Quote:
Originally posted by kharvel
Dave,
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1) Can the RCA support the automatic 16:9 vertical squeeze like the Hitachi?
2) I will be watching 4:3 TV picture via my HTPC which will be connected to the VGA. Therefore, line doubling will not be a consideration. In that case, there is no difference between the RCA and the Hitachi, right?
3) I will be watching DVDs using PowerDVD 4.0 on my HTPC. Can the Hitachi or the RCA detect the 16:9 picture via the RGB input and automatically do the 16:9 vertical squeeze? IF not, how exactly would I achieve the 16:9 vertical squeeze when a computer is hooked up to the monitor? That is one of my biggest concerns. I would rather not use powerstrip if I can help it.
Are there really any major differences between the RCA and the Hitachi when almost all of the viewing (DVD, TV, video game, etc.) goes through the HTPC? I am planning to get the DTC-100 for HDTV signals and does Hitachi have any advantage over RCA on this point?
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I am trying to provide facts and observations without intentionally swaying you in one direction or the other. I can answer detailed questions about the Hitachi, but on the RCA I am reading the manual just like you.
You get to have the fun of comparing all of these capabilities and limitations to your requirements to decide which TV is the better overall fit.
Now that I have had some sleep, let me try to respond again to your latest questions.
1) Based on reading the manual and the response from Tubesguy, vertical squeeze on the RCA is apparently accomplished through the service menu only. This is not very user friendly and definitely not automatic.
2) and 3) If you want to view 4:3 TV full screen on the Hitachi using the RGB input, you would have to set RGB to the 4:3 mode (without vertical squeeze) or use a display size that is not compliant with the 16:9 aspect ratio feature (See below for a possibility of "automatically" controlling Hitachi RGB aspect ratio by use of different display size inputs). As I said before, another option would be to also use a composite or S-video feed in parallel which is always full screen on the Hitachi.
Within the RGB mode on the Hitachi, deliberate switching back and forth between 4:3 and 16:9 requires the user to go into the RGB video settings menu and make the selection. AFAIK, these settings affect both RGB inputs, so you could not set one for 16:9 and the other for 4:3. Because of the method of navigation to get to the point of selection, this would be very difficult to handle with a macro on a universal remote.
If you were to leave the Hitachi in the 4:3 RGB mode, I see no apparent video difference between using the Hitachi or RCA for RGB inputs.
There is no automatic detection or switching capability in either TV for anamorphic and non-anamorphic sources on the RGB or other video inputs. But, the Hitachi may offer some indirect help here based on which video input signals are supported by its vertical compression in the RGB/PC Mode.
Quote from the Hitachi owner's manual regarding 16:9 for RGB inputs:
"Aspect Ratio at PC Mode can be changed from 4:3 to 16:9 on the following signals ONLY: VGA 640 x 480, SDTV 480 p, HDTV 1080 i." (This is actually the only reference in the manual that I have found suggesting that the RGB inputs accept 1080i HDTV inputs, e.g., from a DTC-100 as I am using it).
So, it sounds like the aspect ratio could not be changed to 16:9 on an 800x600 signal input (I have not tried). So now I wonder, when the RGB/PC Mode aspect ratio is set to 16:9, if you could connect a compliant signal to one RGB input and have 16:9 invoked, and connect a non-compliant signal to the second RGB input and have the display revert to 4:3 "automatically." (This would be similar to the approach I used for my DVD player connections and operation where the component inputs can be vertically compressed to 16:9 but the S-video cannot.)
The RCA has separate audio inputs for each RGB input (i.e., one for your computer and one for your DTC-100). The Hitachi only has 1 audio input directly associated with RGB.
The RCA RGB video inputs are both on the back panel. The Hitachi has 1 RGB input on the back panel and the other on the front of the TV.
The RCA supports USB connection the PC. The Hitachi supports mouse emulation (crudely from the remote control) and PS2 mouse connection to the PC (NOT keyboard PS2). The Hitachi IR codes for mouse control could be programmed into a more friendly device or key layout on a universal remote control.
I found the manual for the Hitachi online:
https://merchant.satisfusion.com/sf/...rchResults.jsp
Here are a few more considerations for the Hitachi ...
Input selection between RGB 1 & 2 must be done from an on-screen menu; not very user or macro friendly.
The RGB output for SDTV from the DTC-100 is 540p, not 480p. There is no reference to 540p anywhere in the Hitachi manual. I am actually using both 1080i and 540p and they both work fine. Since the timing of 1080i and 540p are the same, this makes sense.
All RGB (PC Mode) info in the owner's manual starts on page 60.
There are some capabilities of the set that are not well documented. For example, for input connections the manual states for input 2 only one type of connection (composite/S-video/component) should be used at a time. In reality, all 3 can be connected at once. The TV will select which to display based on the presence of a signal in the following precedence order: 1) component, 2) S-video, 3) composite. (I have not tested the combination of composite and S-video, but the owners manual states the S-video to composite precedence.)
Sorry for the long and somewhat unorganized post but I am capturing things as I think of them here.
Let me suggest that, regardless of which alternative might provide the best technical solution, if there are family members or other folks that will be using your equipment, you must carefully consider ease of user/viewer operation. If the technical capability is there but cannot be reached by anyone but you, your success may be perceived otherwise by folks who cannot make it work for themselves. In my implementation, I created a PANIC macro on my universal remotes so that anytime a viewer couldn't seem to get everything working, the panic macro would reset everything (TV, STB, DVD player, A/V receiver) to a known and understood starting point of watching TV tuned in from satellite on the DTC-100.
YMMV. Good luck!