The difference between a composite cable and a component cable can often be seen in the number of connectors on each cable. A composite cable is your traditional 3-headed RCA cable, commonly called a yellow, red, white cable, while a Component cable is more commonly known for having 5 RCA heads, red, red, white, blue and green. Each of these heads is dedicated to transmitting a certain type of data though. Composite cables use just a single cable to pass through video, while component uses three, it is because of this that component cables are able to push through a higher quality video signal. While neither are able to push through a resolution higher than 1080i, they are still often seen in older DvD players, televisions and video game consoles.
Composite Cable | Component Cable |