Wednesday, April 18, 2012

RCA Cable - The Old Standard

The humble RCA cable is one of the most commonly used audio/video connections in history. In fact, this type of cable was the standard of the industry for many years but has been more or less replaced by the superior HDMI cable. Of course, there are a number of devices still in use all over the world that require this cable in order to send audio or video signals from one unit to another. One of the things that make it so easy uses the fact that they have coloured heads which take all the guesswork out of connecting them.

The most important thing to keep in mind when connected an RCA cable is to match the colour to the plug. While it is not absolutely necessary to match the cable colour to the plug colour, it will make connecting things much easier. For example, a yellow cable should be plugged into a yellow plug on one device and the corresponding end of the cable should be plugged into the yellow plug on the other device. If a red plug is plugged into a yellow connector, everything will still work just fine if the red cable and is plugged into the yellow connector on the other device. The colours simply make things easier.

Many devices come with an RCA cable as part of the standard equipment. While these cables are the ones that are most popular among consumers because they are free, they are not necessarily the highest quality units available. Many true audio cable or video aficionados choose instead to upgrade to much higher quality cables in order to get the highest definition picture and sound possible. It is also a good idea to upgrade to a higher quality cable if the cable is going to cover a distance of more than a few meters.

Sound and video quality will degrade over long distances which is why is important to purchase an RCA cable designed with a long-distance in mind. For most individuals, however, this is not an issue since they are generally plugging in to devices that sit right next to each other. If, on the other hand, a person is plugging in a television set to a sound system that is on the other side of the room, it may be a good idea to spend a little extra money in order to upgrade to a higher quality cable with more insulation.