RCA connectors

An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono

connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical

connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals.

The connectors are also sometimes casually referred to

as A/V jacks. The name "RCA" derives from the Radio

Corporation of America, which introduced the design by the

early 1940s for internal connection of the pickup to the

chassis in home radio-phonograph consoles.

It was originally a low-cost, simple design, intended only

for mating and disconnection when servicing the

console. Refinement came with later designs, although

they remained compatible.

RCA connectors began to replace the older quarter inch

phone connectors for many other applications in the

consumer audio world when component high

fidelity systems started becoming popular in the 1950s.

However, quarter inch phone connectors are still common

in professional audio, and miniature phone connectors

(3.5 mm) are predominant in personal stereo systems.

The connection's plug is called an RCA plug or phono plug,

for "phonograph." The name "phono plug" is sometimes

confused with a "phone plug" which may refer to a quarter-

inch "phone plug" (TS or TRS connector) or to a connector

used for a telephone.