VCR to TV connection (1 Viewer)

[Ron.T]

Right now, I have my VCR connected to my TV using an S-video cable. The is only 1 S-video jack on the TV and it is on the side. It is not a great connection and can get bumped off pretty easily. How much if any of a downgrade in signal (lower quality picture) if I use the RCA jacks to connect the VCR to my TV? Thanks for your input.

Ron

 

[videobruce]

The S-video or Y/C input is better than the composite (RCA jack) unless the comb filter in the TV is digital as opposed to a older analog type. Then the difference would be less noticeable. Keeping the Y and C signals separated reduces 2 steps along the way (combine and then separate the signals).
All of this also depends on just how good the TV is, how good the source is, how good your signal (OTA, cable, satelite) is. And last how good your eyes are!

 

[Lew Crippen]

If your VCR is an S-VHS, then you will lose quite a bit. Less so if this is a standard VCR with an S-Video output (I don't even know if these exist), but I think that you will still be able to see the difference.

 

[Ron.T]

Thanks guys.

Ron

 

[DustinLC]

Do I do. Feed the s-video from your SAT to the VCR and from the vcr to the tv. Of course you have to leave your vcr on to watch tv or turn it on and off.

 

[TylerZ]

Dustin, maybe not. Some VCR's have a pass thru option in the set up menu that will permit an input signal to pass thru the VCR and go right to the TV without turning the VCR on. Check your VCR owners manual to see if you can do this. Both my Mits and JVC have this. I don't use it though, I input everything thru my AV recievers.

 

[DustinLC]

Tyler, I have two JVC 7800 and 7600. Don't remember them having it but thanks for the tip. It's too late though because I've move on to better things.

I dumped my S-VHS for Pan DVD recorders with a HDD for all my TVs (HS2 and E80). Now I hook them up like I did with the SVHS (S-video from SAT to DVD recorder, and recorder to TV). Same issue though. I have to leave the dvd player/recorder on to watch tv.,

Now maybe you going to tell me that I don't need to turn on my DVD recorder each time I want to watch tv ?

 

[TylerZ]

No Dustin, I'm not going to tell you that.

 

[Allan Jayne]

An S-VHS VCR will even play regular VHS tapes slightly better out the S-video jack.

But you might get better picture quality from broadcasts tuned in by the VCR by using its composite output, especially if your TV has a 3D comb filter.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[videobruce]

When I moved from VHS to S-VHS 12 plus years ago one thing I did notice when I was testing my 10k (yes, the one that sold for $2k at the time) and 9600 decks, making a regular VHS recording on VHS tape was WORSE on these decks than on my older regular VHS only decks. Having doing this since 1978 it was easy to tell the difference.

As far as using the Y/C out instead of the composite, on my 12 year old Hitachi 46" Ultravision RPTV with a analog comb filter Y/C looks better, but only with the tuner as a source from the recorder. A S-VHS tape didn't have a whole lot of improvement.

As far as copies I use composite because my video processor is composite only. The Y/C dub doesn't do a whole lot of improvement over the composite from my experiance.

Looks good on paper, but not as good in the field so to speak!

 

[DustinLC]

No Dustin, I'm not going to tell you that.

Too bad :frowning: