Best Video cable for picture quality?

Composite is the most basic. It has the entire signal in one cable. The connection is generally RCA type. S Video separates the Y & C components of the video. For sources where this separation is native (originally recorded as separate signals), this can deliver a significantly better picture. If it is not native it varies--sometimes the composite is better, sometimes the S-video is better. The component is used on most DVDs, although your TV if it's more than 3 or 4 years old, probably does not have a component video in. This is really 3 composite video cables. They carry separate Y, Pb, and Pr signals.

In general, if you have component available to you on both your TV and DVD player, this will yield the best results. S-video would be the second choice, followed by Composite as the last choice in terms of best picture quality.

Hope that helps.

Abstract7, The sony 9000 dvd player has audio RCA outputs
and a seperate RCA for video out. I will be running the
audio outputs directly into my audio system...so I am wanting to get the best cable for taking the video only
signal from the DVD player into the Sony XBR ..that has
inputs for Video and L & R Audio. Thanks

Actually on the back of the Sony 9000 there is also a "S"
and a set of component outputs. I can e-mail anyone a picture of the back of the unit..if it helps.

Slightly off topic, but I'd like to improve the quality of the signal I'm getting from the wall into my digital cable box. This is 75 ohm coax I believe and I'm not sure what they call the connector they use (short, thin, stiff wire). Benefits to upgrading this cable? Recommendations?

I recently bought a pair of used Monster M2000SV silver series S-VHS cables from "Underwoodwally" (one of the partners of the Perpetual Technologies products). He still has some of these cables left for about half-price -- look for his ads here on Audiogon. The M2000SV series is the best that Monster Cable makes, and they have been highly recommended in several video mags.