Component Video Cable

A component video cable carries video that has been split into two or more components. Most commonly, it deals with analog video that is transmitted as three different signals; such as the cables that may run out of your gaming system if you are using an HD set up.

Component video stands in direct contrast to composite video, where all of the video information is carried and combined into a single cable. The main similarity between these two different types of video cables is that they do not carry audio signals and require other cables to process that task.

One of the biggest positives for component video cables is that they do not undergo encoding when processing video signals. This leads to color quality and sharpness that is notably better than composite video when view in comparison. 

The most common component video cable is the RGB Cable, or the Red, Green, Blue cable.

These cables do not compress any video and do not impose any limit on the color depth or resolution possible, which can create amazing and vivid images on computer or television screens.

However, this requires there to be a large amount of bandwidth used on these cables which is something to consider when purchasing ad component cable.

More recently, component video cables have shifted to YPbPr , which use two new components termed luma and chroma. Luma provides brightness information as in old black and white video which is then combined with the chroma component that gives only color information.

Through this process, the amount of storage required to process images and video is decreased which in turn creates higher processing speeds.  With new DVD players, high-definition monitors (with VGA connectors) and televisions (with RCA plugs), and video projectors requiring better video processing, YPbPr is now the common component type for these devices.

Depending on the length and quality of the cable, prices for these cables can vary from $10 to around $100. Some newer cables have been built to process video images even faster, so that can lead to a significant hike in the price of your cable. With that in mind, if you are looking for a basic cable that is only for television usages, there is no reason to be paying much more than what you would generally expect for a cable.

However, if you are looking for the highest performance possible with your new 3D television or DVD Player, high-end cables can now provide a serious and notable difference in the performance of your electronics.