Audio and video interfaces and connectors

In some cases, the application layer is left open; for example, HDMI contains an Ethernet channel for general data transmission.

Analog A/V connectors often use shielded cables to inhibit radio frequency interference (RFI) and noise.

Selection of one over the other rests mainly on the availability of appropriate connectors on the chosen equipment and the preference and convenience of the user.

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a compact audio/video standard for transmitting uncompressed digital data.

Unlike Point-to-Point connections listed above, IEEE 1394 is able to host several signals on the same wire, with the data delivered and shown on the destination set.

[1] DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard (approved May 2006, current version 1.4 published on March 1, 2016).

DisplayPort is a competitor to the HDMI connector, the de facto digital connection for high-definition consumer electronics devices.

XLR connector plugs and sockets are used mostly in professional audio and video electronics cabling applications.

These were first used inside pre–World War II radio-phonographs to connect the turntable pickup to the radio chassis.

They were not intended to be disconnected and reconnected frequently, and their retaining friction was quite sufficient for their original purpose.

Initially intended for audio-frequency connections only, the RCA plug was also used for analog composite video and non-critical radio-frequency applications.

For computers: There are exceptions to the above: Older sound cards had no common standard color codes until after PC 99.

The color codes for audio plugs follow:[3] Newer connectors are identified by their shape and not their colour.

For example, VHS tapes can store a magnetic representation of an NTSC signal, and the specification for Blu-ray Discs incorporates PCM, MPEG-2, and DTS.