Can someone tell me the difference between an s-video, composite and component inputs on a TV? Which ones do I want and what can I live without?

From best to worst are:

component
s-video
composite

Composite puts all the video down one piece of copper. S-Video slits the video up onto 5 pieces of copper but they are small diameter. Composite seperates the video into 3 pieces on thicker guage wire. Composite is the best for video quality.

You might want to read the FAQ at the top of this forum area.

ummm.... no. Next contestant please?

S-video has only two separate signals to form the video image, not 5. (Where did you get that number from???) And the wire gauge has nothing to do with quality of the video signal format.

As Mr. Salty suggested (to the OP or to you?), you might want to read the FAQ at the top of this forum.

Waa...waa.. Calm down. I'm no expert unlike you. I thought I knew what I was talking about. I just counted the pins inside the S-video connection. I just asumed. And what do you mean wire guage has nothing to do with signal quality? Why do they sell different guages then?

Of which there are four, not five:



Here's the poop:

RF: Cable TV-type cable, with sound and picture modulated together as a radio frequency, hence the name. Lowest quality imaginable.

Composite: Carries the video signal without the audio. Almost as bad as RF.

S-Video: For Separated Video. A noticeable improvement over composite, which carries the picture information (luminance) on one set of leads and color information (chrominance) on another set of leads. Less prone to artifacting by the two interfering with each other.

Component: The highest quality, using three separate cables to carry the three picture components. Not all TVs have component inputs. You MUST use component to take advantage of a progressive scan DVD player, but just because a TV has a component input does not mean it is capable of displaying a progressive image.

Different sized wires are for current carrying applications (speakers for example). A larger wire will cause less loss in high current applications. For voltage signals (video for example), you don't need a large diameter wire.