Is the a converter for composite video or s video to component video?

Composite video is a single RCA cable that contains all of the video information. It is usually denoted by a yellow connector at each end of the cables. Component video has 3 RCA cables to carry the video information (Y, Pb, Pr). It is usually denoted by red, green, and blue connectors at each end of the cables. S-video separates the Y and C portions of the picture to avoid color smearing in the playback along with slightly higher picture quality. Composite video is extremely limited in the quality and resolution of video. Component video is capable of carrying all the HDTV resolutions (480i to 1080p). Composite and S-video are limited to standard definition signals (480i and 576i).
Within the domestic video market, there are virtually no devices that offer HD as an analog component signal. It is also important to note that Component Video is a digital video format, while Composite/S-Video/RGB is analog. RGB and Component connectors can often be mistaken, since they are color-coded in the same way - using the colors red, green and blue - so it is important to read the manuals of the devices, or read the labels at the inputs/outputs of the same.


There are converters that will decode a composite or S-video signal to component video, but usually run over $100 and up to $300. The benefits of such converters is very limited. Once a signal has been encoded into a composite signal, some of the signal information is lost. Decoding the signal back to component does not recover the information lost. Bear in mind that every television monitor has a composite decoder built in. It is a necessary part of the signal chain to get to red, green and blue signals that are displayed on the screen. Using a separate decoder simply moves the process to another point in the signal path.


Many newer home theater receivers now incorporate up-conversion into their features so all the video signals will output as a high definition HDMI signal. Once again, the benefit of up-conversion to HD is limited. Converting a 480 or 576 line standard definition signal to an HD signal does not add any more detail to the image. However, some up-converters in DVD players or receivers are better quality than the converters in the television itself, so the end result may appear somewhat better than using the televisions re-size circuitry.