There are many types of Audio and Video Cables available for use with Digital Video Recorders, DVD Recorders and PC products. Below is an overview of audio and video cables and some common cables you will see when hooking up a DVR, DVD Recorder or connecting a peripheral to a computer.

The Insides of a cable

There are three main parts of a cable which affect signal quality: the conductor, the shielding, and the connector. The conductor is the part of the cable through which the signal actually passes. Since the conductor is basically a wire which can act as an antenna to receive radio frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI), a good cable also includes some kind of shielding, to filter out these potential sources of noise. The connector is the part of the cable that actually comes into contact with your equipment.

Analog Audio cables

RCA connections are the standard means of passing analog line-level audio signals between components. RCA jacks are commonly found on virtually every type of A/V component, including DVD recorders, DVRs and TVs. RCA audio cables are grouped in stereo pairs, with one connection for the left audio channel and one for the right.

Digital Audio cables

Optical Cable	Coaxial Cable

A special group of audio cables is digital audio cables. There are two types: optical and coaxial. Optical cables transmit digital audio signals as pulses of light. Also called toslink or SPDIF connectors they are often found on DVD players and recorders, as well as home theater receivers and DVRs. Coaxial digital cables look like standard analog RCA cables, but instead transfer digital audio signals. They are typically a single cable, whereas analog RCA cables are usually double plugs, for stereo audio.

Analog Video cables

Video signals can travel over many different types of cabling, but the majority of video components are equipped with at least one of the following jacks:

• Coaxial RF, also known as F-type
• Composite video, also known as RCA
• S-Video
• Component Video

Coaxial RF cable can be used to connect antennas, cable boxes, VCRs, TVs, DVD players, DVD recorders and DVRs. Coaxial RF cable carries video and stereo audio signals on one cable. It is the lowest quality cable for carrying audio and video signals and should only be used when connecting to a TV that has no other inputs.

Composite cables plug into the composite video jacks found on many kinds of A/V components, including DVD players, VCRs, DVD recorders, A/V receivers, and DVRs. They are better to use than RF cable, but are still the 2nd lowest quality. These jacks are often yellow, and are attached to red and white stereo audio jacks. These connectors are found on virtually every component in a home TV set up, and the audio jacks are commonly used with other video cables (read on).

S-Video cables feature round, 4-pin connectors, and transmit the chrominance (color) and luminance (brightness) of a video signal separately. As a result, they provide better color accuracy and detail than either RF or composite connections do. Most new TVs and many DVD recorders and DVRs include S-Video. A common home set up is to use S-Video and RCA audio to connect a DVD Recorder or DVR to a TV or A/V Receiver that only accepts S-Video.

Component video cable , found on most DVD players and recorders and some DVRs, deliver better detail and color accuracy than you get with RF, composite, or S-video. They do this by splitting the video signal into three parts, with each part transmitted via its own cable. Unlike the other three types of connections, component video is capable of passing high-definition and progressive-scan video signals. In order to use this cable with a DVD Recorder or DVR you must have component inputs on your TV.

The shift to digital video sources and displays has led to digital video connections. There are two main digital video options: DVI cables and HDMI cables.

DVI Cable	HDMI Cable

DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cables can carry standard-definition and high-definition digital video signals. HDMI is also capable of carrying digital audio.

Most HDTV tuners and HD-ready TVs, and some DVD players, recorders and DVRs now come with either a DVI or HDMI terminal. HDMI cables are backwards compatible with most DVI connections, so you can use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter to connect a component with a DVI terminal to one with an HDMI terminal.

Computer Connections

i.LINK port

i.LINK, also known as IEEE 1394 or FireWire, is an extremely fast (up to 400 megabits per second), two-way digital connection used between computers and peripherals like digital camcorders. It is used in digital camcorders because it is one of the few connections capable of quickly transferring full-motion video. Most consumer video equipment uses 4-pin i.LINK ports and connectors, but some peripherals employ a 6-pin i.LINK configuration.

PCI slot

PCI is an acronym for Peripheral Component Interconnect. This is a slot that allows you to connect various peripheral devices to your PC, such as ethernet cards, sound cards, and TV and Video capture cards. The slots themselves can only be accessed by opening your computer's case, so they're not designed to support the frequent peripheral-swapping you can do with connection technologies like USB and i.LINK.

USB port

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a plug and play interface between a computer and peripherals which lets you plug in a device without adding an adapter card or even restarting your PC. This is the easiest way to capture video or TV to a computer.

USB 2.0 is very fast, 480 Mbps. That kind of speed makes USB 2.0 suitable for transferring demanding files like full-motion video.

Today, most new computers (both IBM-compatible PCs and Macs) and many peripheral devices are equipped with USB; for example, USB support is integrated into Windows 98, 2000, ME and Windows XP, as well as Mac OS 8.6 and up.

USB ports are expandable with the addition of hubs, which allow you to connect several peripherals simultaneously through a single USB port. Many newer PCs offer multiple USB ports, often placing one or more on the front of the case for easy access.

Cables that connect your Digital Video Recording device to a TV, A/V Receiver or a Computer come in all shapes and sizes. Remember to use the cables that give the best quality for the inputs on your TV.