RCA/Connector/Ref/RCA Female
Properties
- tags
- Diataxis/Reference, RCA, RCA/Connector
RCA Female Connector Reference
Visual Reference
Overview
- Female RCA jack (socket), the receptacle mounted on a device that receives a male RCA plug
- Coaxial design: a center pin receptacle carries the signal, surrounded by a barrel that grounds against the plug's outer shell
- Almost always panel-mounted — on the back or side of audio/video equipment, rarely found on the end of a cable
- Carries a single signal per jack; devices expose one jack per channel/signal (e.g. a stereo pair, or a video + audio trio)
Physical Specifications
- Barrel inner diameter: sized to accept the ~9.5 mm male shell
- Orientation: no keying; symmetrical around the barrel
- Gender: Female (jack/socket)
- Mounting: typically panel-mount (chassis-mounted), sometimes PCB-mount
Signal Types and Color Coding
- Yellow: composite video
- White or black: left channel analog audio
- Red: right channel analog audio
- Green / Blue / Red trio: component video (Y/Pb/Pr)
- Orange: digital coax audio (S/PDIF)
Compatibility
Common Use Cases
- Input/output panels on TVs, AV receivers, amplifiers, and DVD/Blu-ray players
- Turntable and mixer line outputs
- Composite/component video inputs on displays
- Digital coax (S/PDIF) inputs on receivers and DACs
Standards
- No single formal specification; the connector is a de facto standard maintained through consumer-electronics manufacturer compatibility
- Digital coax use is referenced in IEC 60958
Related References
