svideo vs. component video cables?

Question

i was thinking of buying a universal cable that has component cables for my xbox and my friends PS2 and eventually a 360. and i was wondering if it really makes a difference because i have a universal cable for my xbox and my friends PS2 that has svideo.my tv has component jacks to accept it.but is there a difference in picture quality tht will make it worth it?the cables are $15-$20.and my tv also has a weird blur on it like bright colors like white run over to the right.is there a way i can fix this or make it less noticeable?

Answer 1

There is a huge difference in resolution, bandwidth and color quality. S-video only supports 480i. Component supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. The color space is alot larger on component.

S-video has 2 wires to hold the image and color . Component has 3 wires. Therefore, it is able to hold more information.

The image will be sharper and vibrant with component. I highly recommend the component.

That weird blur is due to a faulty cable, interference and/or poor shielding, assuming it only happens with an Xbox and not all the time on DVD and TV as well.

Answer 2

OK there's a big difference but your only going to notice it if you have a plasma HDTV. Aside from that I would suggest looking up the HDMI, DVI, S-Video, composite, and RGB component video in a google search or some other search engine. Look up the fundamentals and it should be a little more clear to you. You might even try WikiPedia.com...

The biggest difference will be the amount of data or signal that can be pushed through a cable. Where as the S-Video has 4 conductors, 1 being ground, it gives fair definition on your screen and will look better than composite video which has really only one conductor and a ground. On the other hand component video has three discrete grounds as well as the individual color composite leads. That's better than S-Video because it separates the colors into their individual bands where as S-video only deals with Luma, Chroma, and Black level. HDMI on the other hand is a digital signal. It has much the same function as a LAN cable only it's used purely for dividing different video commands and sending them to your HDTV's decoder. That's why that format has the best picture, because it's sending video data instead of just composite this that or the other thing. Go to your local Best Buy and talk to the Geek Squad. They'll tell you just about the same thing.

With what you have now I would go with the RGB component video over S-Video if you can. I'm not sure weather or not you have an HDTV or not, otherwise I'd suggest the HDMI.

Answer 3

Most people WILL notice a difference when switching from "S-Video" to "Component"...I'd say at that price, give it a try...Most electronics stores give you 30 days to try stuff out..."Component" is supposed to give you SHARPER detail and IMPROVED color...The LARGER the television, the BIGGER the difference will be...But don't believe me, go try it for yourself...If YOU can't see a difference, get your money back.

Now for your "weird blur" on your TV...It sounds like the BRIGHTNESS or CONTRAST ("picture" on some sets) is set to
high...Try turning down one or the other or both until your TV stops "blurring"...Start with the BRIGHTNESS...That should fix it.

If this doesn't help, your television's COLOR GUNS might be out of alignment ($200-$300 repair) OR your PICTURE TUBE might me going out which costs as much as the TV itself to replace...I hope turning down the BRIGHTNESS does the trick.

Hi-Def televisions start at about $400 at BestBuy...Click the link to check it out:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7601491&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1130981881933