Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (
More info?)
"Ziggy" <z.r.o.b.@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>Real newbie here thinking of going from regular cable to digital cable
>(Rogers) with HD to an HDTV. Also have a combo DVD/VCR device. Am thinking
>about how all this should be connected. Looks like I'll be dealing with the
>TV, Digital HD Terminal and the DVD/VCR.
>
>HD terminal to TV (Component or S-Video I'd assume?)
If the TV is inherently digital (anything but CRT) use a digital
connection (DVI or HDMI) if available, otherwise component. S-Video
will NOT handle high definition. It's just NTSC with the brightness
and chroma on separate wires.
>
>DVD/VCR to TV (Component for DVD, Composite for VCR?)
Definitely component for DVD; it might also carry the VCR output of
the combo. If not, use S-Video if available, otherwise composite.
Also, there's a trick you can do to improve DVD resolution, and I was
properly chastised for not mentioning it in an earlier post. Set the
DVD player to 16:9 instead of 4:3 (might also be called Anamorphic).
The output is still 4:3, but it's stretched vertically so that
widescreen movies use more of the 480 lines available. Then set your
TV to stretch it horizontally only (or compress it vertically if it's
an older 4:3 display capable of that trick) and you'll end up with
better vertical resolution. You'll have to jockey back and forth
between settings when you play a DVD, because while most DVDs support
anamorphic widescreen for the movie itself, they rarely do for the
extras. Still, it's worth the effort.
>
>If the above, how do I record? Are they streamed in-line somehow with the
>DVD/VCR in the middle?
Connect the composite (or S-Video if available) A/V output of the
tuner to the A/V input of the VCR. If the tuner offers simultaneous
NTSC and HD out you're all set. If just one at a time (bummer!)
you'll have to choose whether to watch a show in HD or record and
watch it in NTSC.
>Concerned about the quality of signal to the TV if strung through the
>DVD/VCR. I don't think there's a Component input to the DVD/VCR then output
>to the TV.
I've never seen a component input to a VCR, and you couldn't record a
digital signal anyway, much less HD. There are currently three ways I
know of to record HD: a hard drive recorder made for the purpose and
included as part of some high-end HD tuners, a Home Theater PC you
would have to rig up yourself to do the same job, and a D-VHS
recorder. As a self-professed newbie, you shouldn't even think about
any possibility but the first. Also, although there are many hard
drive recorders (TiVo, Replay, etc.), few will record HD. The ones
that will cost about $1000. HTPCs are mostly home-brews. D-VHS
requires a compatible tuner and Firewire connections. I just bought
one that a local hifi/HDTV store was dumping at a low price. It was a
floor model, and when I asked for a demo, it was obvious that they had
never gotten it working, had no clue what they needed to get it
working, and probably didn't have the other hardware required to
either record or play back. The clerk popped a D-Theater tape out of
it, and I know that the VCR, a Mitsubishi, can't play D-Theater tapes.
Works fine, by the way. But I digress.
>
>Any input to help me get it right the 1st time would be appreciated.
>
I think we're all beginners at this, even those who've been at it for
years.
E. Ogden <eoyymm@nycap.rr.com>
where yymm is the current year and month
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