[searcherrr]

I have a wonderful (older now, but still the "NEW TV" to me) Sony Trinitron Wega. My research tells me it can only reach 480i resolution and only in 16:9 enhanced mode.


On the back it has component video IN, which I have never used to date, but now I'm thinking about using it for the big DTV switch.


If I got a DTV converter box, do they come with coaxial in & component video outs?


Are they smart enough to display at my TV's highest resolution or are all downconverting DTV converter boxes just dummy'ing down the signal to some preset funky analog resolution to be safe? IE: Lower than 480i


Do I even benefit picture quality by getting a DTV converter box and using the component video vs just leaving my coaxial cable plugged directly into the set?


Currently I have no boxes of any sort between the tv and the coaxial cable signal and I am told that I can leave it that way if I want, but of course I'm guessing that the Cable Co will not display at my tv's max resolution so I'm trying to figure out how to make the best use of the DTV signal we'll be getting with my older "component video capable" tv.


Please ask me questions if I haven't explained it well enough. Thanks!

 

[mjones73]

"If I got a DTV converter box, do they come with coaxial in & component video outs?"


The CECB boxes come with RF and composite normally, for component you'd need an HD capable box though considering your TV only does 480i it wouldn't be worth the money.


"Are they smart enough to display at my TV's highest resolution or are all downconverting DTV converter boxes just dummy'ing down the signal to some preset funky analog resolution to be safe? IE: Lower than 480i"


480i is SD, there is nothing lower, the SD tuners downconvert to 480i.


"Currently I have no boxes of any sort between the tv and the coaxial cable signal and I am told that I can leave it that way if I want, but of course I'm guessing that the Cable Co will not display at my tv's max resolution so I'm trying to figure out how to make the best use of the DTV signal we'll be getting with my older "component video capable" tv."


As I mentioned, 480i is SD, your TV isn't capable of any higher resolutions then what your getting from standard analog cable. If you have cable, buying an ATSC tuner box is useless also, ATSC is for over the air digital broadcasts.

 

[IDRick]

Searcherrr,


The converter boxes do not have a component output, most have rca and coax. A few have s-video (better of the three options). My APEX DT502 has s-video output and it will output 16:9 format over the s-video connection and rca (composite) connection. You will see a much better picture with s-video than coax input to your tv. Definitely worth a try if you have good OTA reception.


HTH,


Rick

 

[searcherrr]

So the nutshell is as long as I'm running coax cable (from cable co) into my analog 480i tv set, with no converter boxes at all, I am seeing as best as I can see unless I use s-video or component video to watch tv from the coax?


It does not make sense to me that I'd be seeing the best 480i signal/picture/quality that I can see just with the coax if the s-video and component video options are even given on the set.... or does it?


I mean wouldn't I see better picture using the svideo or component video INs?


The most meaningful thing I got out of this though is that a DTV converter box will do me no extra good/quality (thinking that a downconverted DTV signal would yield a better analog signal than I see normally via coax).

 

[mjones73]

You are using the internal tuner in your TV when attaching the coax directly to it, that's different then using an external tuner then needing to use interconnects to attach it to the TV.

 

[searcherrr]

I realize I'm using an internal tuner. I've actually never known differently except maybe back in the 80's 90's.


I guess the ultimate question is:


Am I seeing fullest possible 480i resolution on my old Sony Trinitron Wega with the coaxial cable from the cable co. plugged straight into it from the wall? or would I see better quality plugging the cable to a box that outputted to component video?


Sorry for the confusion. Thats my last question I think. lol

 

[arxaw]



Quote:
Originally Posted by searcherrr /forum/post/15483194


Am I seeing fullest possible 480i resolution on my old Sony Trinitron Wega with the coaxial cable from the cable co. plugged straight into it from the wall?

Yes. This the way to watch analog cable with the highest picture quality on your analog TV.


That being said, connecting it other ways may not make a noticeable difference, either, on an old TV.

 

[John Mason]



Quote:
Originally Posted by searcherrr /forum/post/15474339


I have a wonderful (older now, but still the "NEW TV" to me) Sony Trinitron Wega. My research tells me it can only reach 480i resolution and only in 16:9 enhanced mode.


On the back it has component video IN, which I have never used to date, but now I'm thinking about using it for the big DTV switch.

A composite video-in would be one VIDEO jack. Component video in would be three jacks, such as YPbPr. Composite video 'blends' the luma (B&W) and color parts of the signal. Component video separates luma (Y) and color (Pb, Pr).


Component video has wider bandwidth (crisper) than S-video and more color/luma resolution than composite video.


My vintage year-2000 HDTV has YPbPr input jacks for 480i from a DVD player and converts it to 480p for display. Also has a HD YPbPr jack for 480p or 1080i. Feeding already deinterlaced 480p from my Toshiba player to the SD YPrPb DVD inputs results in a split-screen doubled image (because the RPTV's deinterlacing chip tries to deinterlace and already deinterlaced image).


Suspect any source of 480i/p when downconverted from 720p/1080i will look better on any display. Notice it here, even on a 10" B&W monitor fed from my cable STB RF out coax, because the downconversion makes the video look 'sharper' (see sharpness section)--boosting the contrast of lower/mid-range video frequencies/resolutions. Non-HD DTV (704 or 720X480) might appear better, too, downconverted, depending on the quality of the original DTV and the conversion circuits. -- John

 

[Beerstalker]

Something is confusing me here. You say your TV has a 16:9 enhanced mode, what exactly is this? Does your TV have a 16:9 screen? I don't think Sony ever made a standard def 16:9 CRT, are you sure it isn't capable of 1080i? What is the model number of the TV so we can be sure we are giving you the correct information.

 

[Rammitinski]

It's a 4:3, analog-tunered TV.


Using the coax straight to the internal, analog tuner will give you the best PQ on the analog channels.


However, using an external clear-QAM tuner (if your set definitely doesn't have one) should get you the digital locals from your cable, and those (through component to your TV) will look better than any analog channels.


What that "16:9 Enhanced Mode" does is that it takes all the lines of resolution in the 4:3 frame, and squeezes them down into the 16:9 picture. So what would ordinarily be unused in the upper and lower "black bars" area, is compressed down into where the actual picture resides. Kinda neat, and that's the real "secret" why HD looks so utterly fantastic on Sony's HD and HD-ready 4:3 CRT's, and also great downscaled on their later model 4:3 SD ones, which also have that feature.


But tell us the exact model number of your old Sony, so we can ascertain whether it already has a QAM tuner or not.