Getting a decent TV picture on a PJ

AndrewB

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I have a Z2 which I am very happy with on DVDs. However I am trying to work out if it is possible to get a decent TV picture out of it.

The other night my wife was watching some Jane Austen film on the TV and so I fired up the PJ (they are in the same room and share the same aerial feed) and put it on the PJ. The picture just looked SO soft and poor in comparison. She even made me turn off the PJ on quality grounds but leave the surround sound on.

I only have a normal TV signal, not Sky, so I wondered whether there is some magic box to make the TV watchable through a PJ or whether viewing it through a satellite connection will make things much better? By a historical anomaly we happen to have a 2yr old Sky satellite dish and downlead already installed, but no digibox. I can't get Freeview in my area but I wondered whether it would be worth buying a used digibox (best type is what?) and whatever the cheap viewing card is that lets you see the normal channels plus free junk.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Andrew
 
Andrew, You can't really watch an analogue signal through a PJ it will show just how bad the signal is in the UK, try and get the digital feed sorted you'll notice a huge improvement.
 
Excuse my ignorance but do you mean that buying a Sky digibox is the way forward?

Should I get one with an S-video output? I'm assuming that there aren't any with component outputs.

Thanks

Andrew
 
Originally posted by AndrewB
Excuse my ignorance but do you mean that buying a Sky digibox is the way forward?

Should I get one with an S-video output? I'm assuming that there aren't any with component outputs.

Thanks

Andrew


there are a few standard boxes out there with a svideo out but they are hard to get hold of, the sky+ box has a svideo out and i use that to connect my sky+ box to my ptae300 and i am very happy with the picture i get, you can also purchase a rgb to svideo convertor which will convert the rgb feed from a normal digi box to a svideo feed
 
If you get Sky digi you have the advantage of enhanced for 16:9 (anamorphic) broadcasts. That'll look nice on your Z2.

The only way to get a HQ analogue feed is to get a decent aerial and find a s/h Arcam D150 NICAM TV tuner. It's superb. The Sky route will be more costs effective and will probably result in a better solution though.

Gordon
 
Pity you can't get Freeview (are you sure?)

Netgem has component!
 
Netgem has component ?

Have checked out the Netgem website and could not find any reference to component outputs on the i-player....only scart ?

Mr Sparkle
 
The BBC site says I can't get Freeview but I just found a reference on here to the dtg site which I checked and it told me that I could get most channels although I might need to replace or reposition my aerial (not sure whether that is a standard bit to the message or not).

So 5 minutes ago I rather impetuously bought a Humax F2-Fox T freeview box from Dabs for £79 inc VAT and delivery. I read that this box is good for poor reception areas and has s-video out through SCART.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Thanks

Andrew
 
Is sky natively composite? I presume it isnt component video else we could have component type connections?

ad
 
You should find that Freeview will give you a very good picture on the Z2 using an s-video connection.
Most broadcasts show up nice and clear and bright, IMO better than most DVD's.
 
The Netgem does do component via Scart, it is one of the "special" boxes.
 
Originally posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV
Sky is native MPEG2 component, just like DVD.

But Sky boxes only output scart RGB, s-video (Sky+ & some Grundigs) or composite.

:smoke:
 
I just thought I'd mention if you go cable with ntl you get s-video out, I then put this through my Denon 3803 which upconverts to component output and the results are excellent.
 
Originally posted by grey torq
I just thought I'd mention if you go cable with ntl you get s-video out...

:confused:

I have D4001i box (I think). This only gives option for rgb or composite in menu.

Maybe you have a different box and/or software (i think there's one or two different versions of the software)
 
Nah, mate. S-video is a rarity on NTL. RGB is way more usual. You can use a JStech converter to change RGB into whatever you want of course, though VGA doesn't usually work well on a projector. The netgem box does s, rgb or component from scart, the YUV signals come out on the RGB pins, I have good cables for this if anyone needs them. It works very well with a z2, and of course any amp with YUV switching. But netgem is not good in weak signal areas, and can even be sensitive to which shelf on the rack it's on.
 
Hi

Don't forget that the Z1 and Z2 can both take RGB natively on their VGA connector.

I've tried Sky, Freeview and NTL all on direct RGB and they look excellent.

You don't need any adaptors or converter boxes, nor do you need to seek high and low for a digibox with S-Video output.

Regards,

Steve
 
Well, I have received and installed the Humax freeview box. Even though I am supposedly in a marginal/zero reception area, I can receive EVERY freeview channel with strength 100% and quality 70%, which is great. The picture quality on my TV looks very good through RGB SCART and I have ordered a long SCART to S-video lead to take an S-video signal from the other SCART socket on the Humax to the S-video input on the Z2. When that arrives, I'll let you know what it looks like on the 7ft screen...

The advantage of using S-video into the Z2 for me is that I use component for DVD and composite for VCR so it is currently free. BTW, is there a way of getting a better picture from a VCR than a SCART to Video cable without spending a lot on some upsampling type of box?

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Andrew
 

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