these days plugging in a tv or monitor is pretty simple you're probably just
using like a single HDMI or displayport cable for video as well as audio
and in case you've got some older gear you're likely familiar with rca cables
that enable composite or component connections as well as those blue vga
connectors for the legacy monitors we've covered that in this previous episode
but did you know there are lots of more obscure connectors out there some of
which are still around let's start about talking about one of
the better known lesser-known video connectors
this thing is called scart which is a french acronym that translates to radio
and tv receivers manufacturers association also known as peritel if the
name sounds kind of old school that's because it is scart has been around
since 1976. it was developed in an attempt to
standardize connection types across televisions and although it originated
in france it ended up spreading across europe for its time it was a pretty
advanced connector in that it allowed bi-directional communication unlike the
composite rca connectors so popular in north america so scar could could
actually communicate more directly with a cable provider for features like
pay-per-view and subtitles and although scott was an analog connection later
revisions could carry high definition signals kind of like component video
over rca but because of the rise of HDMI this configuration didn't see a whole
lot of use however scart remains popular with gamers who
enjoy retro titles as it can actually carry RGB signals on separate channels
resulting in higher picture quality it's kind of like vga
folks in north america have even been known to spend extra money on skype
equipment to get the best possible experience out of their older consoles
and i feel like i'm being called out by this script moving on
let's talk about this funky looking guy it's called a 13w3 connector it doesn't
exactly roll off the tongue it might remind you of a funnier looking
vga connector and that's because it kind of is 13w3 was actually one of the
predecessors of vga and was notably used on some apple monitors that were meant
to be paired with early macs those three big circular looking parts carried the
actual color signals red blue and green one color for each contact
they could also be used for power but that's aside the rest of the pins were
used for things like grounding and synchronization similar to more recent
vga connectors however 13 w3 cables
aren't universally interchangeable as that power thing might suggest you don't
want to send voltage down your RGB lines back then when they were popular
monitors didn't all sync the same way either so some cables actually came with
physical dip switches that you had to fiddle with in order to get your picture
looking right so it's not too surprising that simpler connections like vga
quickly overtook 13 w3 in popularity forcing it into obsolescence for our
third act let's talk about something a little more contemporary
hd base t wait a second that that looks like an
Ethernet connector it turns out that hdbaset does indeed use the same
connector as Ethernet i mean the t stands for twisted pair the kind of
cable used for a standard Ethernet and it actually does carry an Ethernet
signal along with 4k video 5.1 audio usb
signals and even up to 100 watts of power basically it's a do everything kind of
connection and it works over one of the cheapest cables out there
so why hasn't most of the public heard of it and why are we not using it for
basically all of our electronic needs the big issue unsurprisingly is cost
hdbaset isn't meant to completely replace HDMI or any other standard
really instead it's meant for places that need to transmit signals over long
distances without a mess of expensive cables as Ethernet cables are a lot
cheaper per foot than HDMI but the problem is that hdbaset
compatible equipment such as converters and receivers are quite expensive thanks
to a more costly bill of materials and as such it's mostly a solution for
larger organizations that have to deploy av gadgets over distance did we miss any
of your favorite connectors let us know down in the comments
you know i know it wasn't video but personally i missed those old
1284 printer connectors
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