Audio and video interfaces and connectors

Audio connectors and video connectors are electrical or optical connectors for carrying audio or video signals. Audio interfaces or video interfaces define physical parameters and interpretation of signals. For digital audio and digital video, this can be thought of as defining the physical layer, data link layer, and most or all of the application layer. For analog audio and analog video these functions are all represented in a single signal specification like NTSC or the direct speaker-driving signal of analog audio. Physical characteristics of the electrical or optical equipment include the types and numbers of wires required, voltages, frequencies, optical intensity, and the physical design of the connectors. Any data link layer details define how application data is encapsulated (for example for synchronization or error-correction). Application layer details define the actual audio or video format being transmitted, often incorporating codecs not specific to the interface, such as PCM, MPEG-2, or the DTS Coherent Acoustics codec. In some cases, the application layer is left open; for example, HDMI contains an Ethernet channel for general data transmission. Some types of connectors are used by multiple hardware interfaces; for example, RCA connectors are used both by the composite video and component video interfaces, but DVI is the only interface that uses the DVI connector. This means that in some cases not all components with physically compatible connectors will actually work together. Analog A/V connectors often use shielded cables to inhibit radio frequency interference (RFI) and noise. Several generic digital data connection standards are designed to carry audio/video data along with other data and power: USB was designed as a single connector to support all needs, including any generic data, audio/video, power, and more; DisplayLink is its most successful Audio+Video protocol. Until the 3.0 revision, very low data rates meant most A/V needed alternative connectors. USB-C can directly transport USB 3.