Connections for better picture? (1 Viewer)

[Dave>B]

Hello;

In a previous post I mentioned a less than stellar picture on my RPTV from the TV signal. Someone mentioned using S-video and I wondered if I could get some more details.

My present configuration is a follows- I have Dish Satellite that comes in using what looks to me like regular coax cable like a I had with cable service. That connects to the Dish 522 dual receiver. Two coax cables come out of each side of the receiver to a splitter to send both sides to the single coax connector on the TV. (The whole idea is to be able to record one show on the DVR while watching another) The coax input on the TV is labeled "analog". The color is bad and some channels are snowy. The DVD is connected with the three connecter component cables. DVD looks GREAT!

There is an S-video out on the receiver and an S-video in on the TV. I connected these with a cable and nothing changed. I'm sure there is more to using this method than what I did. With what I described, what would I need to do to connect using S-video? Would it be an improvement over the way it is connected now?

I am obviously a novice at this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please be very specific and feel free to talk down to me.

Thanks

Dave>B

 

[ChuckSolo]

Dave, right now I assume you are tuning the TV to either channel 3 or 4 to view regular TV channels from the satellite receiver. When using the S-Video connection you must use the input selector on the TV and use the "video" inputs. For example, on my TV, I have the following inputs:

Component1
Component2
Video1
Video2
DVI

On the Video1 and Video2 inputs I can use the composite (yellow) connection or the S-Video connections, but not both at the same time. That is, I cannot use both the composite and S-Video connections on Video1 at the same time. Instead of using the Coaxial RF connection from the satellite receiver to the TV, you could use the S-Video connection. Theoretically, using the S-Video connection would yield a better picture. You don't mention the type of display you have. You can of course have the coax hooke up to the TV at the same time as the S-Video cable for recording purposes. Keep in mind that Standard Definition channels usually don't look very good on large RPTVs. Use the S-video connection and see how it looks to you. Eventually though, you are going to have to realize that regular TV channels are never going to look like DVDs or Hi-Def channels.

 

[Dave>B]

Right now, to view the #1 side of the receiver, we set the TV to Video 2. To view the #2 side we set it to ant/cable. I'm not sure what the logic is to that but the question then is, what would I set the TV to to run the signal through the S- Video?

I have a 44" LCD RPTV. The picture from the DVD is stunning, and while I understand that the SD signals are never going to be close to that, should I at least expect the color and image quality to be as good as my old 32" tube TV? As of now on most channels it is not. Maybe the best thing to do is to dedicate the bigger screen to movies only and go back to the tube set for regular TV. I could live with that if that is the reality. I would at least like to see the best that is possible from what I have before making that decision.

Dave>B

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Ahhhh-- thats your problem. In fact there are 2 problems:

- You are using a splitter to "combine" 2 active outputs into 1 input on your TV. Your TV is actually seeing 1 active signal, and 1 in-active set of electronics. This is what is causing your image to look bad.

- You are using CATV coax to send RF signals to your TV. This requires the signal to go through about 4 conversions - each one loosing some quality.


Do this:

1) Run 1 catv coax straight to the TV from the Dish reciever. Call this input "Antenna A".

2) Run 1 SVideo cable to a different input on the TV. Call this "Svideo 1"

Bring up the menu system on your Dish reciever.

Using the TV remote, toggle back and forth between the the two inputs. Look at the fine, straight lines on the program guide or the white text on blue background. You should see a noticible difference between the 2 inputs.

HOW TO HOOK IT UP:

I dont have a dual-tuner DVR but I suspect you can run just 1 SVideo cable from the TV1 connection to your TV.

Run the Dish Reciever in "Dual Mode" so you can use the Picture-in-picture feature to toggle between the show you are recording and the show you are watching.

Give it a shot and let us know how it works.

 

[Dave>B]

>>quote:
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I connected these with a cable and nothing changed.
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Sorry to ask a silly question but after hooking the TV up with a SVideo cable - did you change the input on the TV to view the SVideo signal?B