|
New member Username: StudermwPost Number: 1 Registered: May-05 | I'm new to the HDTV world...so new I haven't even received my TV yet! But in preparation, I'm trying to get all the cables I need. I have TON of RCA cables. Will these work for component video? I know that Circuit City and Best Buy would like me to believe that I need Monster Component cables to do the job, but will the standard old RCA cables I've been using forever do the same thing? I'll shell out the money if I need to, but throwing these cables out seems like such a waste if they will work just the same. |
|
Rob in Orlando Unregistered guest | Hey Matt, Let us know what connection inputs you have on your TV and the outputs of what you are going to be connecting to it (cable, satellite, etc.). |
|
New member Username: StudermwPost Number: 2 Registered: May-05 | I'm going from a Comcast Motorola HDTV to a Sony ES receiver, and then to a Panasonic TH-42PHD7UY 42-IN Plasma HDTV. I'll also be hooking a DVD player into the receiver as well. All the video should be component video. |
|
Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 621 Registered: Feb-05 | In general, standard RCA cables will transmit a component signal. However, quality of signal can be affected, depending on the quality of cable. Monster builds good products, but they are generally over priced. You should be able to get a decent set of component cables without breaking the bank. |
|
Jetson Unregistered guest | Matt: I read the specs for your HDTV and component video comes standard on it. The best possible option is to have a DVI or HDMI input. This allows for a 100% digital signal from the Comcast STB to the HDTV. Component video cables only transmit an analog signal. This causes the signal to be converted from digital to analog and back to digital so your HDTV can read it. The more times you convert a singnal back and forth, you lose quality. You may want to see if you can have a DVI or HDMI input installed on your HDTV before it is delivered. As for the DVD player, unless it has a DVI input, you are stuck with component video. Also, about using the old school RCA cables as the component video, NO! Those do not work in the same way that component video does. Component seperates the signal into 3 different strands, and then compresses them together as they reach the HDTV. Compenent video does not include audio, as the old RCA cables did with the "red" and "white" plugs. You can use the audio part of the RCA cables from your DVD player to your stero or t.v., or from your cable box to your stereo or t.v., but not the video part (yellow plug). Monster cables are overpriced, but they work great. After what you spent on your HDTV, i wouldn't worry about an extra $50 for component cables. Forgot to mention, your HDTV only has 1 input for component video, so if you want to hook up your DVD by component as well, you will be switching them back and forth between watching TV and DVD. |
|
Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 624 Registered: Feb-05 | Jetson is wrong. You can use 3 standard RCA cables to transmit a component signal. Secondly, whether a DVI input will transmit a better signal than component cables is very much dependent on equipment. Just because it's digital does not automatically make it better. DVD players that include DVI/HDMI outputs upconvert the signal and can sometimes result in marginal picture improvements. But currently there are no HD DVDs and those players can not transform a non-HD signal into HD. |
|
Silver Member Username: CableguyDeep in the ... U.S. Post Number: 115 Registered: Mar-05 | I'll second that, I've had to use composite wires in place of component wires, the only thing I do is use the yellow for the green since the main video carrier is on the green component output/input. I use the red/white to replace the red/blue, this will work and haven't noticed any degradation of quality. |
|
Tim Whatley Unregistered guest | Dale is wrong. You can broadcast a TPX signal over HDMI, but it is highly variable on the DACs in your DVD player. Some manufacturers use 1-bit, some use 4-bit. The better the DAC, generally, the better the picture quality. As for using old RCA cables, this is all a function of the cables. I would not buy Monster cables just to carry a composite signal, but I would do so if I were using digital video. |
|
Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 625 Registered: Feb-05 | Tim, you need to learn to read. Where in my post did I say what you claimed? Guess you just resort to fabrication to make your point. |
|
Tim Whatley Unregistered guest | I am really tired of these arrogant people who think they know everything about digital home entertainment. I am trying to help people, but apparently, you are too good to listen to my advice. I sure wish I were a "Silver Member," maybe that would give me the credibility I so sorely lack. Guess *you* just resort to these feverish intimidation tactics and innuendos to insult those with whom you disagree. |
|
Silver Member Username: DmwileyPost Number: 632 Registered: Feb-05 | Tim, your response is totally irrational. Face the fact that you attributed to my post claims that I did not make and then you proceded to say I was wrong. I called you on it. If you think that is arrogant, then so be it. Being a silver member has absolutely nothing to do with your credibility or lack thereof. That has to do with the quality of your advice. And in this thread, your advice was simply wrong. Accept it (or not) and move on. |
|
New member Username: StudermwPost Number: 3 Registered: May-05 | Alright, guys - I think the debate answered my question...and then continued to spiral out of control. I'm not sure if the strong emotions are typical in these kinds of discussion boards, but based on this heated exchange, I think the answer to my question is that the debate is still raging. That in itself helps me, and because of this, I will try using both old RCA cables and new specialized component video cables. If the RCA work fine, I'll stick with them. Eventually, I'll get a DVI cable when they become reasonably priced. Thanks for the spirited discussion... |
|
iworkincable Unregistered guest | yes u can use video cable to transfer composite video - tech talk yes dvi is better its a full digital transfer - if u can see it but lots can't - do need to buy monster cable - no u can find cheeper on the net make sure u get a dvi-d there different styles |
|
Wilson Pickett Unregistered guest | I used the cable that came with the TV and it seems to be a good quality cable, and the picture is fine. I would not have you spend a lot on Monster cable until you see if you are satisfied or not. That said, I do have a Monster Power Strip for my Stereo and it definitely makes an audible improvement. I haven't tried it on my TV to see if it makes a visual improvement. Perhaps I will now. |
|
New member Username: Nr4pPost Number: 2 Registered: May-05 | Monster cables are overpriced for what they are. If you ever find a damaged monster cable, cut it into 2 pieces. Look at the wiring and the insulation. You will find that monster cables are 80% insulation. Rubber and some nylon. Sometimes the monster cables have more copper strands too but that depends on what you compare it to. So if you purchase good quality component cables designed for video, no need to pay for alot of rubber or nylon. Oh, when it comes to copper wire, how large should it be? If the wire is less than 10 feet away, don't get too hung up on it. Bigger isnt always better. Its like putting 91octane in a car designed for 87 octane. You feel better, you didn't get a 20% increase in mileage to cover the 20% cost adder, but your wallet hurts. And BTW, HDMI is a great all in one cable. But HDMI brings all the copyright protection into the DVR recorders too. That's why the Hollywood folks love HDMI. They can send the "bits" over the air on any show they want to prevent recording on DVR's. |
|
Wilson Pickett Unregistered guest | Did you ever consider that maybe it's the insulation that is keeping the signal from one end to the other unchanged ?? |
|
msearfoss Unregistered guest | Wilson, you hit the nail on the head. The audio pair on a standard (audio-video) cable is not shielded. this allows for possible interfierance and signal degradation. In the makeup of component video cables, all three cables are shielded. Although cables vairy in price, you dont have to spend alot of money to get a good quality cable. |
|
New member Username: ShaunzyLas Vegas, NV USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-05 | I have Dell personal computers in a business environment. My company president wants to connect his PC to a Pioneer PDP5040 50" plasma HDTV. The ports of choice (and he won't waver!) are the DVI port on the PC and the HDMI port on the HDTV receiver. The TV is about 40 feet away from the PC, based on the cable run required to conceal it. The conduit in his office is just big enough for the HDMI cable. In preparation for this, I purchased a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, a low-loss HDMI-to-HDMI cable, and even an HDMI signal booster. None of these seem to work. We see a signal but the picture's resolution is off and -- worse yet -- the picture itself is shifted to one side, leaving a black gap on the left for about 1/3 of the total area before the picture begins. The picture runs to the right and extends beyond the screen. The PC is using a high-grade video card and different resolutions -- from 1024x768 all the way down to 800x600 don't make any difference -- except that sometimes there is no video at all. Any suggestions? I am are hoping someone could shed some light on this subject. Pioneer is no help. Dell says "it can't be done" and many forums I visited say it's a breeze. Help! |
|
newer Unregistered guest | Try VGA. DVI has a max length of 6 feet. Your best bet though would be a vga over cat 5 solution |
|
Unregistered guest | It's not the thickness of the shielding, it's the quality of the shielding. Imagine trying to stop a bullet with a 10-metre thick wall of bubble wrap. Monster cable is a pure marketing tool used to get dumb amateur mainstream buyers who don't know 1 thing about signal tranfer through a copper wire to shell out $50+ for thick rubber wire in beautiful packaging. Save your money and do some physics research. |
|
;ljlg Unregistered guest | Try VGA. DVI has a max length of 6 feet. Your best bet though would be a vga over cat 5 solution WRONG...I have a main conference room setup, right now, with a very, very expensive projector and audio setup...running around 28ft. of DVI cable to the projector with NO repeaters or amplifiers. Simply two DVI cable connectors to combine three cables. |
|
Unregistered guest | I found this thread searching for info on the question debated by Dale and Jetson--having just bought a Sony DVD/VCR dubbing deck and used a Yellow/Red/White RCA cable to hook it to a Sony DLP projection 50" TV, I wondered if a component video cable was (a) electronically healthier because of impedence mismatches and (b) would create a visibly improved picture. So far I've learned that Monster is overpriced--no controversy there--but that there is no difinitive answer (or there are two different ones). There's a wealth of engineering data at http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/interconnects/ComponentVideo Cables.php if anyone's interested, but it doesn't answer the practical question. Cableguy, above, seems to indicate the video (yellow) cable is different from the other two, which suggests that not all RCA cables (of a given quality) are equal--if that's the case, I'd infer that component cables are engineered differently from audio/video cables, and you might as well spend sub-Monster prices to get the most out of a couple thousand dollars worth of equipment. Reactions? |
|
Jerry JB Unregistered guest | I work at a cable company, and I've seen High Definition on serveral tv's, through hdmi,dvi, and componant cables. And I've seen all three of those connections on the same tv (several different models). There is such a small difference in pq, that it dosen't matter which you go with. And sometimes, I saw that the component cable hookup looked even better than dvi/hdmi. (I've also seen everything through high-def dish too) Just thought this might help. (My vision is 20/20 btw) |
|
kuritorisu51 Unregistered guest | So since Composite video cables can work in place of Component video, is it true when they are switched? I recently got a DVD-Audio/SACD player and don't have any extra red/white rca cables hanging around. I do however have 2 extra pairs of Component cables lying around. Do you guys think I can use it them to transmit analog 5.1 sound? Thanks! |
|
New member Username: MvanmeterKY USA Post Number: 3 Registered: Jan-06 | as a point of clarification, in the "old" three wire red-white-yellow audio/video cables, there is a physical difference between the cables. The yellow lead is 75 ohm coax cable for video, the other two are shielded audio two-lead cable. Three "yellow" video cables = component video, just remember to hook the colors up right at each end. A good source of reasonably priced cableing is MCM Electronics Check both sources for "sales" and the prices can be very good. |
|
New member Username: HardcoreyFort collins, Co Usa Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-06 | I majored in electrical engineering. With regard to what's being talked about on this thread, signal attenuation is based on two factors. 1.) The dielectric constant of a material where in this case, copper and gold are the conductors and, 2.) the way the transmission and receiving of the signal are handled. When it comes to analog signals, there's no doubt that monster cables or other equal style cables are best but I'm not sure the increase in signal quality is effected by high end cables when talking about hdmi. Hdmi are transmitted and received in digital. Once received, the electronic hardware can recreate the signal based on the amplitude to a more perfect form. In my opinion, I wouldn't waste money on high end cables when it comes to hdmi. |
|
New member Username: BriankPost Number: 7 Registered: Jan-06 | Yes, monster cables are all marketing. I just love how they advertise that their HDMI cables will give you "more vibrant colors". That is complete BS and takes away any credibility they had left. HDMI is a digital interface and colors cannot be affected by the cable. The only thing the cable could be responsible for is errors or complete drop outs in the picture or sound. Nothing as subtle as dull colors. You can find many quality HDMI cables for <$25 online. |