Optical Inputs / S-Video Inputs (1 Viewer)

[Eric Crawford]

Being a newbie, I certainly hope I don't sound too ridiculous asking questions like this one. Does using the optical inputs or s-video inputs on my new Onkyo 595 receiver really make that much of a difference when compared to regular RCA inputs?

I am currently building my system and this is what I'm planning on:

Onkyo 595 AV Receiver

Klipsch SB 1.1's for front and rears

Klipsch KSCCI Center (soon)

Sub (Looking?)

Samsung 52" rear projection TV

Panasonic DVD-RV20

Thanks for the help in advance guys and girls...

Eric

 

[Jason Wolters]

Does using the optical inputs or s-video inputs on my new Onkyo 595 receiver really make that much of a difference when compared to regular RCA inputs?

The optical input is digital. It will make ALL of the difference in the world. The RCA inputs are analog. S-video is still analog although you will notice a difference over composite on larger TVs.

 

[Dan Hine]

Eric,
First I'd like to extend a welcome to the forum...glad to have you here!
I'm not sure but I think your are getting a little mixed up. Optical cables in the home theater relm are used for audio, not video. The debate over which is better between "optical cable and digital coax for digital connections" is a matter you can do a search for on the forum as it has been discussed at length many times before. In fact it has been beaten to death in my opinion. In case you are wondering what a digital coax cable looks like, it looks just like an RCA cable. And for the most part, any RCA cable will work. You do not HAVE to buy a special "digital coax" cable. Some people hear a difference between cables, some people do not. That is all up for you to decide as no one here can tell you what you do or do not hear.
S-video is a better connection than composite (one yellow cable) but how much of a difference you will see will depend on the source component (svhs, dvd, etc...) the length of the cable, the size of the display, and a number of other variables. But if you don't have either cable yet then I would suggest just going ahead and getting svideo, or component video (which is the best of the three) if your television supports it.
Again, welcome to this great and costly hobby. Just never forget to have fun!
Dan Hine