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Composite video can easily be directed to any broadcast channel simply by mixing it with the proper RF carrier frequency. Most home video equipment records a signal in composite format: VCRs and laserdiscs both work this way, and then give the user the option of outputting the raw signal, or mixing it with RF to appear on a selected TV channel. In the United States, the composite video signal is typically connected using an RCA jack, normally yellow (with red and white for left and right sound). In Europe, a coax connector or SCART connector is used.

Some devices that connect to a TV, such as videogame consoles (and the ubiquitous home computersThe home computer is a consumer-friendly word for the second generation of microcomputers (the technical term that was previously used), entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. The home computer became affordable for the general of the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends), naturally output a composite signal. This may then be converted to RF with an external box known as an RF modulatorAn RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a small device that takes an input signal and outputs radio frequency-modulated signals. Most commonly these are found in home computers or video game systems that display graphics on a television receive that generates the proper carrier (often for channel 3 or 4 in the USAThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in). The RF modulator is preferably left outside the console so the RF doesn't interfere with the components inside the machine. VCRs and similar devices already have to deal with RF signals in their tuners, so the modulator is located inside the box. Also, most home computers usually employed an internal RF modulator.

The process of mixing the original video signal with RF, and then removing the RF again in the TV, introduces several losses into the signal. RF is also "noisy" because of all of the video and radio signals already being broadcast, so this conversion also typically adds noise or interference to the signal as well. For these reasons, it's typically best to use composite connections over RF connections if possible. Almost all modern video equipment has composite connectors, so this typically isn't a problem.

However, just as the mixing and removal of RF loses quality, the mixing of the various signals into the original composite signal does the same. This has led to a proliferation of systems such as S-VideoS-Video (also known as Y/C is a baseband analog video format offering a higher quality signal than composite video, but a lower quality than RGB and component video. This mid-level format divides the signal into two channels luminance and chrominance. and component videoComponent video is a type of video information that is transmitted or stored as two or more separate signals (as opposed to composite video, such as NTSC or PAL, which is a single signal). Most component video systems are variations of the red, green and to separate out one or more of the mixed signals.