I have a video distribution [active splitter] amp which has both composite & component video channels [only one composite channel though]. I also have an application which requires distributing two separate composite signals to different locations. As an experiment I tried using one of the component video channels & it seemed to work as well as the composite video channel. I don't have a schematic for this unit so I don't know if there's anything in the component video circuits which will limit their effectiveness as composite video amps so I'm requesting assistance here for a change instead of offering it.

The specs for this device show Zin & Zout for both as 75 ohms, similar Vgain, bandwidth for composite of 6 MHz & for component, 60 MHz. I presume these are emitter follower amps for both circuits. There's no audio or other unwanted components in the video signals I'm splitting up. Does anyone know if the component video circuit will work as well as the composite circuit here? Thanks in advance.

 

It's not every day that I get to answer my own post. The distribution amp I'm using here is a Radio Shack model 15-130 & I just got a schematic for it today so I compared the wiring for the composite & component video channels. The internal wiring for all [four] video channels is identical.

This begs the question: why the difference between the component & composite channel bandwidths in the specs? My guess is that the amp B/W is actually the same for both types of signals [performance bears this out, too] but, since component video signals apparently require more bandwidth than composite, the specs simply show a relevant figure.

I needed to know if there was a difference in the wiring between the component & composite signals & amps because I'm splitting one signal from a camera ahead of a video mixer input & also the mixer output signal to send to different places. Both signals are composite video &, rather than buy a second distribution amp, I wanted to use another video channel on the same amp unit for the other signal. But I also wanted to know I wasn't trying to force the amp to do something it wasn't designed for. Bottom line: component & composite amp channels are probably identical; Radio Shack's 15-130 also has two audio channels. I hope this proves useful for someone, someday.

 

Thats interesting since I would think that the Composit would need more bandwidth since its the Complete Video signal.
A single leg of Component only have to carry R, G, or B. therefor not needing as much bandwidth. Just mu 02 cents, but I have no facts justify my train of thought. Only my experience dealing with AV. Thanks for the reply!

 

Hi Surg; I couldn't agree more with your assessment; I'd expect the composite video to require more B/W than any component channel, as well. I rechecked the specs for the 15-130 to see if I wrote them wrong in my first post. They indeed claim the composite video channel B/W is 6 MHz & the composite channels are 60 MHz wide. I suspect that this is an error but this isn't my area of expertise so I'm not certain.