Connections to Plasma

D

d_devani

Guest
Ok people I'm new and could be this has been covered before, I have ordered my a panny5 from www.empiredirect.co.uk, by far the cheapest.

Anyway I need some help/advise how do I connect my dvd(Panasonic dvd-xv10 1 scart 1 composite 1 s-vid)
(Panasonic sa-xr10 ) AMP
my sky digi box - Amstrad free one
Video - havent got one yet most probably a panasonic - open to suggestions.

To my new Panny 5 plasma
without having to fork out loads on a panny tuner

:confused:
 
Buy a RGB scart to VGA adapter from John Sims (www.rgbtosvideo.com) and run your Sky into this and then into the VGA on the panny. DVD into s-video -or better still buy a new player with component and use that (and you thought buying the plasma was the end of the expense!!!). VCR into composite.
 
d_devani - What connection board (if any) did it come with as you may already have the ability to connect RGB without any additional expense ?
 
Not sure what connection board it comes with ??
I get delivery on Saturday so will wait till then,
I am definately sure that that it doesnt come with a RGB scart connecter - the only way to get this is to buy the tuner + terminal board that comes to around £420.00 -- way too much
 
Originally posted by d_devani
Not sure what connection board it comes with ??
I get delivery on Saturday so will wait till then,
I am definately sure that that it doesnt come with a RGB scart connecter - the only way to get this is to buy the tuner + terminal board that comes to around £420.00 -- way too much
If it comes with the BNC or RCA (Phone) board, you have to connect the Red, Green, Blue and video out of your RGB Scart source to the 4 inputs on the board.

It would be worthwhile checking to see what it comes with as you may not be able to use except with your PC until you buy the connection board or other interfaces.
 
Originally posted by d_devani

I am definately sure that that it doesnt come with a RGB scart connecter - the only way to get this is to buy the tuner + terminal board that comes to around £420.00 -- way too much

Which is why you can opt for other interfaces instead, such as the RGB to Plasma VGA unit for interfacing Sky and other digital TV systems to the screen. And you might find that the results are better too! Although, this does depend on your screen.

All the best,

Dr John Sim.
 
Ok so I have finally managed to find out that I get a RCA Phono with my Panny - so where does that leave me .... currently i think the best option is to get
a JS plasma to vga box, either connect a 4RGB scart switch box to this, and connect sky digi/dvd/vid to this.
or
use the JS plasma to vga box for my sky digi box
use s - vid for the dvd (as i dont have a component out)
or get a RGB to component from JS again (too expensive considering I am already purchasing the Plasma to vga box)
use composite for the vid

which is a better option ????
which would produce better picture ???
also where can i get a 4RGB scart switch box ???


:eek:
 
Does your DVD player have two SCARTs on it? If so, you can cascade your Sky box through the DVD player and then on to either the Plasma VGA or Component converter. For the video, use the VCR output from Sky to the video and then up to your screen on the composite input.

If your DVD player doesn't have two SCARTs, you cascade through Sky instead. The VCR should then be connected to Sky via the RF feed, and then to the plasma screen via a SCART to Phono lead.

Both are very valid solutions. The first is the best for quality, but not always possible, but both elimiante the need for an extra switch boxes.

All the best,

Dr John Sim.
 
d_devani – I agree with all Dr Sim says about cascading but to use RGB with the RCA board, you do not need any additional electronics but a Scart to Phono connection cable.

You have to connect the Red, Green, Blue and video out of your RGB Scart source to the 4 inputs on the board (R,G,B and Video). All will become clear when you read the handbook.

If you want to make this cable up yourself and need the connections, let me know.
 
Thanks allot for all this help,
my dvd player doesnt have 2 scart sockets so would my plasma connectors accomodate 2 lots of phono connectors ??

options it seems are

1) by a new dvd player with 2 scarts, - any ideas
2) get a J simm converter and a scart to phono - can someone tell me where I can get these please
 
One of the main advantages of use the RGB to Plasma VGA unit is that you are then able to use the other inputs on your screen.

As an example, some of my customers have the following:

VCR going in to the composite input.
DVD player in to the component video input (ususally progressive scanning DVD player).
Sky (or other Digital TV) via the RGB to Plasma VGA unit to the PC input, an input not normally used in Home-Cinemas.

Using such an interface allows you to use three inputs on your screen, without and you may be limiting yourself to only one.

All the best,

Dr John Sim.
 
Whats a better option

VCR going in to the composite input.
DVD player in to the s-video input
Sky (or other Digital TV) via the RGB to Plasma VGA unit to the PC input, an input not normally used in Home-Cinemas.

or

getting a syncblaster and a Quattro+
a main advantage here is that I can connect my dvd via RGB scart, as i dont have a component.
 
Hi d_devani,

Jon Weaver (has a few threads here) had a syncblaster but had some image problems so has opted for one of the JS boxes, he has still to try it out to see if the image quality improves.

Personally I went straight for a JS box as they get glowing reports on the forums and although more expensive than a syncblaster cable, compared to spending £3k on a plasma the difference is negligable for a superior image (well, we will have to wait on Jons findings)
 
As Mike mentioned, I bought a SyncBlaster and to be honest, I couldn't find fault.

But my first concern was that its design ment that you were stuck with the same cabling and what was provided was just a generic VGA lead.

The SyncBlaster doesn't support audio either.

I started to see problems where I could get slight 'jumping', but before I had chance to full debug the problem, I decided to send it back and go for a JS box instead.

This decision was mainly based on the fact that I could use my own cables.

In the mean time, I made up a temporary RGB+Composite cable (cost me about a pound) and its performance is EXACTLY the same as the SyncBlaster.. However, you loose the Composite input, so its not ideal.

I have been in Canada for the last two weeks and I know that the JS box is at home waiting for me, so I havn't had chance to confirm the performance of the JS box. I will be back in the morning and will do some tests over the weekend.

If I am honest, I don't expect it to be any better than the SyncBlaster or my home-made cable, as these already give near perfect performance.. But, when you are spending over 3K on a Plasma and cutting corners when it comes to converters/connections doesn't make any sense.

I will post my findings when I get back.

All the best

Jon
 
I just got to decide weather to go for the RGB to Component or VGA to Plasma lead.
I havent got a Component out on my dvd player.

Do I need need to use the zoom functions.

Will I be getting black lines at the top and bottom of the screen (panny5) watching dvd's or sky ????. To justify getting the RGB to Component convertor instead of the RGB to Plasma (VGA) ????


:D
 
You only get bars on the top and bottom is the picture is in an even wider format than 16:9 - as I sometimes refer to it as narrow height as your screen hasn't suddenly got wider! Generally, this is much of a problem. Widescreen via digital TV is almost always 16:9, it's only some movies that are wider.

Component video has the advantage that it will allow you to use the intermediate zoom modes, but RGB via the Plasma VGA unit does give you the absolute best possible image. In picture quality terms, both are very close though.

All the best,

Dr John Sim.
 
If i get the RGB to plasma will i still be able to connect my laptop as well, without having to disconnect and re-connect cables.
My panny 5 has a pc in and a serial as well.
Would it be better to connect using the RGB to component and leaving the pc in for my laptop.
 
D_Devani

Quiet a confusing thread to follow - I had to get the etch-a-sketch out just to keep up with all of the options!

If I have followed your requirements correctly you have the following options:

01. Laptop PC (15 pin out) > Plasma VGA (15 pin in) - using a 15 pin to 15 pin VGA cable.

02. SKY Digibox (RF out) > VCR (RF in) - using an RF video cable.

03. VCR (SCART out) > Plasma Composite video (RCA in) - using a SCART to RCA phono cable.

04. DVD (SCART RGB out) > SKY Digibox (SCART RGB in) - using a SCART to SCART cable.

05. SKY Digibox (SCART RGB out) > JS Tech RGB2VGA (SCART RGB in) - using a SCART to SCART cable.

06. JS Tech RGB2VGA (15 pin out) > Plasma RGB in (5 x RCA Phono) - using a 15 pin to 5 X Phono cable.

This gives you the best picture quality from your SKY box but as discussed earlier looses the zoom modes.

The alternative connectivity being to change the JS Tech RGB2VGA converter for a JS Tech RGB2YUV converter and a set of RCA to RCA Component video cables - these connect into the first three of the RCA connectors on the plasma display and you re-set your input menu to Component video rather than RGBHV.

Best regards

Joe
 

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