Component vs Composite

Composite Cables send video through 1 cable (yellow), and sound through red and white.

Component Cables send video through 3 cables, and sound through red and white.

So Component Cables have 5 ends, 3 for video and 2 for sound.

Composite cables support resolutions up to 480i
Component cables support High Def resolutions like 1080i and 720p

So if you have a High Def video on your iPhone (do they even sell HD videos?), then the only way to see it in its full resolution would be to use a Component Cable hooked up to a TV that supports HD signals.

The biggest downside to Component is all the little cables (5 vs 3 for composite).

Just for your information, the industry is moving past Component cables for High Definition signals. "HDMI" is a new type of cable that is digital, and includes sound and video all on one cable. Actually, HDMI, is a variation on DVI - DVI = digital video interface, ie the cable you would use to hook up a computer (like a Mac) to an LCD display (like the Cinema Display).

Composite cables support resolutions up to 480i
Component cables support High Def resolutions like 1080i and 720p

Not to confuse the O.P., but the iPhone only supports 480i & 576i with the Apple Component AV Cable, & that is probably a limitation of the iPhone itself.

Basically, the difference in the connections is that there are several components that make up a video signal, each containing color or brightness information. As the name suggests, component video supplies these individually; composite video combines, or composites, them into a single connection.

Component video delivers a purer, cleaner signal because a little quality is lost in the combining & de-combining of the signals required with a composite connection. Component video is also (as currently used in consumer gear) a set of digital signals, while composite is an analog signal, which also (usually) improves quality.

So, while the screen resolution of the iPhone's component output is not High Definition (HD), it still is very likely to produce a noticeably better image than its composite output, assuming your TV has component inputs.

From what I've researched is that a Composite cable is a Red, White and Yellow connectors. While a Component cable is a Red, Green and Blue. The composite cable is for your regular RCA jacks on most TVs, the Component is supposedly used on better quality TVs and is suppose to be said that most TVs are now going toward that kind of connection. I myself am going to use the Component just because its suppose to deliver better quality.

Try check this link http://lyberty.com/encyc/articles/svideo.html

unless it is high def either cable is fine, if it is a hi def signal component is what you need. I would suggest getting gold platted cables to reduce interference or so they may work during a nuclear attack.

Red, White and Yellow in composite is: red - right audio; white - left audio; yellow - video. Composite video is only one connector for video. Component separates red, blue and green video signals. This allows for higher resolution and color separation. Audio cables are still red and white.

I haven't seen any composite cables for the iphone but i do know that apple have released a set of component AV cables for the iphone. The new cables attach via the dock connector and not the headphone jack. If you see any Composite cables check to make sure that they are attached via the dock connector.

The iphone video out/tv out is done via the dock connector.

Ok this is as simple as it can get :

Composite : No Videos (Only Photos)
Component : Videos + Everything Composite can do !

I guess thats ^^ what matters the most. Quality and all technical stuff comes secondary then !

I have the iphone av component cables. I have not seen any composite av cables for the iphone. But i guess they may have release them out.

Remember if it does not connect via the dock connected nothing will be tv out.

Tanmay wrote:
Ok this is as simple as it can get :

Composite : No Videos (Only Photos)
Component : Videos + Everything Composite can do !

I guess thats ^^ what matters the most. Quality and all technical stuff comes secondary then !

Actually that is incorrect. The Composite cable will show video as well.

From the apple store,there is this description of the composite cable

"Connect an iPod or iPhone to your television with the Apple Composite AV Cable, gather up your friends, and watch videos or slideshows together on the big screen. You can also connect the Composite AV Cable to your stereo or powered speakers for a room-filling audio experience"

Both of these, component and composite, are connections for video only. They have nothing to do with audio. A composite video cable has a single RCA connector for the video signal. By convention the ends of the connector are normally yellow.

A component video cable uses three RCA connectors. This type of cable also handles only the video signal. The colors of the connectors are red, blue, and green.

Composite video is lower quality than component video. Depending on the TV set you may or may not be able to see the difference.

Make sure you buy what connections you have open to use. Many people have tied up their TV/Monitor component slot on either DVD/DVR or high-def cable/sat receiver (because many do not have HDMI or DVI connection on their older TV). Also, I've never seen component input placed on the front of TV for temporary connections. They are almost always composite connection.

Now for the dry stuff...

Component cable allows analog RGB signals from your iPhone (and the latest iPods) to a display device (e.g., TV) using (separate) Component connection. Composite cable allows for all video signal (colors) to be send via single yellow-tipped cable. The audio still needs Left and Right (white- and red-tipped connections for both).

In hierarchy of video signals, HDMI/DVI (digital RGB signal) is best, followed by Component (analog RGB), S-Video (Black and white are separated from the rest of the color signals), then the composite bringing up the rear, in terms of bandwidth and signal purity.

In terms of iPhone/iPod Touch, both can output 480i NTSC signal, whereas new Nano and Classic can output 480p signal. In other words, progressive scan (p) providing better output than interlaced ℹ image. Nano and Classic has different video chip than iPhone/Touch.

Component cables are required for the 480p output, not for 480i.

The last generation iPods can output composite video signals directly from headphone 3.5mm plug and S-Video from the 30-pin dock connection. The new generation iPods only put out 480i/p (depending on model) from 30 pin dock connection connection only - no S-Video option.

Two corrections/clarifications to what Mk Gonda has said:

1. Component video as used in current consumer entertainment equipment in the U.S. is not RGB. Although similar in concept, the signals do not deliver individual red, green, & blue signals. Instead, the components are brightness (also known as luma, for luminescence), & two sum & difference color components. The only significance for the O.P.'s purpose is that some video projectors & semi-pro & pro oriented TV monitors have true RGB inputs, & the component cable for the iPhone will not work with them.

2. NTSC (the analog TV standard in the U.S.) does not denote quite the same thing as "480i," which is the Digital Television (DTV) designator for what is called "standard resolution" to distinguish it from the various high definition (HD) DTV formats. NTSC is inherently analog; all DTV formats are inherently digital. All composite connectors on consumer gear are analog; they will not work with digital signals.

Bottom line: if you have a normal consumer display device with an available component input set of 3 jacks (typically, an HDTV), choose the component cable; if not, & your display device has a yellow RCA video connector, choose the composite cable.

Since RC-R wanted to get bit more technical than I intended for simple explanation, it is worth noting that component video comes in few flavors.

There is a RGB analog (e.g., RGBS, RGBHV) that uses SUB-D 15 pin connection. And one can get an adapter for more common component cables to Sub-D 15 pin connection commonly found in PCs and PC monitors. The digital version is HDMI/DVI.

The RGB-tipped cables are really sending Y-Pb-Pr signal from the source. These do send luma, chroma data. This is what is commonly referred to as Component video.

As for NTSC, it is by definition analog. The digital equivalent is ATSC. Both are tuner standards. In many other parts of the world, PAL and SECAM are used instead of NTSC.

... just clarifying the clarifications 🙂

What different TV's provide varies greatly. Any that have a yellow RCA jack labeled for video will accept composite signals. A set of three colored red, green & blue will almost certainly accept the iPhone's 'flavor' of component signals. Very occasionally, you will find this color coding standard not used, especially on older inexpensive TV's. Likewise, budget models of newer component-capable TV's may not have a full set of both composite & component inputs, but most do.

So composite is your best bet for use with all TV's, but you may occasionally find one it won't work with.