-
DVI (Digital
Visual Interface) – Is a digital transmission cable
that carries a video signal. More often used for computer
monitors as HDMI has quickly replaced DVI on home theater
devices.
-
Cat5e – Cat5e
cable is the most commonly used data cable. It is comprised
of 4 pairs of unshielded, tightly twisted cables (UTP). Even
though the cable is unshielded, it is protected from
interference (noise) by the twisting of the cables. Cat5e
cables are used for Ethernet connections and phone lines,
most commonly but can also be used to carry IR control
signals, 12V triggers, adapted to RCA, S-Video, Component
Video, analog stereo. New home builders often include 2
Cat5e and 2 RG6 cable runs to every room of the home from a
central wiring enclosure as part of a “Structured Wiring”
solution. This makes the home very adaptable to future
technologies. Also in use is Cat6 cable which more than
doubles the frequency response of Cat5E.
-
Coax – A cable
consisting of a center conductor surrounded by an insulator,
then a conducting shielding layer then a protective
insulating jacket. This is the basic design of component
video, composite video, analog audio, digital coax and
subwoofer cables.
-
Component Video –
A group of 3 RCA cables with a Green(y), Blue(pb) and
Red(pr) color coding. The cable carry video only from a
source to a display. Component Video is the minimum
requirement to convey a High Definition image. While
component video is capable of carrying a 1080P signal most
prefer HDMI’s greater capabilities.
-
Composite Video –
A single RCA cable used to carry a video signal. The
luminance (light) and chrominance (color) is carried on a
single cable and must be separated in the display
-
Digital Coax –
Digital coax is a single cable used to transmit a digital
audio signal from a source to a receiver.
-
HDMI (High-Definition
Multimedia Interface) – HDMI is a digital
transmission cable that carries an audio and video signal.
It is an upgraded version of DVI and backward compatible
with it. HDMI is capable of transmitting a 1080P signal and
required to upscale a DVD to 1080. Newer surround formats
such as Dolby-HD or dts-HD also require an HDMI cable to
pass the signal.
-
Optical – Also
called Toslink or S/PDIF (for Sony Philips Digital
Interface) it is a fiber optic cable that is used to
transmit a digital audio signal from a source to a receiver.
-
RG6 – The most
commonly used coaxial cable. It comes in different versions
with copper coated, stranded copper or solid core copper
center conductors and either single, double or quad
shielded.
-
S-Video – A
single cable that carries a video signal. S-video carries
the luminance (light) and chrominance (color) separately.
