How should I connect things? True Component/S-Video/Composite vs SCART

[Toto Man]

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out how to utilise the connections I have on my AV equipment to obtain the best possible picture quality, and was wondering if anyone could please help .

The extent of my knowledge is as follows:
RF is the worst, then composite, then S-Video, then component, then HDMI.

There are 2 aspects to my quest:

1) In my room I have a HT setup, with 5.1 amp and 48-inch Toshiba rear projection TV (which is surprisingly good quality for a RP TV! ). I initially had my DVD Player connected by SCART, but then I discovered that 4-Pin S-Video gave a much more stable and crisp picture, so I have been using that ever since. I always thought SCART was SCART. I didn't know SCART carried composite, S-Video and component signals, so now I'm wondering whether SCART in theory should give me a better picture?
The manual states my TV specs as follows:
SCART1 = Full 21 pin RGB, AV
SCART2 = 21 pin AV, S-Video
SCART3 = 21 pin AV, S-Video, 4-Pin S-Video, RCA jack.
IIRC, when I connected with SCART, I used SCART2, not SCART1, so I may no have been experiencing the benefits of RGB. Could this be why my experience with SCART has been disappointing?
But surely these signals through their respective dedicated cables will yield better results than sending them through SCART, no?

2) We have Virgin Cable, coming in to the downstairs living room. It goes from the STB to a HardDiskRecorder via SCART, and from the STB to a VCR via RF. The RF then comes out the VCR and goes into an 8-way splitter which feeds the other TVs in the house. By the time the RF signal reaches my RP TV, the quality is pretty poor. All the other rooms seem fine though. I think it's because my room is the furthest away from the splitter. I had considered reversing the whole setup so that the cable feed comes into my room first, but this would mean that all the other rooms would receive poor quality as I would still be utilising the same infrastructure of RF coax. So, I thought about running a 15m 4-pin S-Video cable from the HardDiskRecorder downstairs to my RP TV upstairs. This is about as direct a link as I can think of. Do you think this will give me improved quality? Obviously I'll also need to run an audio cable too, probably digital coax or optical, whichever will carry 15m. Will the HardDiskRecorder output the SCART audio signal through its digital outputs?

 

[Rasczak]

1) In my room I have a HT setup, with 5.1 amp and 48-inch Toshiba rear projection TV

If connecting a DVD player to a TV my first choice would be component - failing that RGB or S-Video. From the sounds of it you have been watching composite - which would be the case if you had connected via AV2 or AV3 and not set 'S-Video' output in the player's menu. Now RGB doesn't always give a better picture than S-Video - it depends upon your kit.

Now the connections you've posted on your TV suggest it doesn't have component in, so assuming that is the case you'd be best to try Scart next. To use RGB you would need to use the AV1 Socket - the others do not support it - and you will need to set your DVD player to output it. You might also have to set the TV to receive it but, from memory, Toshiba sets tend to auto-switch between composite and RGB. Refer to your manual on how to do this but it should be relatively easy to find.

Compare your RGB and S-Video connections (whether your S-Video looks better through Scart or the dedicated S-Video socket largely depends on your cables IMHO) and decide which you prefer!

I didn't know SCART carried composite, S-Video and component signals

Scart is just a socket - an annoying one at that! It can carry composite, S-Video or RGB. Component is not carried over the interface.

2) We have Virgin Cable, coming in to the downstairs living room.... Do you think this will give me improved quality?

I'd ask this question again in one of the dedicated forums to ensure you get the latest and best advice. Perhaps the Virgin Media forum would be better?

 

[Toto Man]

If connecting a DVD player to a TV my first choice would be component - failing that RGB or S-Video. From the sounds of it you have been watching composite - which would be the case if you had connected via AV2 or AV3 and not set 'S-Video' output in the player's menu. Now RGB doesn't always give a better picture than S-Video - it depends upon your kit.

Now the connections you've posted on your TV suggest it doesn't have component in, so assuming that is the case you'd be best to try Scart next. To use RGB you would need to use the AV1 Socket - the others do not support it - and you will need to set your DVD player to output it. You might also have to set the TV to receive it but, from memory, Toshiba sets tend to auto-switch between composite and RGB. Refer to your manual on how to do this but it should be relatively easy to find.

Compare your RGB and S-Video connections (whether your S-Video looks better through Scart or the dedicated S-Video socket largely depends on your cables IMHO) and decide which you prefer!


Scart is just a socket - an annoying one at that! It can carry composite, S-Video or RGB. Component is not carried over the interface.


I'd ask this question again in one of the dedicated forums to ensure you get the latest and best advice. Perhaps the Virgin Media forum would be better?

Thanks for explaining that to me. I tried the RGB setting through SCART to connect my DVD Player to my TV, and boy was it hard to tell a difference, even when flicking between the two inputs on still pause! I think the RGB gave me a tiny bit more colour saturation, but it also introduced a very mild form of white shadow lines moving from the bottom right of the screen to the top left of the screen. So I think I'll just stick with the S-Video.....