If you have a new home theater system from which you want to get the best performance, you will have to get the best cables. You might think that the RF or composite cables that were included with your equipment are sufficient. If your television has component inputs, however, there is no reason not to use them. Similarly, if your receiver has a digital audio input and your devices have digital outputs, it is worthwhile to spend a little bit on the cables you'd need to experience the best performance that your system can deliver.

You could begin by purchasing each cable that you will need individually. To simplify the process, however, many manufacturers have begun to sell cable packages. These packages include all the cables that you will need to connect your signal makers to your receiver, and in turn to your television and speakers.

What's Included with Cable Packages?
These packages typically include a combination of component, composite and S-Video cables. This mix ensures that you will have the cables that you need to connect as many devices as possible. You might think that the RCA cables are useless, but they can be used to connect your VCR to your receiver so that you can listen through your stereo speakers when you play tapes.

Cable packages are also available for video game systems. These packages usually include better cables than are included with the standard game box package. Often, the composite video cable is replaced with either an S-Video cable or a series of component video cables. For the extreme gamer, such a package is a must so that the full detail of any game can be seen with maximum precision and heard in full (usually violent, but sometimes beautiful) splendor.