There is often some confusion between the similarly named component cable and composite cable, but although the phono plugs on the end are the same, in terms of quality and what they do, they are miles apart.
A composite cable is normally the lowest quality option for connecting video – that’s not to say that is a bad way to connect, but there are better ways! A composite cable is often thought of as the cable with the yellow, red and white plugs on, but in fact it is just the yellow (video) cable that is the composite. The red and white plugs carry two channels of sound.
The advantage with composite is that almost all systems have sockets for the video (yellow) plug, and you normally also have the sockets for the audio plugs (red and white) making it a very useful and easy to use cable, ideal for testing systems or getting you started quickly.
The down side is that video quality as a result of using a composite connection is usually fairly average at best and should only be used as a temporary solution if possible. If the system supports a different method of connectivity such as RGB or S-Video, you are likely to get better results, and you will get top quality results if you use a component cable or HDMI.
Where to Buy Composite Cables
If you need to get hold of one, you can get composite cables from the following reputable stores: