[Jetmeck]

Would there really be a difference ? I can't compare myself so please let me know your experiences ? Thx

 

[jjeff]

I personally observe a noticeably better PQ using S-video vs. composite on my HDTVs. With composite I get dot crawl and a overall fuzzier picture(I also noticed this on a Sony 24" Wega TV). I basically refuse to use anything less than S-video on my HDTVs(Sony and Panasonic). Some people have said that if a TV has a good COMB filter their shouldn't be any difference. Well I would think a $2k Sony LCD, a $400 Sony CRT or $1k Panny LCD would have a decent COMB filter so I don't believe it. Also when copying from a DVD player to my Panny DVDRs I use S-video. How would I put a COMB filter between the two?

If you have a old CRT TV(that actually had a S-video input) you may not notice a difference, but on better quality sets it's noticeable. IMO

 

[Church AV Guy]

I made several pairs of DVDs, each recorded on the same machine, and reproduced on the same VCR, but one using S-Video, the other using composite. I asked some friends to rate them, not knowing which was which, just saying which DVD looked better to them. (A "blind" study.) The conclusions I came to were 1) my sample size was insufficient to make any REAL conclusions, and 2) It was split evenly, and randomly as to what interface was preferred. No one person consistently chose one over the other, and there was no overall trend preferring one to the other.


Using my 53 inch Panasonic as a display, and my EH50 as a playback machine, there was no obvious preference in the finished DVDs of one connection over the other. With all that said, I highly recommend you do both and decide for yourself. I know you said you cannot do it, but without an actual test using your equipment and cables, ann I can do is guess.


Use the best playback machine and the best cables you can get your hands on. I have seen poor quality S-Video cables corrupt the signal more than a good composite cable. It is all in the details. Keep your cable runs away from possible noise sources too. I have seen that overwhelmingly degrade an otherwise good signal.

 

[CitiBear]

Like many supposed "advances" in technology, S-video connections are not necessarily all they're cracked up to be. If you are using new good-quality hardware and cables, S-video will often show some slight improvements and be the preferred option. Unfortunately, there is a flood of junky S-video cables on the market which can actually make the signal worse-looking than the yellow composite. And I've noticed the very first thing to break on second-hand hardware (even new hardware if its cheaply made) is the S-video connectors. There is also the matter of individual taste in visuals: even with properly-functioning S-video, some people find the image looks too harsh and noisy while others would say the same image looks sharp and contrasty (compared to yellow composite signal).


If your gear works OK in S-video mode, its usually the preferred "future-proof" connection that preserves maximum image quality. But evaluate for yourself and go with what you think looks best overall.

 

[RichardT]

"All of the above." I'll especially second jjeff's comments. On side-by-side wipe test on a DataVideo S800? video mixer from same camcorder Sony VX2100 (thus same optics, same lighting), no noticeable difference between dv and s-video, difference between video and s-video was noticeable on the 15" hi-definition Polaroid tv, not on regular tv.

Yes, cables DO make a difference. Cablewholesale.com Premium grade s-video cables are excellent and very reasonably priced. I've had excellent results running 200 feet of s-video cable from camcorder. (I haven't tried their "standard grade", but have returned cables from another supplier.)


Good Luck, Happy New Year.


Richard

 

[Jetmeck]

They should all have S-video in but they don't. You find one that does and it might not have other features the one without the S-video has. But seriously S-video, can't we even have that as a standard anymore ? Taking components away is one thing but this is just wrong.

 

[DeoreDX]

It depends on the source.


From a digital source like a DVD player or Satelite TV? Absolutly. Laserdisc player? Not so fast my friend. What about a set top cable box? Another maybe maybe not.


Take my HD Motorola Moxi DVR cable box for example. The Analog channels STB are still that, Analog. The Moxi has a cheap crappy comb filter so the analog channels look really bad through DVI, Component, or SVideo. It looks much better hooked up via Composite.

 

[Jetmeck]

Composite and S-video are both analog unless I missed something ?