Who's using component? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

The latest Panasonic and Pioneers will make you forget about your RPTV. They are that good. I replaced my Mits RPTV with one. These 2 Plasma companies are the only 2 flat panels I can safely say are equal or better than the CRT RPTV's in terms of blacks.

FWIW, I use component on my A2. I do however have a Flat Panel with an HDMI in. I'm waiting until I replace my 9 yr old receiver with a new one that has HDMI. On my set, the difference between component and HDMI is very small.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Me. I have my Panny BD30 Blu-ray and Toshiba A2 going into my Pioneer receiver via component 1080i, and I switch back and forth via the receiver. Looks fantastic. My projector is a Sanyo PLV-60 from 2001.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Hey, Ric! As I told you in person the other day...I'm running my Blu-ray player into an older Samsung CRT via component. Picture looks great! I equate it to a really good HD cable image. I can't make a comparison to HDMI, however, for obvious reasons...but I think the components do a really good job for my system.

I am still experimenting with audio. I have been advised to use the 5.1 analog connections on my player (Panasonic DMP-BD10) and Sony receiver to make use of the lossless audio tracks on the HD media. I have been trying this with mixed success. Admittedly, I have yet to have the time to spend a lot of time tweaking the player's settings...but currently, the DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 audio which I can still hear over a coaxial connection sounds better. Not sure what will fix that...outside of more time with the player's menu settings.

If it wasn't for the darn format war, I'd say jump-in...the water's fine (via component connections)!

 

[Darren Gross]

I've got a 40" Loewe and am using component and it looks great. I'm eager to upgrade to an HDMI 1080P set though. I'm a bit tired of plugging and unplugging wires between the BD and the HD DVD player. Even passes the spouse test who now finds standard def to be a bummer.

 

[Ric Easton]

Thanks for the continued responses, guys!


When I met my wife she had a 19" color TV. Unfortunately all the colors were a variation of green. Which was ok if we were watching The Matrix. Anyway, she thought it was perfectly fine until I pointed it out! So, I would have to guess that your spouse is a little more discerning than mine!

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm sure you have given her an education on the finer points of display colors since you first met, Ric! at least I'd hope so.

Although my wife isn't all th at discerning...but every once in a while she'll let out an exclamation about how nice a particular image is. Of course, she might just be doing that to appease me!

 

[Ric Easton]

Believe me, Mike, I have tried! Once in awhile I'll still exclaim, "Isn't that a beautiful picture? Don't you just love our little movie screen?" She'll roll her eyes and grudgingly agree. If she does notice a particularly nice pic on her own, she keeps it to herself. I don't think she wants to feed my insanity.

After I bumped up to DVD from LD, she wanted to know when the bumping up of technology would be over.

I don't think she cared for my response.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Maybe our wives need to form some kind of support group!

 

[Scooter]

Ditto to older projectors new life. My 400Q is nearly 10 years old and when I watched the BD of "Cars", it made my eyeballs melt! In the crowd/race track scenes, I could make out individual cars in the stands.


Amazing!

 

[Hank_P]

I agree with this. I have an older Toshiba 57", love it, great picture and have a PS3 & Xbox HD add on with component, both look gorgeous. Make the jump.

 

[Todd Larsen]

Ric,

I have the Sd533, ran 480p via component and 1080i HD Tv via component, incredible 2 years ago. I did notice a slight burn in developing as the 533 goes into FULL for all HD material. My youngest daughter, while trained to select the grey bars, wasn't 100%. So I finally moved it downstairs. I thought there was a problem with the Pioneer and, as it has been 5 years. The blacks were fading and the 1080i wasn't as clear. I bought a Sharp 46D82U with the Toshiba XA2, HD DVD. This combo is excellent so far.

Back to the Pioneer. Once downstairs I redid the convergence on the 533, still a little "cloudy". Pretty sad, thinking the 533 was "done". Over on hometheaterspot I read a thread on cleaning the TV, removing the screen. Well my son and I took the screen off, cleaned the 3 lens' and put the screen back, didn't touch the mirror as it looked OK. The lint free cloth I used was covered in dust and dirt.

I turned the 533 back on and it looked like new....absolute blacks again, perfect color and clarity, the slight burn in notwithstanding. Now...I don't know that I needed a new TV, but I won't bother my wife with that bit of info.

1080i HD on the SD533 is excellent, haven't tried the XA2 HD DVD via component though.

Todd

 

[Cees Alons]

That projector was a beauty from the start, who also ages so gracefully...

They don't make them like that anymore. It was way ahead of its time PQ-wise.

Scooter, you gave me that hint some weeks ago ( thanks a lot for that!), so I started the thing up again, and .. unbelievable. There must have been some unused extra resolution hidden in that machine. I'm so glad now I bought a second (spare) lamp a few years ago (didn't use it yet, they're expensive, but I was afraid one day I wouldn't even be able to get one at all).


Cees

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

Rick, I have the same set as you, and mine is also about 5 years old. I had an issue some months back that needed some parts replaced, but apart from that, I love my set.

I made sure when I bought it that I would be able to do HD later on, as I knew it wouldn't be in my budget for a new set for a long time. This year, I added HD DVD with the Toshiba D2, and only a few weeks ago added blu-ray with the new 40GB PS3.

With HD cable as well, I am having to do some cable juggling, but its worth it to me to enjoy both HD disc formats. My set was recently recalibrated by our own Gregg Loewen, and HD discs look great.

If the format war bothers you, just wait until you can get a player of either format for a price you're happy to pay. I went HD DVD first because I was able to get a player for my target $200. I figured if I got enough discs to enjoy, then even if HD DVD went down, I would still get my money's worth from my player, which I already have, in my opinion.

I warn you though - HD discs are addictive! You will want more of the little buggers very quickly!

 

[Mike Frezon]

For those of you who are talking about cable juggling due to limited inputs, etc:

I have limited component jacks on my older HDTV and receiver (but have an HD DVR, Blu-ray, and DVD-recorder) and purchased an A/V switch box with component connections from Radio Shack quite awhile ago for about $30. Does the trick for me nicely.

Since the box uses IR commands, I have even been able to set up "select" commands on my Harmony remote!

 

[Ric Easton]

Good God, man... I'm in!

Just bought the A3 at Amazon for 187.04 plus 10 free movies (yesterday it was 200.00 when I checked). I went snail mail free shipping (5-10 biz days) and also saved another 30.00 by opening up an Amazon charge account. Total cost = 157.04

Looks like I'll be buying the HD-DVD of the newest Harry Potter!

Thanks for all the help and gentle prodding, guys!

 

[Mike Frezon]

It was the least we could do. The more the merrier!

 

[Scooter]

Cees..glad it helped! The 400Q has the capacity of up to 1125 lines of resolution. Which is actually closer to what HD in any format was hoped for back in the 80's.

Now if I could...convince...the HD or BD players to allow 1080I out for standard DVD over component...

Edited To Add: It seems Ram Electronics has something I can use. It is displayed in their banner ad. Just can't find it on their website.

 

[Dan Hinson]

Hey Ric,

As you may recall from my posts over at RixGrafix, I too am using component video connections with my 5 year-old Mitsubishi RP CRT and my HD-A1. The picture quality is superb, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my HD-DVD player from day one.

I indeed still love my 1st gen player, if for no other reason than I can take advantage of lossless audio tracks via the 5.1 analog outs. I really don't see myself upgrading at this point until a reasonably priced dual-format player comes out.

(Commander Dan)

 

[Ric Easton]

Hey Dan, don't tell! I just had a fund-raiser over there!

Does anyone know what the choices of the 5 free movies are once I get the machine? I don't want to get anything that I might end up ordering through the offer.

I think 300 and Bourne Identity come with it, and through ther Amazon deal I also ordered, Goodfellas, Casino and Letters from Iwo Jima.

It's gonna be a long wait until it gets here. I wonder how many time "buyer's remorse" will set in between now and then?

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

Mike, have you noticed any picture degradation from doing this? I remember reading about a box for about $40, but some people thought it harmed the picture quality.

I asked Gregg Loewen about this, and he told me about a model by Zektor which is apparently high quality, but at about $250, was more than I wanted to spend. I'd rather put that money towards a new amplifier.

Congratulations on your purchase Ric - I hope you have as much fun as I have!