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RCA vs. HDMI – Which Cable is Better?

  

  It has been a long time since people first had cable TV. Since then, people have made so many innovations that significantly improved video quality. What can be considered quality videos back in the day is far from the average TVs you can find today. It’s all thanks to digital technology.

  Now, you can find almost all households sporting high-end entertainment systems. With such complicated systems, you are bound to be confused with all the cords, connections, and jacks they have. What’s more, there are composite and component signals you can choose from, which you can connect with RCA cables or HDMI.

  The question here is how these cords and connectors differ from each other. How do they matter when it comes to your home entertainment systems? More specifically, which is better when you compare RCA vs. HDMI? Well, let’s try to find out the difference between these two connectors.

  RCA vs. HDMI Cable

  RCA is behind the times, but it is nonetheless an essential part of connecting devices. If you tried using CD or DVD player before, then you likely have used this cable. It is the set of three wires often dangling behind speakers or TVs. They are wires with color-coded tips for easy identification.

  What is RCA?

  The term RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America, the first company to produce it. Besides this name, people also call it cinch connectors or phono connectors. You use RCA cables to send audio and video signals, connecting them to an output device. They are an older type of cable than HDMI, but still primarily used since they’re cheap and easy to use.

  What is HDMI?

  On the other hand, HDMI is the much newer cable you can use to connect your devices for transferring signals. It stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. A lot of you probably have heard this term, especially if you have an HD TV or a laptop.

  This port is a bit narrower on one end. Like RCA, you use an HDMI cable for transferring signals but only those high definition and mostly video signals. Also, a single cable allows you to connect both audio and video interface. Since you only need one cable, it is quite convenient.

  It’s why you will see an HDMI used in all kinds of devices such as cable boxes, Blu-ray players, speakers, projectors, HD TVs, mixers, and more. RCA is analog, while HDMI is digital, the best that the information age has to offer. Comparing HDMI and RCA?will show you a good number of differences, but both cables are still quite useful today.

  Type of Signals

  Whether it is copper wires, optical conductors, or any kind of cable, the signals are important considerations. The type of signal they send is one way to characterize and distinguish the wires. With RCA vs. HDMI, the former transfers both analog and non-analog while the latter carries digital signals. However, the video part is transmitted with analog signals in HDMI.

  Transfer of Audio Signal

  The audio signal is a significant part of any multimedia device. With RCA and HDMI cables, the audio one of the things that differentiate them. Since HDMI carries digital signals, sending audio and video signals is possible with only a single connection. But that’s optional. On the other hand, you need two attachments with RCA.

  In RCA cable, these attachments are often red and white connectors. It is a simple and effective tool, but you will not be able to send surround sound. You can only do that unless you use an optic audio cable for the audio. In HDMI vs. RCA, you will see that the latter is a more convenient option, although a lot of people still use RCA.

  Video Factor

  In terms of the video quality, both RCA and HDMI are almost equal. The reason for this is that you will not spot any difference in the video quality unless the video itself is 1080p. Even if your device is of 1080p resolution and connected with an HDMI, the clarity depends on the video.

  Ease of Use

  As you can see, there’s not much of a big difference between RCA and HDMI. Because of that, the one thing that matters to most people is how easy to use them. With an RCA, you have multiple cable cables to connect. HDMI is a lot less of a hassle since a single connection gets all things done. Still, RCA is the better choice if you have multiple devices to connect since this wire is much cheaper.

  What is an HDMI ARC?

  When you talk about RCA and HDMI, another thing you might have encountered as well is an HDMI ARC. Like the ordinary HDMI, this one is also a cable that transfers connection between screens. As for the ARC, the entire DHMI ARC term means “High Definition Multimedia Interface Audio Return Channel.”

  It is the optional audio feature of HDMI, which allows audio to pass through the same connector used for carrying video. Instead of needing to connect an HDMI cable plus audio cables to get both sound and video, you can just use one. But there’s one problem – not all devices are compatible with HDMI ARC.

  Even if your device has this port, most only have one compatible port. Therefore, you will need to consider if it really is convenient for you to use HDMI. Before you buy any device and using HDMI ARC, think if it is compatible. That way, you can maximize the advantage of the connector.

  Pros and Cons of HDMI

  Before you decide to get an HDMI, it is great to know its advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of them:

  Higher Quality – HDMI allows loss-less transmission. Also, you get better quality video since there is no conversion needed. The display is also sharper thanks to high contrast details.Automatic Configuration – HDMI enables two-way communications between video sources. Thus, the configuration is automated, allowing for minimized external conversion when identifying the best resolutions.Prevents Piracy – The use of an HDMI connection allows authentication. With that, only authorized devices can receive content from enabled sources. That means copying content or piracy is prevented.Other advantages include signal cable, deep colors, no need for compression, compatibility with DVI, and more.

  Of course, it also has disadvantages. One drawback is the distance limitations. Sometimes, you will encounter problems such as switching delays, field terminations, and difficulty in running multiple applications. What’s more, HDMI is more expensive compared to RCA and other analog cables.

  Advantages and Disadvantages of RCA Cables

  You probably realize it by now, but RCA is still highly advantageous even with higher-spec cables. One of the reasons for that is that many systems widely use it, from televisions to camcorders. Besides those, RCA is straightforward to use. The cables are flexible and easily handled.

  They are also cheap and available in all electronic stores. You might not even need to buy this connector since they are often available together with the equipment you buy. Although the basic three-cables do not work with surround systems, you can but an RCA with connectors for that.

  The color codes for this are grey, brown, and tan, which are for composite videos. For component videos, you have an extra green and blue plug along with a jack. Here is where the disadvantages of RCA are. The more the cables are, the more complicated it becomes. But it’s still pretty easy to use when you are clear on which wire is which.

  RCA has a color code system, which means it can be challenging to remember where to connect every cable, connector, or jack. Even just three cables might be hard to handle for some people. Another disadvantage is the cable clutter, seeing as there are three or more wires you need to connect.

  Types of RCA Cables

  There are two standard types of RCA cables – composite and component video. In a composite video, the wires are red, yellow, and white. This configuration is analog, carrying all video data in a single signal. The thing is an analog video signal is made up of three separate signals. If you compress them into one, it will reduce the quality of the video. As such, you cannot use composite video for high-def analog or digital video signals.

  The second type – component – is more sophisticated. Sometimes, it is even used on HD TVs. This RCA cable has three video lines instead of just one. Their usual colors are red, blue, and green. It also has two audio lines, colored red and black or white. Since there are two red wires, they usually have an added color so you can quickly identify them. Since the video no longer needs to be compressed, you can use this cable for much higher resolutions.

  Conclusion

  After comparing RCA vs. HDMI, the latter does seem like the better choice being the more modern method of connecting devices. However, RCA still offers many applications. Since more systems use this and can transmit both analog and digital signals, it remains an excellent choice for connecting devices.

  See more:?RCA vs. Component Cable – How Do These Cables Differ from Each Other

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