Help identifying cables...

[hariseldon]

It looks like you have one too few or one too many cables. Makes me think that 4 wire cable didn't actually come with the TV or DVD player.

Im assuming the Blue and Yellow Y Adapters did come with the TV and fit perfectly into the same colored inputs on the TV panel.

I assumed initially the Yellow input was the Video and Blue was the Audio until I looked at the labels closer and that's not correct. The Yellow carries the main part of the Video and Audio signals, the Blue are the 2 extras pieces of video information for the Component Video and no audio at all.


The colors of the cables themselves aren't that important other than to make it easy to trace. Audio cable often are coded R/W, but Red/Black aren't that uncommon. Yellow/Green/Blue are almost always video input/outputs The main thing is for each cable (regardless of color) to match the Color on the DVD outputs and Adapter Inputs and for the Red make sure the Red Audio and Red Video cable go to the proper location. I know why they normally colored the Component Video as Gr/Red/Blue, but it leads to easy mistakes in hookups -- it would have been much better if that Video Red ahd been checkered/striped/different color completely


I see a couple ways to go from DVD to TV. The easiest just uses the Yellow Y-adapter and not the Blue at all.
1) Yellow video output to the Yellow input of the Yellow Yadapter using Yellow Cable
2) Red/White Audio out of the DVD player -- Yellow/Red/Black cable to the R/White inputs of the Y-adapter
3) Plug the miniplug into the Yellow input on TV.
Check a DVD on the TV to see if Audio and Video are functioning well.


If you want to try something -- run the the Green Cable from the Green Component Video Ouptut of the DVD and plug it into the Yellow/Gr connector of the Y adapter instead of the Yellow cable. You may get the exact same A/V on the TV.


A slightly better connection required the 4th and 5th wire.
Use the Component out on the DVD player --
1) Green output on DVD player to Green/Yellow input on the Yellow Y-adapter (Green cable is easiest)
2) R/Wh Audio out to the R/White connections on the Yellow Y-Adapter (Red/Black Cable for simplicity).
3) Blue/Red Component Video out of the DVD player to the Red/Blue connections on the Blue Y-adapter. You could use the leftover Yellow cable of your 4 wire to one of the connections and if you have another Yellow Video wire in your spare parts box.
4) Plug Yellow Y Adapter miniplug into Yellow input of TV and the Blue Y-adapter miniplug into the Blue Input of the TV
5) Check your DVD


It would really be simple if you had a 5 wire cable with identical color or a std 3 wire Gr/Blue/Red component cable and 2 wire Red/White Audio cable. I have so many of these thing sitting in a spare parts box, it's silly. Just make sure not to mix up your Red Audio and Red Video Cable In's and Outs. The Yellow Video cable and std R/W audio cable aren't always physically identical internally though it rarely makes a lot of difference. I was always told the Video cable had better shielding and slightly better signal carrying so it was better to use those for audio than a cheap 2 color audio for Video signals (honestly I've tried all combinations and rarely found it made any real difference as long as the cable wasn't damaged to begin with).

[Show spoiler]