HDMI to Component or S-video/composite converters - Page 2

I've now tried my 3rd type of filter/converter, the MCM Digital Video Stabilizer for VHS tapes... nice metal box, runs dead cold, and now comes with 9V battery installed with 2000-hr life.

Edit: I just checked my power adapters for the HDMI and Component converters discussed previously, and they fit the jack on this unit, which can be used with an optional 9V adapter. Output power on the other adapters is 5V 1A. This unit's power usage spec is 1.8mW operating and 0.5mW in standby (it's activated by video sensing). Wonder if those 5V power adapters would work???

I used my Philips 3575 that had previously copied 9 of 14 of my comm. movies without a filter/stabilizer. I confirmed CP on one of those that didn't copy before by getting an E25 Error without the stabilizer, indicating MV protection, then confirmed stripping by copying twice from VCR to the Philips 3575... backup copies for my personal archive, of course. Viewed HDD copies in their natural 4:3 aspect on 32" Vizio 720p LCD. I also viewed in Wide aspect just to see the effect of stretching... not bad at all, just a little softer, as expected, but very watchable.

I recorded first in 3-hr-LP rec mode (by mistake), then again in 2-hr-SP rec mode. The LP copy is about as good as the VHS source, as confirmed by my very fussy wife/CEO.

She also confirmed that the 2-hr-SP copy was slightly better than the VHS original, esp. in the black screens or black objects. As I found with all my tape copying, the stabilizer didn't affect my 3575's ability to make solid, full-screen blacks more uniform and preserve the details in black objects like hair or clothing.

Of course, that ain't sayin' much when compared to a HDD recording from a digital HD channel by a DVDR user who forgot how "bad" the old days of tape were!

I have to assume that people who recently came from or are still in the VHS/analog realm would think both copies were "outstanding."

Tested my $25 MCM between my DVD player and Mag 2160 and it allowed me to copy 6 of 10 randomly selected comm. DVD movies. On all 10, I confirmed that they would not copy w/o the MCM.

The 6 that copied were released between 2000 and 2009.

Copy quality is excellent on 47" LCD!

* * * * * * *

Contrary to a report by another user, I also found that the 2160 will only allow buffer copy-to-HDD if the source has CP that a stabilizer can defeat... w/o a stabilizer, it won't record/copy either directly or thru the buffer.

Certainly there is a "market", but how big and at what price and whether you'd be able to sell it without buyers jumping thru offshore hoops is another question. I would happily pay up to $199 for a higher-grade version of the $30 HDMI>Composite>S-Video converter jjeff and I grabbed during that brief Amazon blowout sale. That unit is great for $30, can't fault it at that price, even at $60 it's a nifty all-in-one that doesn't kill your wallet. Performance is "adequate" at best: tolerable on a good 32" screen for timeshifting and non-critical archiving of typical well-lit TV shows (you wouldn't want to record "Blade Runner" thru it). Again, for the money asked it doesn't suck as bad as you'd expect: with that baseline, it shouldn't be difficult to make it a LOT better at double or triple the price. But price boost then leads to...


This is the attitude anyone trying to create an improved version of the "affordable" HDMI>Composite standard-def converter will run up against. Such hard-core types are way ahead of everyone else here and have long since blown hundreds of dollars stockpiling the HD Fury 2/3, various high-end component>S-Video converters, and all the wall warts and cables entailed in their use. I was crucified on the other converter thread for saying most consumers in the current culture would consider such a system ludicrous- I was called a borderline moron for even suggesting most of us would not want to connect three dangling converters at a total cost approaching that of a lifetime TiVO subscription.

But it isn't 1997 anymore: the mass market has completely abandoned home video recording aside from sealed box proprietary HD-PVR rentals. The geeks willing to put up with all this work-around-Hollywood crap just to keep using recorders were always a small percentage of the larger market, now we're such a tiny minority we're practically invisible. Given NetFlix' year-on-year growth of online discless delivery, consumers may even abandon players like they did recorders (sweet justice to idiot Sony there). Any new converter would have to appeal to the high-end geek at an exorbitant price (with full HD gaming passthru), or be affordable to the average (and aging) owner of an existing DVD/HDD recorders who just need an HDMI to decent SD 480i dongle. Factor in the incredibly annoying moving target of HDCP compliance and other unpredictable digital nasties, and the whole converter idea might just collapse altogether- what would be the point?


"You know who" forgets how much I can try his patience with my replies if I disagree. He's a brilliant video technician, means well, and wants everyone to get the best results possible but his sky-high standards can be impractical or inapplicable at times. I was really surprised when he claimed the MCM filter "doesn't work" to allow VHS dubs to DVD, considering we've all been using similar filters forever. That one was a headscratcher.

If there are any of you Lenkeng/Lenkeng like converter owners out there who may be slightly less than ecstatic with the PQ produced by your converter,there is a way to noticably improve the PQ if you own some type of video filter.

Before i threw my Lenkeng converter into the dumpster,i happened to connect my Sima CT2 filter between the Lenkeng and one of my Maggies.The PQ was greatly improved.Whatever is lacking in the Lenkeng is pretty much made up for by the filter,maybe some "techie"type can explain why.All i know is that it works. G.

jjeff you have a Sima CT2 don't you? Give it a try and post your impression.

The Sima brightened up the pic.to look more "normal".My non-techie guess is that it has something to do with the black level.The Lenkeng always made everything look like a dark cloudy gloomy day.The Sima "brightens"the pic. up,and the see and record will look like the Sima not the Lenkeng.I won't say the pic. is perfect,i won't compare it to higher end converters but it sure makes a gloomy day brighter!!IOW the Sima makes PQ that sucks...suck LESS. and i think it will probably work just as well on the HDMI>s-video converter as it did on the Comp.>s-video converter. G.

For the heck of it I connected my Blu-ray player to a Panny EZ17 using composite video, the player does not have S-Video out. I tried to record a Blu-ray disc onto a RAM disc. As soon as I hit the record button the recorder stopped & said cannot record copyright programs. I tried starting the recorder first, but as soon as the Blu-ray disc started playing the EZ17 stopped. This same program was available via Netflix streaming so I thought I’d try that. Got the same results & message.

I guess the lowly composite video on this “old” player cannot work for recording.

It has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the composite connection, but that the video stream in each case has content protection asserted, so the recorder cannot violate that and stops, or refuses to start. The error message, "cannot record copyright programs" is the clue that it's because of CP and not the connection type. There are many threads here on using filters like the Video Filter from Logic Design, the Grex, Sima, and others to accomplish what you are attempting. The recorders are compelled to honor CP if it is present in the video stream. Even my international model Panasonic recorders will not record a video stream if it contains CP.

You can add the Sony PlayStation 3 to the growing list of devices eliminating HD component outputs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1347469

Speaking of COMPOSITE video (not component), does anybody know if the cheap, $1-5 composite to s-video cables/plugs work to strip copy protection??? I kinda doubt it, which is why you have to buy a filter of some sort and they cost at least $90 for the Grex.

Will the amazon "ViewHD Universal HDMI to Composite / AV Video Converter" linked above convert HDMI out from a PC computer's HDMI output to a Magnavox settop DVDR?

Yes, I use an HDMI>Composite/S-Video converter quite often to play web streams or downloaded video files into my DVD/HDD recorders. Usually I'm connecting a Samsung RV-511 laptop to this HDMI converter to a Pioneer 460 DVD/HDD. It works reasonably well, allowing me to make DVDs from downloaded files containing damage that prevents direct DVD authoring on a computer. Most of these HDMI converters are similar.

Bringing back an old thread
Currently I have a VGA to s-video converter for recording streamed games to my DVD recorder

Would I get a bump in picture quality if I used the hdmi outputs, and used a hdmi to s-video converter instead?

I have an HDMI to composite/S-Video converter, and it works ...okay... but like you said, it's nothing to write home about. It *IS* functional. It isn't nearly as good as I know S-Video can be. Maybe a much more expensive one?

Will it be much better than my VGA to s-video converter

None of my computers can output s-video/composite directly

Any benefit of getting a video card or some internal device that will output it directly?

Any answers here?