Component Video Cable Questions? (1 Viewer)

[John Morris]

Simply, here they are:
1. Should I pass my DVD progressive video signal through my new Outlaw 950 to my RPTV, or straight from DVD to RPTV?
2. As for HD STB hookup: which offers better performance, Component Video cables or VGA Cable?
3. Is it better to have a 50' run of Component Video Cable or a 50' run of Optical Digital Audio Cable?
Thanks for your help!
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Take Care,
merc
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God Bless America!!!

 

[Chris White]

1. This will add a small signal loss. In most (but not all) cases, it's insignificant. Unless you really need the advantages of switching by the receiver, my recommendation would be to connect straight to the tv.
2. Don't know. I'd guess the component cable would be better because of better shielding.
3. With a 50' length, the performance of the video or the audio won't suffer whichever you choose. Since, it doesn't matter, I'd go with whichever is cheaper.
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http://www.bus.ucf.edu/cwhite/theater/theater.htm

 

[John Morris]

quote: 2. Don't know. I'd guess the component cable would be better because of better shielding.[/quote]
Chris: What if both cables were the Silver Serpent Cables from BetterCables? I am asking because the VGA cable is less expensive and it will allow me to leave one Component connection open on my HDTV for future use.
Also, the only reason why I would pass my progressive DVD signal through the Outlaw pre/pro is to have onscreen pre/pro menuing while watching DVDs.
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Take Care,
merc
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God Bless America!!!
[Edited last by John Morris on October 18, 2001 at 07:42 AM]

 

[Chris White]

John, even though both cables are from BC, I would speculate that the component cable (a coax) would have better shielding than a VGA cable. Still, I'm not familiar with a BC VGA cable, so I may be wrong.
Also, the only reason why I would pass my progressive DVD signal through the Outlaw pre/pro is to have onscreen pre/pro menuing while watching DVDs.
Sure, that makes sense. I tend to forget that benefit because the onscreen pre/pro menus are disabled on my B&K when using the dvd input.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I'd like to take a stab at some of these, but my answers may be different from CW's.
1) If you are running HD signals, go straight to the TV. About a year ago, the "HD Insider" newsletter did some tests and found that many receivers with component-video switching did not have the band-width to handle HD signals. Yes, it would appear to work, but using test equipment showed that the higher-frequencies were cut off. The few machines that DID pass the signals correctly tended to be the "Flagship" receivers like the Yamaha DSP-A1 and Dennon 5800, etc.
3. Long Component cable vs Long Digital:
Crap. You said "Optical"? If this was coaxial-digital there would be no contest. Use a long coax cable for the digital audio and short video cables.
Digital signals are VERY robust compared to their analog counterparts. And you can use ordinary CATV coax for the coaxial-digital cable so this is about $0.29/ft for coax vs the $1.92/ft for good 3-conductor video cable.
50' CATV coax = $14.50
50' Canare V3-5CFB = $96 (not including 6 connectors @ $4 ea, shipping and assembily charges)
Have you thought of a converter? From www.markertek.com you can get part MM-C02 (CO2 Coaxial/Optical Bi-Directional Converter) which will convert either Optical to Coaxial or Coax to Optical signals. But it costs about $60. (But this is a deluxe unit. Check around. I think there are some cheaper).
I'd do suggest you look around for a converter and use an ordinary coaxial-digital cable for the long run and keep the video cables short.
Hope this helps.

 

[Todd Hochard]

John,
1. I'd send the DVD straight to the TV, simply to reduce cable costs. In fact, the onscreen menu generator in the 950 is probably NTSC, so it won't work anyway.
2. For a short run, toss up. Buy the cheap VGA cable, and use your DVD component cables to compare the HD signals directly. Beware, though, not all VGA cables are created equal. Some can be VERY bad.
3. Long digital signal runs, and short analog runs. Always. With component video, timing is critical between the three leads, especially on HD, and the longer the line, the more it can get messed up.
If you go optical, though, look around on the web for the lowest cost long TOSLINK you can find. Otherwise, that may get expensive.
Todd

 

[John Morris]

Thanks Chris, Bob and Todd: I think I'm gonna move my DVD player up front and use a long digital coax back to my pre/pro. As far as the Optical Digital output from my STB is concerned, either I'm gonna use the converter mentioned by Bob or forgo, for the time being, using my system for sound when watching OTA HD television. I don't know if an optical digital cable will even work since the cable must make it around 4 pretty sharp corners and go through 2 walls.
Thanks for all your help!
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Take Care,
merc
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Link Removed
God Bless America!!!