Do most 45tx owners use the unit for video switching (1 Viewer)

[Brad Newton]

or do you run the video directly to your tv? If you use the video switching feature, does it degrade the video quality?

 

[Jon_Welker]

Brad,

I run things straight into my RPTV. I currently have a DVD player and DirectTV running into it via component and S-video, respectively. My personal thoughts are if you TV can handle as many video sources as you have, might as well run it straight in and:

A. Save yourself some money in cables.
B. What is the receiver going to do to improve picture quality? If anything, it may degrade it.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

My tv has plenty of inputs, so I always went straight to the set. When I decided to run 2 dvd players in addition to my HD tuner, I needed 3 component inputs so now run both dvd players to the 45tx and thence to the tv, and the HD stb straight to the set.

I've noticed no picture degradation using the component video switching on the receiver for my 2 dvd players.

 

[MikeRP]

Steve:

That's a very good point - I may have to do this hookup in the near future.

Mike

 

[Alan Pummill]

Hello Mike and All,

My old receiver didn't have the video switching capability as the 45TX and other newer receivers do. Since my, yet to arrive, Outlaw Model 950 pre/pro does, this is a question I had to ask myself.

As you know Mike, I have DVD and HD via Time Warner cable. I use (2) separate component connectors, one for each source, connected directly to my HD RPTV. I also ran a s-video from my cable box to the TV for non HD channels. Even though I could now run all of this via the 950, I don't think I will right now. One good reason "to" do it would be that when I switched from one source to another, the picture and sound would both change with the push of one button.

I may do some experimentation to see what results I get using the 950 to video switch. But like someone else said, I know it won't help the picture quality, but could it hurt it??

 

[Lynn Little]

I run things straight into my RPTV also. No downside as far as I can see.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I was more concerned about signal loss from the extra cables involved than from the receiver itself, so actually splurged on "good" ones for the connections between the 2 dvd players and the receiver.

The 45Tx should handle HD switching with no problem, being rated at 40mhz, but I chose to use it for switching just the less-demanding 480p from the progressive scan dvd players.

One cool thing was that I could program the "dvd" source button on the remote to operate the Panasonic player, and even could make the receiver display "DVD-1 Pan" when that button was pressed. I connected the JVC player to the "TV-Sat in" component video connections and the DVD coaxial digital input for audio. I was able to relable this as "DVD-2 JVC" and reassign the DVD digital input match the appropriate component video inputs.

I then reconfigured the remote so the "VCR-DVR" button would switch the receiver to the JVC player and make the remote control the player.

So now I can switch audio and video from one player to another, have the receiver's display tell me which player I'm using, and also control the appropriate player with the receiver's remote, all with one press of a button.

 

[MikeRP]

Alan:

I'd like to have a shootout sometime - that outlaw against my 45 TX.

Anyway, I hook mine up exactly as you. Although I've been reading that the cable signal may be better thru composite than S-Video because of the very good comb filter in the HD TV's. Have you tried this?

I'd stay with that hookup setup unless you get another HD source.

Mike