S video cable quality? (1 Viewer)

[Jay W.]

I need a couple of new S-Video cables and have seen the following:

6FT.
Recoton 6.99
GE 9.99
Radio shack 14.99
AR 11.99

3ft.
AR 5.99

Is there that much of a difference, I dont want to spend anymore than I have to.

 

[Jay W.]

anyone?

 

[Jay W.]

bump

 

[cacu]

I would choose the AR assuming it is the Pro series. I don't know about the Performance series. All of my Audio RCA interconnects are AR Pro series. They look nice and fit really tight. BTW I use AR's 12ft S-Video Master series. Not that I can tell a difference or anything but it just makes me feel less worry about my connections.

 

[JohnnyCorona]

I have a samsung HDTV 42" and a samsung sat receiver. when i use s-video it looks horibble, tried 2 cables, one from a PowerBook, another i bought on ebay for like 5 bucks. The picture looks bad when i use the cables with the dvd player to. worse than rca jacks. are these just cheap cables? im scared to spend money on better cables in case they look bad too.

Johnny

 

[DavidES]

M.D.

 

[Albert Damico]

Jay:

No difference, use whichever is cheaper as long as the construction in good.

Johnny:

This sounds to me like more of an issue with the built in line doubler in your TV. I hear a LOT from people who buy HDTV's and then hate the picture from cable or satelite. Questions: Do you have an HDTV or an HD ready TV? If you have an HD ready TV do you have the tuner from either the cable or satelite company, or are you just using your HDTV to watch NTSC broadcasts? If you are using your HDTV to watch NTSC broadcasts and the line double in your set is no good,(very possible) the pictures from NTSC signals, your "non" progressive DVD player, etc. will look bad. Do you have a progressive DVD player? If you have an HDTV and your local stations feed you a signal in HD format or you also have the HD tuner from your cable company or satelite provider is the picture from HD sources bad as well, or only the sources that are not broadcast in HD format?

 

[JohnnyCorona]

Its true HDTV. The SAT receiver is not hdtv however. But the dvd player is pro-scan. When i use SVIDEO the picture looks very pixilated. As if the pixels dont disappar fast enought.

 

[Albert Damico]

Well you certainly have a problem! If you have a progressive scan DVD player the picture should be outstanding at 480p. Does your TV have component connections? Have you tried to connect the DVD player to the TV via component? At least this will narrow it down a little. It may be as simple as a bad S-video connection. I had a bad S-Video in on my Ref 50. Try another S-video connection, but if your TV is an HDTV it must have component connections, why not just use them?

 

[Eric Stuckey]

Try thease.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/svideo/index.htm

http://www.mr-cable.com/

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...rk_4&oid=16082

I would personaly go with the bluejeancables over the 3 , But If you want the BEST try here:
http://www.bettercables.com/5meter164feet.html

You may think your wasting money buying cables this high $$ But trust me......It will make a difference.

 

[JohnnyCorona]

Well, the DVD player does have component (or composit?) whichever is the 3 RGB video cables, and that looks nice, but the SAT receiver only has SVIDEO or component (2 audio, 1 video), so its not a real big deal, its just SAT doesnt look nearly as nice as DVD.

Ill probly breakdown and buy a good cable and see what happens.

Thanks guys.


John

 

[Albert Damico]

Johnny:

Thats what I thought. I believe the issue is not the cable but the line doubler in your TV. The reason the DVD looks nice is that it is progrssive and uses its own line doubler and outputs via component in to the TV. Your issue, I believe, with the picture on your TV is that satelite out via S-Video into your HDTV is really a NTSC format, and the built in doubler in your TV just does a horrible job of upconverting the signal. This is common. Very common. You probably either need to learn to live with it, get your TV calibrated by an ISF certified technician, or buy a good quality line doubler (which is what I had to do)

You can try a new cable, thats cheap, but I don't think it will solve your problem.

Good luck!!!