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ok I have a 2004 Sony RPTV described as "HDTV ready" but this was from the period of time when they were building big sets w/o the actual digital tuners in them. With the right tuner/input signal the TV will have no problem reproducing a 720p or 1080i signal. I'm contemplating buying one of the new stand-alone digital tuners as there are a few digital channels and a few broadcasting HDTV on our raw cable.
BUT on the TV I have the following:
NO HDMI inputs
1 DVI input
2 sets of component video inputs one set I use for the DVD player but the other is open.
My question is..
having not looked at the back of one of the new tuners, I'm not sure what they output as options to a TV set up like mine. I presume there will be always be at minimum an HDMI output.
If I want to pull off a true HD signal to my TV is my best bet to get one of those HDMI to DVI converter cables I see in the stores and go in through the DVI input?
OR will there be a set of component vidio outputs (Py, Pr, Pb) on the back of the tuner box so I can just run these outputs to the unused set of Component video inputs on the TV?
Is one of these options a better way to go in terms of getting a true HDTV signal in 720p or 1080i on my TV?
I think the part I'm lost about is whether a component video signal coming out of the three RCA type plugs from an aftermarket tuner be a true 720p or 1080i signal, or is there something special about a DVI or HDMI connection.
Follow Ups:
Boxes with Component and/or HDMI out are common and can be had for under $100 now, but are not eligible for the govt. rebate program.
The rebates are for converter boxes that output 480i over composite, S-Video, or RF only. Any HD outputs make them ineligible for the rebate.
See the link below for a picture of the Tivax LX1000 STB.
Here's a description of what it can do:
Main features
■ Receives ATSC Terrestrial signals (VSB)
■ Decodes all 36 ATSC DTV standard video formats.
■ Selectable output video formats: 1080i, 720, 480p or 480i
■ Analog L/R audio output
■ Closed caption and V-Chip
■ Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
■ On screen menu for user control
■ Low Power consumption in standby
Video
■ Component output (YPbPr): 1080i,720,480p or 480i
■ Composite output (CVBS): 480i
■ S-Video output: 480i
■ Digital video output HDMI support: 1080i,720,480p Audio Audio
■ 2 Channel analog L/R output
■ Digital audio output: SPDIF (AC3 or PCM)
Other
■ One RF input: ATSC and Open Cable
■ 9-12V DC power input with 110V AC Adaptor
It says HDMI, but I can see no HDMI output in the picture of the rear panel. All other outputs seem to be there. Also, don't forget there's a $40 rebate -- up to 2 per household -- available from the Feds.
Here are a few more links that may be of interest:
seller link and link for government coupons
http://www.designcellular.com/Wholesale.html
company site
http://www.tivax.com/converter.htm
list of STBs from AVS Forum
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179095
links to info, STBs and discussion
http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/cgi-bin/board-profile.cgi?action=rate&topic=1&page=6479&post=31924
..And the Tivax LX1000 is NOT covered under the Gov. voucher program.
It is something to do some research on though, thats alot of product for 89.99
It's a digital OTA tuner. Why would $40 of its cost not be covered by the voucher program?
The converter box must NOT output anything other than 480i in order to be eligible for the $40 government coupon rebate. In addition, it must not have any output besides the standard RF and analog RCA A/V outputs in order to be coupon-eligible. If a box outputs 720p or higher, or if it has component, DVI or HDMI outputs, then the box is automatically ineligible for the coupon discount.
http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/NTIA_requirements.html
yes thats a good option something that outputs component video with the govt coupon rebate
1. I always assumed that a composite video signal (yellow RCA jack) is always 480i interlaced. Am I wrong on this?
2. Standard progressive scan DVD players generally have component video outputs Py Pb and Pr. I assumed that these were 480p signals coming fron a regular (Non Blu Ray or HD) DVD
3. S video has always been something of a mystery to me. I realize S video separates the video signal into chroma and luma, which the composite signal does not. But is this a true 480p signal or could it be something different from that?
4. I assumed that if I bought a Blu Ray player I would go in through into the display device either via an HDMI connector, or in the case of my Sony the DVI. But now I think you are telling me that going out of the Blu Ray from the component video outputs and into the display device through the component video inputs will get me at least a 720 p or 1080i signal, and with a true 1080p TV, the full 1080p picture. Is this accurate?
5. IF I were entirely clear on questions 1-4 above, then I could probably figure out how to connect a digital tuner too.
a. My new Panasonic flat panel which has a built in ASTC/QAM tuner found digital signals broadcast from two local stations but that is it. I can watch these stations either via the analog channel also on the cable as a different number or the digital channel and compare the two. I will see some programs on the Digital version of the channel and there will be a note on the screen that says this is HDTV, and
a. the program is broadcast 16:9 noticably clearer than the version on the analog channel sometimes switching to 4:3 on commercials (I gather these are being broadcast in 480p but what exactly is going on here too is not entirely clear, either.)
b. I cant get the digital local channels from the raw cable on my 2004 Sony, because, despite having DVI input and component input, it lacks an internal ATSC/QAM tuner. However, with the right box I would think that should be able to do the same thing I'm doing with the Panasonic, that is, pulling local HDTV channels right off the raw cable.
I THINK the cable company has more HDTV on the cable than just the ones the Panasonic finds, but some reason (perhaps they want to make money renting converter boxes?) perhaps they are scrambled or somehow the Panasonic cant find them. I THINK there is HDTV ESPN, discovery channel, animal planet and perhaps more.
I was hoping to be able to get my Sony operating as a true HDTV TV with just the addition of one of the $59 converter boxes, but I think I'm stuck as that outputs neither an HDMI or component signal so I'm back again to either paying full price for the $179 Samsung box which apparently I cant use a coupon toward or renting something from the cable company for another $10 or so a month. I really hate my cable company and in particular their penchant for converting every little piece of electrical gear into a cash cow that pays them rental money every month for 10 years or more. In short, as I see it the less I am forced to rent stuff from them the better. They are just like the phone company in the 50s that made every telephone a device that paid them money each and every month for 20 years.
All of this seems incredibly more complicated than it needs to be, and in my mind they should have never permitted the cable companies to only rent the needed boxes.
1) Its always 480, not sure if i or p though.
2) true
3) S-video is crap now ignore it.
4) component will work with BD players, and will carry 720 and 1080, BUT you can't upscale most DVDs to 720 or 1080 via component cable-its not allowed.
5)
a) you are correct, but don't forget that digital TV can be both SD (usually upscaled) and HD.
b) correct
The cheap boxes are basically just D/A converters, you'll have to pay more to get HD signal
HTH,
Jack
nt
...If your viewing source is Over the Air then you have the choice of a simple digital converter box that uses a composite jack input or RF cable jack input. These are the boxes the government has been talking about, with the 40.00 vouchers ect...These will Not give you a HD signal, they will give you a Digital signal. To receive a HD signal you'll have to by a HD tuner from Samsung or the like for around 150.00 to 200.00. These boxes have Component and Toslink jacks that will allow for a true Hd signal.
Of course this is all moot if your viewing source is through Cable or satelite. Then you won't need a box at all.
Hope this helps.
N
I would bet that a digital tuner would have component outputs, and that will be fine for 720P or 1080i. If not, an HDMI-> DVI cable will work too, but you'll need cables for audio.
Jack
I gather that this is the box the $40 govt coupon works on..its $59 at best buy--but no HDMI outputs or component video outputs, just an RF output for an old-style TV with only an RF input plus analog outputs
somehow I suspect the $40 coupons wont work on the $179 Samsung boxes with the component and HDMI outputs
However the little tuners that can be purchased for $19 net the $40 coupon are interesting in that they pull a stereo signal off of TV cable to run to a Hi Fi..
BUT I Conclude from what you say is that I need the $179 box to pull the HDTV channels from the cable like I'm doing with the new panasonic flat panel..(Either that or give up and rent the HDTV box from the cable company with the built in recorder) but then its easiest to just use the extra component video inputs on the RPTV
I think next I need to investigate exactly what the HDTV box the cable company is renting has as outputs.
Any TV that had HDMI or DVI wouldn't need a converter box. I would have expected Component though. I guess not for $50-$60.
Jack
Why not?
My SONY KV34XBR has 1 DVI imput but doesn't have a digital tuner built-in.
If I didn't have a digital box from the cable company it wouldn't be able to decode digital TV signals.
.
..Exactly what jacks you have or what you ultimatly want to achieve.
Don't talk to the first operator you get because she wont have a clue what your talking about. Ask for tech support, those guys will help you get the right box for your TV.
I found this photo from a $179 Best Buy Samsung digital tuner box.
The cheaper $59 digital to analog converter box only outputed a simple composite video signal. Is there any technical reason to go in from the HDMI connection shown on this box to my TV DVI input, or are the component video outputs the way to go into the extra set of component video inputs on my TV?
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