hdtv OR NOT

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by bdav

As i said before - if you use the HDTV inputs (i.e. component), you get much better colour.

What is the difference betweeh HDTV component inputs and RGB component inputs? Serious question - not looking to change my TV so not looked into this HDTV stuff.

[tweetiepooh]

Have you checked out some of the DRM stuff that Hollywood and the other pirates are wanting to have built into new systems.

Essentially there is a return path back through all components showing that all the kit is kosher. The playback kit will have a live internet link to maintain a blacklist. If some part of your kit is blacklisted, hacked or doesn't reply properly then playback will be blocked or degraded.

So now you have to ask if kit bought now will have this built in and what will happen in the future if Hollywood get their way. Will that nice HD telly still work?

[rdhw]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

What is the difference betweeh HDTV component inputs and RGB component inputs?

Since they are both 3-signal systems, in principle they should give the same quality of colour signal. RGB has the three primary colours Red, Green, Blue as separate signals; Component has Y, Pb, Pr as separate signals, where Y is the monochrome luminance level, Pb is the difference between Y and Blue, Pr is the difference between Y and Red, and the Green signal is reconstituted from what is left of Y after Pb and Pr have been subtracted.

TV colour signals are professionally recorded, and distributed in Component form. For digital TV and DVDs, the video signal is digitally encoded in Component form. The signal is only re-mixed to RGB for the final hop to the consumer device, and then mostly only in Europe, where the SCART socket was defined to use RGB. In North America, RGB is unheard of, and all consumer connections are in Component (YPbPr) form.

As I said, since they are both 3-signal systems, in ideal conditions they should both give the same quality of colour TV signal. The big difference between them is that the Standards documents for analogue HDTV (576p, 720i/p, 1080i/p) were written only in the context of Component transmission, so only Component connections will carry HDTV. Any RGB connection is likely to work only in standard definition 576i format, because the analogue HDTV format was not defined over RGB connections.

Standard Component connections (YPbPr) are analogue signals, as are RGB, and so do not enforce Digital Rights Management.

As we move towards digital HDTV, it is likely that the HDMI connector (carrying digital video and digital audio) will become more dominant. The HDMI connections are capable of enforcing DRM (i.e. allowing a consurmer to view but not to copy).

HDTV source devices with HDMI output connectors might then "enforce" DRM on analogue outputs simply by downsampling to 576i for analogue outputs, putting the HDTV signal only on HDMI. This will leave the analogue Component output no better than an RGB output is now.

It is reported that the first generation of Sky HD boxes will supply HDTV on both analogue Component output and digital HDMI outputs. This will not last long, and one can imagine that Sky will make a transition to HDMI-only to protect the rights of their HDTV programme sources.

So if you are looking now for an "HDTV-ready" TV, the real test is to look for HDMI-inputs, as the Component inputs are likely to have a limited lifetime of usability for HDTV purposes.

[SMHarman]

So Component is a SVideo, SVHS signal (the 4(or is it 6) pin cable) I use to connect my camcorder to the TV?
RGB is as you say a different approach of achieving the same thing.

Originally Posted by rdhw

Since they are both 3-signal systems, in principle they should give the same quality of colour signal. RGB has the three primary colours Red, Green, Blue as separate signals; Component has Y, Pb, Pr as separate signals, where Y is the monochrome luminance level, Pb is the difference between Y and Blue, Pr is the difference between Y and Red, and the Green signal is reconstituted from what is left of Y after Pb and Pr have been subtracted.

TV colour signals are professionally recorded, and distributed in Component form. For digital TV and DVDs, the video signal is digitally encoded in Component form. The signal is only re-mixed to RGB for the final hop to the consumer device, and then mostly only in Europe, where the SCART socket was defined to use RGB. In North America, RGB is unheard of, and all consumer connections are in Component (YPbPr) form.

As I said, since they are both 3-signal systems, in ideal conditions they should both give the same quality of colour TV signal. The big difference between them is that the Standards documents for analogue HDTV (576p, 720i/p, 1080i/p) were written only in the context of Component transmission, so only Component connections will carry HDTV. Any RGB connection is likely to work only in standard definition 576i format, because the analogue HDTV format was not defined over RGB connections.

Standard Component connections (YPbPr) are analogue signals, as are RGB, and so do not enforce Digital Rights Management.

As we move towards digital HDTV, it is likely that the HDMI connector (carrying digital video and digital audio) will become more dominant. The HDMI connections are capable of enforcing DRM (i.e. allowing a consurmer to view but not to copy).

HDTV source devices with HDMI output connectors might then "enforce" DRM on analogue outputs simply by downsampling to 576i for analogue outputs, putting the HDTV signal only on HDMI. This will leave the analogue Component output no better than an RGB output is now.

It is reported that the first generation of Sky HD boxes will supply HDTV on both analogue Component output and digital HDMI outputs. This will not last long, and one can imagine that Sky will make a transition to HDMI-only to protect the rights of their HDTV programme sources.

So if you are looking now for an "HDTV-ready" TV, the real test is to look for HDMI-inputs, as the Component inputs are likely to have a limited lifetime of usability for HDTV purposes.

Well put, if you're in the market for HDTV ensure the set has the HDMI capability, price alone should not be the sole issue, thinking you have bought a bargain could turn out the opposite, check around the back of the set.
__________________

Originally Posted by SMHarman

So Component is a SVideo, SVHS signal (the 4(or is it 6) pin cable) I use to connect my camcorder to the TV?
RGB is as you say a different approach of achieving the same thing.

Scart : connect dvd players, recorders, and digital stb's to receivers/tv's

S-VIDEO :if there is no scart on your dvd player, s-video is a reasonable alternative.

Component : component is better than scart, but you need a screen with component inputs.

Coaxial digital: For digital sound from dvd player to amp.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

Scart : connect dvd players, recorders, and digital stb's to receivers/tv's.

SCART is an interface plug,

SCART (from Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils RadiorÃÃâ€*’©ce pteurs et TÃÃâ€*’©lÃÆ ’Ãâ€*’©viseurs) is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio and video equipment to television sets. Also called PÃÃâ€*’©ritel (especially in France, where the SCART word is not normally used) and Euroconnector.

not a transmission standard method, you can transmit RGB, S-Video, Component down it.

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

S-VIDEO :if there is no scart on your dvd player, s-video is a reasonable alternative.

Component : component is better than scart, but you need a screen with component inputs.

Coaxial digital: For digital sound from dvd player to amp.

S-Video - from Wiki
The luminance (Y) signal and modulated chrominance (C) subcarrier information are carried on separate synchronized signal/ground pairs. Because of this, S-Video is also considered a component signal.

In composite video, the luminance signal is low-pass filtered to prevent crosstalk between high-frequency luminance information and the color subcarrier. S-Video, however, separates the two, so low-pass filtering is not necessary. This increases bandwidth for the luminance information, and also subdues the color crosstalk problem.

The luminance performance of S-Video is noticeably better than composite video; the chrominance performance with reduced crosstalk also shows noticeable improvement.

also from WIKI

RGB is a type of component video signal used in the video electronics industry. It consists of three signals - red, green and blue - carried on three separate cables. Extra cables are sometimes needed to carry synchronising signals. RGB signal formats are often based on modified versions of the RS-170 and RS-343 standards for monochrome video. This type of video signal is widely used in Europe since it is the best quality signal that can be carried on the standard SCART connector. Outside Europe, RGB is not very popular as a video signal format †“ S-Video takes that spot in most non-European regions. However, almost all computer monitors around the world use RGB.

Again Component is not better than Scart, Componenet is a method of transmission, as is SCART, you can transmit a component signal down a scart lead (indeed an RGB on a scart is a transmission of a component signal on a scart lead), there is an alternate scart wiring that allows SVideo down a scart lead.

So
SCART, Component Cables are transmision methods, as is Digital audio on Optical or Cable.

RGB, SVideo, Composite, Digital (audio)are all transmission standards.

[rdhw]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

So Component is a SVideo, SVHS signal (the 4(or is it 6) pin cable) I use to connect my camcorder to the TV?

No, S-Video is a two-signal system, whereas Component is three-signal. In S-Video, the signals are Y (Luminance), and C (Chrominance). The C signal is a colour sub-carrier modulated in quadrature by the Pr and Pb signals. This involves some degradation of the colour signals, usually a loss of bandwidth and therefore loss of resolution of fine detail in colour. You can roughly rank the quality of the transmission systems as follows, from best to worst:

1. Component (3-wire)
2. RGB (almost as good as Component) (3-wire)
3. S-Video (2-wire)
4. Composite (1-wire)
5. RF antenna (RF carrier modulated by Composite).

Originally Posted by SMHarman

SCART is an interface plug,
not a transmission standard method, you can transmit RGB, S-Video, Component down it.
S-Video - from Wiki
The luminance (Y) signal and modulated chrominance (C) subcarrier information are carried on separate synchronized signal/ground pairs. Because of this, S-Video is also considered a component signal.

In composite video, the luminance signal is low-pass filtered to prevent crosstalk between high-frequency luminance information and the color subcarrier. S-Video, however, separates the two, so low-pass filtering is not necessary. This increases bandwidth for the luminance information, and also subdues the color crosstalk problem.

The luminance performance of S-Video is noticeably better than composite video; the chrominance performance with reduced crosstalk also shows noticeable improvement.

also from WIKI

RGB is a type of component video signal used in the video electronics industry. It consists of three signals - red, green and blue - carried on three separate cables. Extra cables are sometimes needed to carry synchronising signals. RGB signal formats are often based on modified versions of the RS-170 and RS-343 standards for monochrome video. This type of video signal is widely used in Europe since it is the best quality signal that can be carried on the standard SCART connector. Outside Europe, RGB is not very popular as a video signal format †“ S-Video takes that spot in most non-European regions. However, almost all computer monitors around the world use RGB.

Again Component is not better than Scart, Componenet is a method of transmission, as is SCART, you can transmit a component signal down a scart lead (indeed an RGB on a scart is a transmission of a component signal on a scart lead), there is an alternate scart wiring that allows SVideo down a scart lead.

So
SCART, Component Cables are transmision methods, as is Digital audio on Optical or Cable.

RGB, SVideo, Composite, Digital (audio)are all transmission standards.

Dont want to get into a slanging game but component is a better alternative to use than a scart lead, aslong as you have a screen with component inputs.
For information on whats best for your needs, get hold of a home cinema magazine which goes into detail about each lead, which is all I did.
Best wishes