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Composite or RCA (Analog) - The inputs/outputs are found on most VCR and DVD players, and some camcorders. Yellow cable is for video. Red and white are stereo audio. |
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Mini-Pin (Analog) - The 3.5mm mini-pin input/output is found on many portable devices. Two black bands around the pin means it is for stereo audio only. This photo shows a mini-pin to composite conversion cable, with three bands around the pin, one for video and two for audio. |
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S-Video (Analog) - Better video signal than Component, it can be found on many VCR and DVD players, and some camcorders. No audio signal. |
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Component (Analog) - The best analog signal you'll get on high end DVD players and monitors. Red, blue and green are video, red and white are audio. |
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VGA - (Analog) Similar video signal to component, this 15-pin connector is found on many video cards, monitors, projectors and laptops. No audio signal. |
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DVI - (Digital) For a direct digital connection between a computer's video card and a digital monitor, the DVI soon replaced VGA, but was then replaced itself by HDMI. No audio signal |
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HDMI v.1.1-v.2.1 (Digital) - For carrying an uncompressed high-def video signal and 8 audio channels to your monitor or HDTV. Its not designed for encoded data streams, such as Closed Captioning. Each new version of HDMI saw enhanced capabilities, including stronger copy protection, support for 3D and a 4K Ultra HD resolution (horizontal resolution of around 4000) at 60 frames per second. |
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Firewire 400 (Digital) - Also called IEEE 1394a. Developed by Apple and widely used to connect media devices with computers. Carries audio and video signals. |
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Firewire 800 (Digital) - Also called IEEE 1394b. At 800 mbps, this cable is twice the speed Firewire 400. Carries audio and video signals. |
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USB 2 (Digital) - Common to most computer peripherals in recent years, USB 2 cables transfer at 480 mbps. Carries both audio and video signals. Type A, pictured to left, usually connects scanners or printers, where Mini and Micro work with mobile devices. |
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USB 3 (Digital) - USB 3 cables transfer at 5 gbps. Carries both audio and video signals. The ports are usually blue and, thankfully, backwards compatible to USB 2. USB 3.1 was announced 2013 at 10 gbps and USB 3.2 in 2017 at 20 gbps. |
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Thunderbolt (Digital) - By Intel and Apple, this cable boasts transfer speeds of 10 gbps for each of its 2 channels. It supports data, video (and greater than 1080p), audio (up to 8 channels) and power. |
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USB-C, USB 4 and Thunderbolt 3-5 (Digital) - At long last a universal connector across platforms is in play, USB-C, for video, network, data transfer and charging. But USB-C is simply the connector type. At the time of this writing, the cable technology within a USB-C connector can be USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 & 2, USB 4, Thunderbolt 3 & 4, DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 1.4b & 2.0b & 2.1. Be sure to verify the specs for a USB-C cable match the specs on the port you are plugging into. |
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DIGITAL CONNECTIONS Most computer owners have used their machine's inputs for transferring files before, possibly with a USB Stick, Memory Card Reader, External Drive, Ethernet cord, etc. WiFi or Bluetooth is also often an option for transferring video files between devices. But if your video is still on a digital camera and not yet compressed into a file, you will need to output it in real time from your device to a computer. Your computer's video capture software should automatically recognized the source once you connect via a cable such as Firewire, Thunderbolt, DVI, SDI, DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, etc. |
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ANALOG CONNECTIONS If you are attempting to transfer footage from an analog source, such as an old camcorder or VCR, you will need to output the video in real-time from your device to the capture card inputs on your computer. If the computer does not have an internal video capture card, you can use an external analog to digital converter. These have inputs for your device, such as Composite or S-Video, and then output via Firewire or USB-C to the computer. DVD and Blu-ray players can have both analog and/or digital outputs, but the easiest means to convert video from discs is to rip them. If your computer has a disk drive, you can extract video, or parts of video, using ripping software (see Conversion tab). If your computer does not have a disc drive, external plug-n-play disc drives that connect via USB are an option. |
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ONCE CONNECTED Once you've got the file on the computer, it's yours to play with. |
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