question about svideo and component on non hd tv's (1 Viewer)

[Chris_harpua]

I am going to be purchasing a new television in the next few months and am on a tight budget. I will only have about $300 to spend on a tv and I noticed a 31" Sanyo for about $280 at Walmart to replace my 6 year old 20" Panasonic. It has an s-video connection but no component connection. I am going to connect my Sony DVD player to this television and want to upgrade from the composite connection im using now. My question is, if I am not using an HD television and will not be using progressive scan (im assuming that plain televisions dont support progressive scan and that only hd ones will), will I notice a large difference between the s-video and component connections? is there that big of a difference if not using progressive scan? if not then im going for the Sanyo because its right in my budget at this time. I wont be able to afford anything more than that cuz I need a new entertainment center as well, mine only holds up to a 27" and I would like bigger than that. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[ChrisYK]

I don't know all the technical answers to your questions but here are my thoughts:

1. As cheap as progressive scan players are these days, there's no reason not to buy one regardless of what TV you end up buying. That being said, not all progressive scan DVD players are created equal so you'll need to do a bit of research to see which one fits your needs the best.

2. You will definitely see a huge improvement in picture quality between S-video and component video. I speak from personal experience in this regard. I would definitely say that a good TV that has component inputs is a must. If you can't afford one right now, wait a bit more until you can.

3. Set a home theater "goal" and slowly build towards it. It may take longer to build and the individual pieces may cost more, but I'd be willing to bet that you'd save money in the long run if you had specific goals in mind. Buy your equipment with your future upgrades in mind. Maybe start off with the TV for now... one that has all the features that you want. Then save up for the new DVD player and more.

Hope this wasn't too much rambling and I hope it helped at least somewhat. Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[Bob McElfresh]

With a 50" RPTV, Home Theater magazine came up with these numbers:

Composite - baseline
SVideo - 20% better than Composite
Component - 25% better than Composite

So it is un-likely you will suffer much not having a component input on that TV.

 

[Don_Berg]

It depends on a lot on the quality of the comb filter in that new TV too.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Don't buy a TV with just one composite (yellow) jack, just one S-video jack, and just one Video or AV or Camera selection on the remote. Otherwise you can connect just one thing like the VCR (besides the antenna cord). You'll have to unplug it from the composite jack before plugging in something else like the DVD player into the S-video jack.

Component video, even if not progressive, gives crisper color boundaries than S-video. The TV itself may or may not be sharp enough to reveal that superiority.

The comb filter in the TV affects the quality of regular broadcasts and VCR input but not the quality of S-video or component video inputs.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Don_Berg]

Yes the comb filter only is used for composite input, but if its higher quality than that in the external device it can make composite superior to s-video. I recommend trying both and use whichever looks better to you for your particular case, there is no single always better solution.

 

[Stephen_Ri]

That Sanyo is about the lowest quality you can get(build and features are bare minimum). For $360 you can go to BestBuy.com and pick up a Toshiba 32" 32a33 with free shipping(if you live within so many miles of a store). It's the cheapest of the Toshiba line but Toshiba makes the best non-flat screens avaiable. It also has component inputs. Another good option is the Sony kv-27fs100 for the same price, but since it's 27" you may not have to get a new entertainment center. The Sony is very popular and is of superior build and features(really all you could want). Component inputs are pretty much a must,; not because you'll see much difference(you will see some), but because they are an indication of the set's overall quality. Only very cheap(and I suspect cheaply made) sets lack component these days. The Toshiba I mentioned has color temperature control, an overlooked feature that I would deem necessary. It doesn't appear to have anamorphic squeeze, which is nice but not necessary.

 

[Chris_harpua]

took a look at that Toshiba (32a33) and wow it looks amazing. all i hear is how incredible the picture is. i dont care about the sound cuz im going to be running it thru my Onkyo Ht-s760, so it'll sound great. I may have to take advantage of that free shipping from Best Buy also, seems like they have the best price as well.

One quick side question, where can i find a good entertainment center/home theater that will hold a 32" tv and is $200 or less. cant spend any more than that. i was just curious if there was somewhere good to find one. thanks.

 

[Stephen_Ri]

Can't help you there. I'd just get a stand myself. The entertainment center would be a behemoth.