does an s-video cable do anything for dvd players or dvrs, as far as picture quality?

Answer 1

S-video quality should be slightly better than composite video (separate video and L/R audio), but not quite as good as component video (Y-Pb-Pr). That said, if you have an older TV, you may not see much difference at all. For digital TV (HDTV), an HDMI cable is the preferred connection, all digital with combined audio and video on a single cable.