It carries audio and video signals from the component gadget to the output gadget (i.e.
a television or speakers).
It entered popular home use in the ’50s and is still in use today.
Evan-Amos / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The two most common types are composite video and component.
Composite video is analog, or non-digital, and carries all the video data in one signal.
Composite video signals typically consist of 480i NTSC/576i PAL standard definition video signals.
It’s not designed to be used for high-definition analog or digital video signals.
The two red lines usually have an additional color added to distinguish them.
Lower-end camcorders usually have only one jack, called a stereo jack, which combines all three channels.
This results in lower-quality transfers because the signal is compressed.
In either case, RCA cables transmit analog, or non-digital, signals.
Because of this, they cannot be plugged directly into a computer or other digital equipment.
RCA cables connectamplifiersto all sorts of devices.
