Peterpack Posted April 8, 2007 Posted April 8, 2007 my Foxtel STB has a model number at the bottom DS420NF, is this a good one ? Anyway, it is connection to my Panasonic dvd recorder Scart to Scart, then i have my dvd recorder connected to my Panasonic Plasma by component Is it worth getting a Scart to Component cable to connect from the STB to my dvdrecorder ? Cheers
alanh Posted April 8, 2007 Posted April 8, 2007 Peter Pack, Scart connectors are capable of component, S-Video or composite PAL with stereo sound. What is used is usually set up in the installation menu. Of the 3 above component gives the sharpest pictures. AlanH
pgdownload Posted April 8, 2007 Posted April 8, 2007 As mentioned 'SCART' is just a flexible cable type - it transmits all sorts of vidoe formats. FWIW Foxtel picture quality is generally not much better than composite cables. Better cables like component, scart, rgb, etc. are just going to transmit an average source perfectly averagely. Regards Peter Gillespie
chalkeroochy Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 If you look up the specifications page in "www.foxteltv/Foxtel_user-pressquality.pdf" There are 2 scart connectors on the back of this unit , the one marked TV Out is RGB ,S video & composite ,but the one marked Video Out or VCR is sadly only composite. Now RGB Scart is not exactly the same as Component and unless your tv has a scart connector you'll need a converter "www.hometheatre.net.au/cyu2100.htm" and contrary to popular belief scart to component cables do not work on this unit, you will only get composite! As for recording from the Video Out to your dvd recorder a digital camcorder could be a better option, though this would involve then capturing the video thru firewire to a computer and editing out ads etc , but it would produce good quality digital video with dolby sound ready to record to dvd.
cyril Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 If you look up the specifications page in "www.foxteltv/Foxtel_user-pressquality.pdf" There are 2 scart connectors on the back of this unit , the one marked TV Out is RGB ,S video & composite ,but the one marked Video Out or VCR is sadly only composite. The information you site is well out of date. Some 18months or more Foxtel released firmware that allows the TV SCART to output Component video, this is a further option to Composite, RGB and S-Video. The VCR SCART will output S-Video but only if the TV SCART has not been set to RGB or Component. So to correct the above post you do not require a RGB to Component converter, just a SCART cable that gives access to the Component output on the TV SCART. Dick Smith and Jaycar have such cables for around $40. Cyril
chalkeroochy Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 The information you site is well out of date. Some 18months or more Foxtel released firmware that allows the TV SCART to output Component video, this is a further option to Composite, RGB and S-Video. The VCR SCART will output S-Video but only if the TV SCART has not been set to RGB or Component.So to correct the above post you do not require a RGB to Component converter, just a SCART cable that gives access to the Component output on the TV SCART. Dick Smith and Jaycar have such cables for around $40. Cyril The Information is for the Pace DS420NF only and is up to date for that model . Scart can support composite, S video & RGB ... but can not support YPbPr commonly known as YUV Component. YPbPr or YUV component cables use 3 RCA sockets and were introduced with the advent of movies on DVD (video is separated into "component video" form before being digitised and subjected to MPEG2 compression. The 20 pin Scart connectors (also called Euroconnectors) is called RGB ... but not all Scart connectors have all 20 pins wired up and active (eg: the Video Out on the Pace DS420NF) and only support composite and not RGB. Both Scart and Component Connectors offer a very high image quality, however they use different signals and are not interchangeable.You can't feed one type directly into equipment inputs designed for the other, conversion circuitry (provided in RGB to Component video converter boxes, at a cost of about $105) is needed to change from one to the other. Don't get me wrong though, because you can connect things up with those $40 cables from Dick Smith or Jay Car, but the video will only be composite.
cyril Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 Sorry, however you are welll misinformed. The DS420 (and UEC1000 and IQ) can and does support component video. There is no dispute about this period. A Scart connector is just a wire interface. As from some 18months or more ago the foxtel boxs do support component (YUV/YPrPb) video, if you think otherwise you are seriously mistaken. As a broadcast engineer for some 20odd year of more I think I know what these boxs can output, the truth is you are wrong. Cyril
chalkeroochy Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 Sorry, however you are welll misinformed. The DS420 (and UEC1000 and IQ) can and does support component video. There is no dispute about this period. A Scart connector is just a wire interface. As from some 18months or more ago the foxtel boxs do support component (YUV/YPrPb) video, if you think otherwise you are seriously mistaken.As a broadcast engineer for some 20odd year of more I think I know what these boxs can output, the truth is you are wrong. Cyril When the Pace DS420NF (www.pacemicro.com/media/corporate/PDF/manuals/ds420_spec.pdf)was bought out (obviously at a bargain) from England by Foxtel for there digital release it was obsolete (with the scart sockets) for our use ... it should have had component YUV, S video & composite like the televisions, DVD players & recorders and home theatre systems that were already available over here. So I still don't agree that the "Foxtel YUV set up" is all it's made out to be, I know Foxtel flashed a firmware upgrade nearly 2 years ago which gave the back button on the remote more usability & put "YUV" in the video set up, but the video quality with the "scart /component" cable Foxtel supplied or the expensive one I bought from Jar Car about 2 years ago is not as good in YUV as RGB is thru my converter box, in fact it's about equal in quality to composite and S video but definitely not RGB. YUV component cables send 3 signals made up of luminance, red chrominance component and blue chrominance component. Scart cables handle composite, S video & 2 channel audio both in and out on the one cable (in the old days back in Europe this was very handy because televisions only had one scart socket), plus also send-only RGB video thru 3 signals made up of RGB blue video, RGB green video & RGB red video. YUV and RGB signals are also different in voltage and impedances levels and are not compatible , I could go deeper into these two video formats but would only bore everyone with uninteresting waffle, besides they are becoming obsolete with the advent of plasma and LCD monitors, with DVI-D, DVI-A, DVI-I & HDMI, so unless you can point me to astute literature to the contrary I wouldn't let Foxtel pull your leg.
alanh Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 chalkeroochy, Since the signals are sent or recorded in luminance and colour difference signals, then you are better only converting this back to RGB once. The best place to do this is the display. Use of component signals in the memory for the display is much smaller than if RGB was used. So for a display manufacturer presented with RGB it will be rematrixed back into component for storage. SCART AlanH
cyril Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 Sorry but I do not understand what issue you have with a SCART connector carrying YCrCb signals, they are just video signals albeit in component parts. Of recent years all modern DVB chipsets have had the ability to route the YPrPb signals as they leave the mpeg decoder either directly to the DACs or via the RGB transcoder aswell as to the normal PAL encoder. Most chipsets have 6video dacs all the same and can handle all common SD video voltages. The STi chip used in Pace decoders was designed to output either Component or RGB as descibed, there is no frig or underhand trick used, simply the fact that the original firmware did not operate the output stage of the decoder to provide the YCrCb signals. DVD players use the same approach to provide RGB for euro markets or component for other markets, only the presense of a SCART connnector or RCA's mark the difference and a couple of register changes needed to output the correct signals. And yes some Euro market DVD players can output either RGB or Component via their SCARTs via a menu option. I do not understand where you get your distorted view from, but other than the fact that the YCrCb signals are piped through a SCART connector (which is only a connector nothing else just a place for wires to meet and connect) rather than presented on individual RCA connectors is irrelivent. As for an external RGB to component converter, well these are analog transcoders long since banished in broadcast facilities due to their inherent longterm drift. The transcoder in the STi DVB chipset (as used by Pace) is like all modern designs in the digital domain therefore inherently non drifting. But besides that as most moderm DVB chipsets (and DVD ones for that matter) perform the graphics overlay in YCrCb there is no need to transcode the native mpeg video to RGB, therefore to output RGB from the STB requires a extra digital YPrPb>RGB transcode that you then intend to re transcode back to YCrCb via a analog transcoder. As all modern TVs' and digital displays will convert a RGB signal immediately to YCrCb to process it before final RGB conversion delivery to the final display drive it makes no sense to go via RGB. Even Loewe offer the option to input YCrCb on some of the SCART input connectors on their TV's, and have done so for quite some years. Cyril
chalkeroochy Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 Dear Cyril, In the vernacular, keep it short and sweet with emphasis on the sweet, ... "no frig or underhand trick used" and "your distorted view" ... if you have had a bad day I am sorry for that and hope tomorrow is better for you. Kindest Regards Chalkeroochy
chalkeroochy Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 chalkeroochy,Since the signals are sent or recorded in luminance and colour difference signals, then you are better only converting this back to RGB once. The best place to do this is the display. Use of component signals in the memory for the display is much smaller than if RGB was used. So for a display manufacturer presented with RGB it will be rematrixed back into component for storage. SCART AlanH AllanH , I do agree, component is the native language. (S)yndicat des ©onstructeurs d'(A)pprareils ®adiorecepteurs et (T)eleriseurs Chalkeroochy
mysticf1re Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 TBH, i Got a neotech scart to component (foxtel to hd plasma) and the quality difference was minor. it was only a bit sharper in colour.
GaryCook Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 Sorry, the techinical stuffs means very litle to me. What I can say is there is ABSOLUTELY no discernable difference in audio or picture output quality between the 2 scart connectors on the back of my Foxtel cable IQ box. cheers
chalkeroochy Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 Sorry I got home before the missus tonight , was supposed to help with dinner, but being a bad bugger, patted the dog, got a beer in hand & turned on the tv or was that patted the tv, got a dog in hand and turned on the beer.
chalkeroochy Posted April 17, 2007 Posted April 17, 2007 woke up hungry at 3:30am, I had a empty stubby in my hand, the tv was off, and the dog was asleep on my lap. Kept a low profile tonight, 2 beers and cooking dinner.
nico6 Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 TBH, i Got a neotech scart to component (foxtel to hd plasma) and the quality difference was minor. it was only a bit sharper in colour. I have IQ to SD plasma. For a start was running s-video (mini-din interfaces both ends) - put up with the bright white halo around people/objects, very noticeable and annoying. (Some luminance-thingamy-effect apparently) Bought a ConCord (jaycar) scart to component, as usual without the wife knowing, changed setup to YUV and even the wife said "That looks heaps better, what did you do while I was out?" As for the myriad technical details herein, it's much like this; I don't know much about Art, but I know what I like.
Recommended Posts