Digital Cable via S-video or Cable for video (1 Viewer)

[Kevin. W]

I have Digital Cable going into my Panny 47 and was wondering would sending the signal through S-video from the cable box be better than through the cable itself?

Kevin

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Well hook up both feeds (direct CATV coax and SVideo from the box) and do your own comparison.

My guess is the direct feed may look a bit better as the comb filter in your TV is likely better than the one in the mass-produced CATV box.

SVideo from a DVD player will give a superior picture over composite, but most CATV feed are a lot lower quality so this may counteract the inherent superior feed SVideo provides.

 

[john smithson]

It comes down too quality of the tuner present.bad tuner=bad picture,good tuner=good picture.

Im not sure how good the quality of tuner a digital box has.Im guessing its better than a cheaper vcr where most of the money is put into the tape mechanism.
Does anyone know?

Ive thought about getting a digital box just so i can run it through s video jack.

 

[Modena]

It's a toss up. It's true, if your tuner sucks, so will the picture. It's weird, cause on my satellite system, if I use S-video, I got a ton of square boxes all over the place, it looks "digitized." When I run regular cable, the picture is much smoother and clear. However, I also have digital cable, and when I went from cable to s-video the difference was unbelievable. The picture on my set with cable and s-video is just awsome, although others aren't so lucky.

 

[Perry Jonkheer]

I'm right there with ya Modena... I have a 36" Wega and WOW digital cable. Using the S-Video cable, the picture is simply stunning for a cable broadcast. I'm moving in a few months and can't fathom moving onto another service.

 

[Modena]

maybe they will have HDTV there. that way you can do regular cable with component. now that is sick.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

What cable service provider do you guys use?

Our local provider is Time Warner, and I'm wondering if they're any good.

Right now, I'm starting to change my mind about staying away from cable/sat. I was going to take the plunge on a Samsung SIR-T151 for OTA HD and only get cable/sat for a few months a year for baseball season, but then realized that ESPN HD will be coming this year. I still don't want to pay the extra $$$ for TWC digital cable over Directv, but if the quality is much better, than I might have to rethink this again.

_Man_

 

[Dah-Dee]

I just got a Panny 53 WS HDTV and have Comcast digital cable with a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 set top box, which has s-video out, but I can't get a picture using s-video, have to use the regular coax connection. Grrrr. Driving me nuts!

 

[Kevin. W]

but I can't get a picture using s-video

You have to make sure you use set the TV to the appropriate input. More than likely Video 1. It won't show a pick on channel 3 or 4 through s-video.

Kevin

 

[Dah-Dee]

Kevin, yeah, I had cycled through the various inputs, including Video 1, the inputs used for the cable s-video connection, and got sound but only an extremely distorted partial "image." No real picture. Very frustrating. I believe you are absolutely correct, though, on the input thing.

 

[Kevin. W]

Try flipping the cable around and also make sure it is seated in properly.

Kevin

 

[Elias]

Our local provider is Time Warner, and I'm wondering if they're any good.

Man,

I notice you're from NYC. I have recently seen Time Warner digital cable in NYC and was very disappointed. The signal is low-resolution, with unacceptable graininess and digital artifact. This signal is far inferior to the digital cable signal which I receive from Comcast in Baltimore, MD.

I would highly recommend going with DirectTV if your apartment building allows the installation of a dish and the surrounding buildings do not obstruct the view to the satallite.

Elias

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Elias,
Thanks for the input. Actually, I moved and now live around downtown Brooklyn in a 2-story townhouse-type house, so I should probably be able to get Directv if the trees(!) don't get in the way--yes, we actually have fairly tall trees in our neighborhood. And because of the tree issue AND the currently missing OTA HD broadcasts due to 9/11, I think I will give TWC cable a try anyway and wait til late-Spring to go w/ Directv. There's no commitment w/ cable, so I would only waste a month's costs if I don't like it. Hopefully, I can get it installed in time for the Super Bowl(!) since that would be the main reason to do it now.
BTW, does anyone know how low in the sky the satellites are?
_Man_

 

[Dah-Dee]

Hey, I nominate me for dork of the day/week/whatever; I checked the s-video cable at the set top box connection while re-positioning furniture/components (incredibly enough, prior to seeing Kevin's last post), and what do you know, I'd twisted a couple of the s-video pins while failing previously to properly seat the connector! Good grief. Anyway, after straightening the pins and hitting myself on the head with a frying pan a few times, I hooked everything back up and shazam, I've got digital cable through s-video to my new Panny 53WX42. Bam! Thanks, Kevin, for responding to my at-least-partially-off-topic posts in this thread. Picture looks good.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Back again.
Elias,
I read a couple posts in another thread in the A/V Source forum that TWC in NYC look very good to the posters. They compared it to Dish--don't remember if they mentioned Directv. There's also plenty of cases where digital cable is better than Dish and Directv in other places, probably including yours.
Now I wonder if your friend just doesn't have a bad setup or bad feed.
Anyway, since there's no commitment and installing a dish right now is not ideal, I went ahead and ordered TWC w/ their HD box scheduled for installation tomorrow(!). They sure work fast these days, don't they? They must be feeling the heat from Dish/Directv and the recession combined. Also, when I checked their site a few months ago, they were still charging extra for all HD services, but now, they're just like Dish/Directv, ie. no extra cost for HD. If I like what I see, I might just stick w/ TWC for a long while since I won't need to buy an expensive HD sat receiver for the HD service. Granted, I won't get HDNet either, but ESPN HD is coming soon and the major networks are planning more sports in HD, so that's probably good enough for me.
Gotta remember to run out and buy some component cables for the HD box hook-up tomorrow(!).
_Man_

 

[Vin]

Good for you Man! Here in Clifton we're stuck with Cablevision so no HD cable available at this time. I switched to DirecTV 4 years ago and recently (as you may know) have been considering upgrading to an HD ready set. It would sure be nice to not have to go for the additional $500-$800 bucks for a HD STB, not to mention the cost of a new (HD capable) dish and installation!
Let us know what you think of TWC/HD when you get it up and running!
Good luck,
Vin

 

[Chris_HD]

I have both the S-Video and composite outputs from my SA 3100HD hooked up to separate video inputs. Some days some channels come in better one one output or another.