HDMI, Scart, RGB etc.

Donny4w

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I hope this is the correct forum.

I'm unclear what is the best quality connection for connecting various devices together.

I'm not clear what all of these terms are; but I've come across HDMI, Scart, RGB, Composite, RF and maybe some others.

The devices I'd like to connect are:
- Panasonic LZD81 Television
- Panasonic EX78 DVD Recorder
- Sky +
- TiVo

The last three I want to connect to the television.

I want to connect the Sky+ and TiVo to the DVD Recorder for archiving purposes.

The TV is Freesat. Therefore I'm assuming I may be able to record from Freesat to the DVD Recorder? Is that true? If so that is a further connection I require (I guessing it is additional to the DVD Recorder to TV connection).

So I was wondering if somebody can explain (or even link me) to an explanation on the types of connection; what they are; and whats best.

If you are also able to tell me the best method of connecting my specific set-up that would be even better.

One last point. I may consider upgrading Sky+ to Sky+ HD. What difference will that make to the set-up.

Thanks in advance.

Don.
 
hdmi is considered the best quality you can get at the mo. sky+hd would mean its sky but in high definition. im not sure if you could record from freesat as i dont have it, you would need to have some kind of output on you tv and then it may be copy protected. if your sky+ is only rgb scart then you would have to connect to your tv using scart, if you upgrade to sky+hd then you would use an hdmi lead and have high defination pictures. but i believe you can get hd through you freesat so i dont know if it would be worth it, thats up to you. hope this helps.
 
See Wikipedia for definitions on the various signal and connection types.

SCART is a connection type capable of carrying in order of signal quality - composite video, s-video, RGB and in rare cases component video. I'm not familiar with the Tivo but I would imagine it has SCART in/out. You might be able to daisy chain the devices to the DVD Recorder or use a RGB SCART switch so that both Tivo and Sky HD share the input on the DVD Recorder without having to muck around with daisy chaining the equipment together. In order to maximise picture quality RGB will give you the best quality recordings, so it will be a case of working out which ones you archive the most (or go with the switch). I know that Sky can be used to daisy chain so I would try:

Tivo ==> Sky VCR SCART
Sky TV SCART ==> DVD Recorder SCART in (AV2)
DVD Recorder SCART out (AV1) ==> TV SCART in (AV1?)

It might be time to get the manuals out and also check the Tivo sites for connectivity options. It does seem to me like you have a lot of equipment hooked up for recordings!!! Just how much recording and archiving do you do?

From what I can gather, the AV1 SCART connection on the DVD Recorder can accept video in from the TV via SCART (see Q-Link functions on pages 50-51 (for starters). This would be in addition to the HDMI connection from the DVD Recorder to the TV.

The RF coax known as aerial cable or flylead would go from the Aerial to the Tivo in, then from Tivo out to the DVD Recorder in and from the DVD Recorder out to TV in.

Sky HD wouldn't affect the connectivity other than a HDMI out to the TV for HD Viewing.

For a RGB SCART Switch, I would look at the JS-Technology one.
 
Thank-you both for those responses. That does give me a better understanding of what the options are.


It does seem to me like you have a lot of equipment hooked up for recordings!!! Just how much recording and archiving do you do?

Far less than you may think. The set-up is less to do with recording and more to-do with finding Sky hardware so unreliable. We use Sky+ for day to day recordings. TiVo is set-up to record terrestrial only. Its management of clashes and priorities is far superior to Sky and can effectively be left alone for weeks at a time merrily (and successfully) getting on with its business

Sky hardware is the equivalent of washer/dryers when I was young; very unreliable. We have suffered total loss of recordings on three occasions. For many things it doesn't really matter; but for episodes out of series etc; it is really frustrating.

So TiVo gives us back-up on terrestrial. In reality I rarely copy anything from TiVo to the DVD, but its handy to have the option.

For Sky only programs I do the occasional overnight back-up to DVD of a number of programs. There is nothing more frustrating (in television viewing) than losing an episode in a series, so it is simply a short term back-up.

True archiving is very limited. I prefer to call it Sky Insurance.

With young children our viewing time is limited and disjointed. The great thing about this set-up is we never feel pressured into watching something; we can be confident it is there to fit in with us.

By the way TiVo is on a Lifetime Subscription which effectively paid-off many years ago, so there is no cost to us running it. And the DVD Recorder has a hard drive so no cost or waste on DVD's.
 

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