A couple of HDTV Questions - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

JohnnyCarson · 10-14-2004, 09:06 PM

I have a couple of questions regarding my Digital/HDTV...To preface this, I have a 50" DLP set, cable TV with the Hi Def tier, run my sound through my stereo for 5.1 sound, run the video through component cables.

1) On occasion, sometimes more than others, I have a brief sound dropout. It is just like 1 or 2 words, but it is annoying. Any idea of the possible cause of this? I'm leaning towards the cable....

2) I just noticed that my cable box has DVI output and my TV has an input. How much (truthfully) of an appearance improvement would there be by going from the component cables to a DVI cable?

Thanks for any help I can get on this!!!!

JJRousseau · 10-14-2004, 11:27 PM

Johnny, I have the same loss of sound once in a while - on satellite. I assumed it was the HD signal. I haven't tried DVI yet but was told that it is a significant improvement for bigger TVs.

gcbrowni · 10-15-2004, 03:41 AM

DVI & HDMI are digital formats, everything else is analog. With analog you get "a picture with loss." All analog has loss. More expensive analog devices and cables usually have less loss. With digital you get EXACTLY what was transmitted, EVERY time. Cost is meaningless; you either get a PERFECT image or you don't. The difference is most dramatic when you have a fixed-pixel display, such as a DLP, DLP-RP, LCD, or LCD-RP. In that case you usually get the EXACT image that was received (sat/cable/OTA) or stored (DVD) displayed on your set. Your image will look better than a guy with $6000 dvd player, $1000 component cables, and a $15,000 plasma.

Digital rocks.

gcbrowni · 10-15-2004, 03:44 AM

I just saw in another thread that you bought the RCA DLP. If it's the one I'm thinking of, then there's a slight correction to what I said above. The integrated tuner will display 720p nativly, without any analog converions. The DVI input will NOT give you an exact conversion. For some insane reason RCA decided that you could not input 720p via the DVI and then display it. It goes through a D->A and then an A->D. It's the stooopidest thing ever.

I'm sure your Tv will display things great and you'll love it for a really long, it's just that what I said above is not correct in this one case.

JohnnyCarson · 10-15-2004, 05:50 AM

GCbrowni..

Do you have a location you can point me to for more info regarding the 720p native tuner? I checked the RCA website and my owners manual and couldn't find anything regarding this...Don't feel I'm doubting you, but I just want to learn as much as possible about my AV equipment.

Thanks!!

portereight · 10-15-2004, 08:29 AM

Before you plunk down the bucks for a DVI cable, you should verify with your cable company that the DVI port on your cable box is active. I know that for Motorola boxes at least, many cable operators don't activate this connection. Why not I cannot say.

gcbrowni · 10-15-2004, 11:29 AM

The point about contacting your cable company is a good one.

The master RCA DLP thread at avsforum is at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=264044

The thread is now 41 pages long and started about 18 months ago. I misremembered a little. Briefly: It displays 720p nativly if it receives it from the internal tuner. If the 720p comes in over the DVI it won't accept it. You need to send it 1080i over the DVI port (from your upconverting DVD/Cable/SaT Box) and it then converts it back down to 720p to display it. (Don't ask me ...)

10-14-2004, 09:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
JohnnyCarson Upright	A couple of HDTV Questions I have a couple of questions regarding my Digital/HDTV...To preface this, I have a 50" DLP set, cable TV with the Hi Def tier, run my sound through my stereo for 5.1 sound, run the video through component cables. 1) On occasion, sometimes more than others, I have a brief sound dropout. It is just like 1 or 2 words, but it is annoying. Any idea of the possible cause of this? I'm leaning towards the cable.... 2) I just noticed that my cable box has DVI output and my TV has an input. How much (truthfully) of an appearance improvement would there be by going from the component cables to a DVI cable? Thanks for any help I can get on this!!!!

10-15-2004, 03:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
gcbrowni Tilted Location: Indianapolis	DVI & HDMI are digital formats, everything else is analog. With analog you get "a picture with loss." All analog has loss. More expensive analog devices and cables usually have less loss. With digital you get EXACTLY what was transmitted, EVERY time. Cost is meaningless; you either get a PERFECT image or you don't. The difference is most dramatic when you have a fixed-pixel display, such as a DLP, DLP-RP, LCD, or LCD-RP. In that case you usually get the EXACT image that was received (sat/cable/OTA) or stored (DVD) displayed on your set. Your image will look better than a guy with $6000 dvd player, $1000 component cables, and a $15,000 plasma. Digital rocks. __________________ From the day of his birth Gilgamesh was called by name.

10-15-2004, 03:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
gcbrowni Tilted Location: Indianapolis	I just saw in another thread that you bought the RCA DLP. If it's the one I'm thinking of, then there's a slight correction to what I said above. The integrated tuner will display 720p nativly, without any analog converions. The DVI input will NOT give you an exact conversion. For some insane reason RCA decided that you could not input 720p via the DVI and then display it. It goes through a D->A and then an A->D. It's the stooopidest thing ever. I'm sure your Tv will display things great and you'll love it for a really long, it's just that what I said above is not correct in this one case. __________________ From the day of his birth Gilgamesh was called by name.

10-15-2004, 11:29 AM	#7 (permalink)
gcbrowni Tilted Location: Indianapolis	The point about contacting your cable company is a good one. The master RCA DLP thread at avsforum is at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=264044 The thread is now 41 pages long and started about 18 months ago. I misremembered a little. Briefly: It displays 720p nativly if it receives it from the internal tuner. If the 720p comes in over the DVI it won't accept it. You need to send it 1080i over the DVI port (from your upconverting DVD/Cable/SaT Box) and it then converts it back down to 720p to display it. (Don't ask me ...) __________________ From the day of his birth Gilgamesh was called by name.

10-14-2004, 11:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
JJRousseau Psycho Location: Vancouver, Canada	Johnny, I have the same loss of sound once in a while - on satellite. I assumed it was the HD signal. I haven't tried DVI yet but was told that it is a significant improvement for bigger TVs.

10-15-2004, 05:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
JohnnyCarson Upright	GCbrowni.. Do you have a location you can point me to for more info regarding the 720p native tuner? I checked the RCA website and my owners manual and couldn't find anything regarding this...Don't feel I'm doubting you, but I just want to learn as much as possible about my AV equipment. Thanks!!

10-15-2004, 08:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
portereight Crazy	Before you plunk down the bucks for a DVI cable, you should verify with your cable company that the DVI port on your cable box is active. I know that for Motorola boxes at least, many cable operators don't activate this connection. Why not I cannot say.