red.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

yeah i double checked the colors. and the picture itself has the right colors. It's just disappointing. a lot of grain. blotches of gray.

I'm almost giving up.

 

[Michael Chris]

It might be a settings issue, what kind of DVD player do you have? Do you have an HDTV? If so, do you know what the resolution is?

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

it says hdtv on it, but its a 19 inch digital lcd tv from emerson
resolution: 1440 x 900 (wxga+)
brightness: 250 cd/m
contrast ratio 800/ 1

 

[Outpost4]

My bet is the problem is the TV itself. It sounds like a poor design of the LCD display, with limited black level (the splotchy greys) and attenuated frequency response (the reddish blotches).

I'd return the TV for a different brand.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

ok.. I guess I'll look into doing that

I appreciate it