Very Beginner Questions

T

TWSK

Guest
OK, I know these are really stupid questions, but here I go -

I just got a TH-42PWD5UY, and am trying to set it up. I have a PS2 hooked up through Component video, and I have a VCR that I'm going to hook up to it but I need a RCA to BNC adapter first. But I have a stereo system that I want to run the sound through - How do you output the Audio from the TV to a reciever? I can't figure it out. Do I need to run all the sound to the stereo, and not through the TV - Because I have sound comming from the VCR, DVD player, and PS2?

I also have my computer hooked up, but the manual does not make it very clear what resolutions the TV supports. Can you use a 1600 X 1200 resolution with 85hz refresh rate. I thought I read it could support it on a review at the plasmatvbuyingguide.com website, but I wanted to make sure. If I try to use a signal the TV doesn't support, will it hurt the TV or just not show it? Also, the TV came with ferrite cores for putting around the VGA cable, but the cables I own have built in things at each end that look like the cores - they are the same thing right, so I don't need to use the ones that came with the TV?

My last question is how is this model with burn in. Is it pretty hard to cause burn in with video games and computer signels, or do you need to be really carefull? The Circuit City near my house had on where they just left the title screen to a dvd on it all day - all week, and they said they didn't have a problem, but I wonder if that is really true

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for the help

Tim
 
Hi,

This may sound unhelpful. However Ihave seen simialr queries to yours over the last couple of weeks.

I'd suggest you either search the threads, and or scroll back the last couple of pages to see if there is any information.

Hope this helps

Adrian
 
Actually, I did check previous posts and did some searches, and again mayby I'm just being blind and ignorant, but I didn't find anything that really answered my questions in a way that made sense to me. I'm not very knowledgable about electronics, so if someone could just give me a simple answer in plain english, I would really appreciate it. It's all kind of confusing to me, and I know it's frustrating for you to hear the same questions - but thanks for being understanding :)

Tim
 
TWSK

Audio - if you are running all of the sound through your AV amp then connect the audio out from your various sources directly to the AV amp and avoid the audio inputs on the plasma display altogether.

This is usually fairly straightforward as most kit or breakout cables will separate the audio and video anyway - the only difficulty is where you want to run speakers with the display some of the time as well as a full stereo system; to do that takes a bit more planning and cable management.

PC connectivity - please remember your display only has 852x480 pixels so it has to 'dump' an awful lot of info if you want to run it at such high resolutions. The max 'supported' resolution for your display is 1600x1200 @ 75Khz(H) - 60Hz (V) - though I would experiment a bit with various settings on your PC from 852x480 upwards and see which resolution produces the best results for your PC/Display combination.

Out of range - the display simply wont display signals it cant lock up to; no damage you just wont get an image.

Ferrite rings - cant hurt to try them on and off; though I cant see them doing much if your VGA cable is already fitted with them.

Your local CC - glad their not using my display!!! I would certainly ignore anyone who advises you that a display will not suffer burn in if you leave a static image on it for days or weeks.

Screen saver modes - if you plan to play lots of games on your display then also plan to use the 'White Scroll Bar' on a daily basis - you can invoke it manually or even use the timer feature to have it do its stuff automatically for you (set it up to run for fifteen minutes every night - its in the manual :)).

Also you may want to look at minimising the number of 'tool' bars your PC software displays - the less static areas of an image the better.

Best regards

Joe
 
Joe, thanks for the help in a language even I can understand. :) There is something I'm curious about - is there any difference in transmission quality between RCA connectors and BNC connectors, or are they pretty much the same thing and just different standards for different areas?

Tim
 
BNC connectors are *usually* used on 'industry-grade' video equipment ... the locking facility of the connector provides a solid connection and can be taken on and off loads of times without making the plug or socket loose ...

the bnc plug was also designed with co-ax cable in mind as that is what is predominently used in the video connection cables in industry as it allows the 70 ohm (or 75 ... must look up my old tv theory notes !!) signal to be better balanced through the chain (and needed a terminator at the end of teh signal run) ...

Jon
 
ok, tacky line. As Joint state, BNC has a locking facility. Probably because in a professional application, once you've hooked it up you don't want it coming back out as you adjust other wires. Certainly, this is standard on basic electronic test equipment. Going further up, you get N-Type - bigger and with a screw feed to lock.

For home use, RCA/Phono is fine. Is there any difference in performance? Not really, biggest difference is to ensure your using the right signals to your screen (see other thread - search for RGB to Plasma VGA). Next, the right cables - cheap cables will give poor resutls and aren't in keeping with a plasma screen. Finally, your connectors. What's important is to have a good clean connection.

Ferrite rings and clamps are for another purpose. These soak up frequencies from about 10Mhz to 500MHz on the cables. The frequency and effect does vary, this is just a general statement. They're used where you've got high-frequency noise on a lead, which may cause interfence with other equipment, or other equiment interfering with the screen. Use them, but don't expect to see any difference on the screen as video signals are up to 8MHz!

As for the impedance (resistance) of cables, all video cables are 75 ohms. RF (for radio applications) is typically 50 ohms, but doesn't have to be. The reason that we have an impedance assocaited with a cable is because when we put a signal on one side, it takes a bit of time for it to appear on the other. Video systems have a 75 ohm source, and are terminated with 75 ohms. The link in between must match otherwise reflections and standing waves are possible. These would appear as ringing around vertical lines on the screen, and perhaps banding.

I hope I've not gone too technical, but sometimes we've got to be just that little bit to explain why.

All the best,

Dr John Sim.
 

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