Electronic fields have so many components that a person who does not know much about electronics, gets confused easily. They have unique names which do not explain their functioning or importance that is why knowledge for them has to be studied. RCA and component are two parts of electronic devices which are used commonly.
RCA vs Component
The main difference between RCA and components can be explained using their configuration. RCA is a type of plug or cable which is used for transmitting analog signals from one point to another. The component is a way of communicating video or audio signals from one point to another.
The former standard is the RCA cable, often known as composite video cable or “yellow connector” cable. It’s what users used to use to send a video signal through a long wire and connector in the past. Unlike a component cable, which has three cables, it only has one video cable.
A component connector is a connection that divides visual signals into 3 independent channels. It contains 3 colored lines: green, blue, and red. Each one of these cables carries particular video signal information. The blue and red components are brought together by the blue and red cables, often known as Pb and Pr.
Comparison Table Between RCA and Component
| Parameters of Comparison | RCA | Component |
| Type | RCA is a type of plug. | The component is a way of transmission of signals. |
| Signals | RCA is used to send analog signals | The component is used to transmit video signals from one point to another. |
| Composition | RCA is a single cable or plug. | The component is a collection of three RCA. |
| Application | RCA can be used in other configurations too including components. | The component is used to transmit signals (audio and video signals) from one point to another. |
| Signal | The signal is transmitted as a whole using RCA. | The signals split into three and then transmit through components. |
What is RCA?
The RCA plug is just an electrical link that is extensively used to transmit audio and video information. The Radio Company in The united states, which originated the concept in the 1940s and 1950s, gave it the moniker RCA. Male connectors and female connectors are known as RCA plug and jack.
Cables feature a typical plug on each end, which consists of a core male socket surrounded by a ring in most everyday use. When joined, the ring is frequently divided to create spring gripping pressure. The connector (female jack), which consists of a hollow tube surrounded by a metal ring, is mounted on devices.
The connector’s ring is smaller in width and depth than that of the plug’s ring, enabling the plug’s ring to fit snugly over it. Between both the outer and inner rings of the jack is a small region filled with an insulator, usually plastic.
Each signal needs its plug when using RCA plugs. Even the simplest application, such as connecting a cassette player, may necessitate four of them – two for audio input and two for audio output. In any typical configuration, this quickly results in a jumble of connections and a lack of understanding of how to connect them.
When increasingly complicated signals, such as component video, are taken into account, the situation becomes even worse (total three for video & two for analog audio).
What is Component?
An analog video signal which has been divided into two or more elements channels is known as a component. It relates to a sort of component analog video data that is delivered or stored as three independent signals in common usage. The component video contrasts with composite visual, which combines all of the video data into a single stream for analog television.
Component video cables, as composite video cables, do not transmit audio and are frequently combined with audio cables. The process of reproducing a video signal on a monitor screen (such as an electron beam) is simple but complex by the variety of signals. DVDs, VHS tapes, computers, and gaming consoles all use different technologies to store, process, and send video signals, and many of them offer multiple transmission options.
Splitting the components of a video signal such that they do not influence one other is one technique to ensure signal clarity. The component video refers to a signal that has been divided in this manner. All component-video signals, including S-Video, RGB, and YPBPR, are made up of two or more independent signals.
Because each channel often comprises much of the same black-and-white image, the different RGB analog component standards utilize no compression and impose no practical limit on color depth or resolution, but they demand a lot of bandwidth to convey the data and contain lots of redundant data.
Main Differences Between RCA and Component
- RCA is a type of cable or plug which is used with electronic devices whereas Component is a way of transmitting signals from one point to another.
- The signals which are transmitted through RCA are analog whereas The signals transmitted through a component are video and audio signals.
- The composition of RCA is either a plug or a cable whereas the Component is composed of 3 RCA which are color-coded so that identification of each can be an easy task.
- The application of RCA can be in many other configurations too including components whereas Components fulfill the purpose of transmitting signals which can be audio or video from one point to another. This point can be also devices.
- Transmission of signal through RCA is done as a whole signal whereas in component a signal is split into three and then transmitted through component via three RCA’s.
Conclusion
All the differences are stated above, which can help people in the regular lifestyle. These cables and plugs are been used in electronic device connections for a long time. A component is a cable group of 3 RCA-colored cables. RCA colored in yellow in components refer to video signals whereas the other two are responsible for the transmission of audio signals from one device to another.
There are many other cables and products available which can be known in regards to this subject. They have their pro and cons like composite cables. The name for RCA is derived from Radio Corporation of America.
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00131640121971031
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0029554X67900183