RCA connector
electrical connector with one signal channel mainly used for analog stereo audio (in pairs), analog component or composite video and rarely for digital audio
The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry analog audio and video signals. The name refers to the popular name of Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. Typically, the output is a plug type connector and the input a jack type connector. These are referred to as RCA plug and RCA jack respectively.
It is also called a phono connector, referring to its early use to connect a phonograph turntable to an AM radio receiver. As home audio systems became more complex, RCA cables became a standard way to connect components such as radio receivers, amplifiers, turntables, tape decks, and CD players. Their ubiquity led to them also being used for video: connecting AV receivers, analog televisions, videocassette recorders, DVD players, and game consoles. They remain in use as a simple, widely supported means of connection.
In some European countries such as France and Germany, the name cinch is still used as an antonomasia of the Chicago-based manufacturer Cinch, for such a connector and socket.
History
The following dates were derived from historical RCA documentation.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “RCA connector” as electrical connector with one signal channel mainly used for analog stereo audio (in pairs), analog component or composite video and rarely for digital audio. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as electrical connector with one signal channel mainly used for analog stereo audio (in pairs), analog component or composite video and rarely for digital audio. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q399653. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “RCA connector” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.