2 questions on video/audio home theater

[Cl1ckm3]

RF or composite...which is better quality?

my next question is about auto volume adjusting. something i sorely need in a setup.

i'm about to purchase a new LCD sometime soon. Do all LCD's have auto volume or smartsound? i have not ever seen it listed as a feature, but my 10 yr old tv has it but only works with its built in speakers...which brings me to another related question

For LCD's with auto volume..do they only work with its internal speakers or will it work with its audio output for external amp?

so audio out from tv with some kind of smart sound is an absolute must for me, otherwise my sound levels can nearly triple during commercials or certain scenes in a movie.
please help
thanks

 

[montypythizzle]

It really depends on the TV, if it is kind of a major model or popular model they may have a thread dedicated to it at AVSforum. They will have content in those threads that would make you say "WUT?" because it is that in-depth over there.

 

[Cl1ckm3]

that forum is too biased, i never could get a simple question answered there so i never go there again, last time i asked there about a bose speaker, every single poster did nothing but bash, i didnt care if it wasnt the Uber, i just wanted a question answered.

before that i simply asked about a feature on my Sony amp i used to have and they bashed about sony's rep about their lower end products are crap..*sigh, they take avs and shove it up their wazooo for all i care
a few other quesitons i had of various things never got answered, so i'm not wasint my time

 

[DaveSimmons]

For almost all larger TVs you can find an existing thread at AVS and read/search in it, so you don't need to ask a question yourself.

 

[Chapbass]

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3
that forum is too biased, i never could get a simple question answered there so i never go there again, last time i asked there about a bose speaker, every single poster did nothing but bash, i didnt care if it wasnt the Uber, i just wanted a question answered.

before that i simply asked about a feature on my Sony amp i used to have and they bashed about sony's rep about their lower end products are crap..*sigh, they take avs and shove it up their wazooo for all i care
a few other quesitons i had of various things never got answered, so i'm not wasint my time

True statement right here.


I've tried to give AVS a few chances, but honestly I feel like im just wasting time over there. I know theres a lot of posters and so just about every thread is a mega thread ( > 50 pages....), but seriously, they need to come up with a way to condense their information some. Or have the mods be in charge of the OP's of every thread to give summary information and keep it updated on the pros and cons of each unit. (the basics at least).

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3
RF or composite...which is better quality?

I would say RF is going to be better quality, but it kind of depends what the devices being used are I suppose. However composite cable is essentially the worst quality you can get with SD video, because the Luminance and both Chroma channels are all sent in one cable, and it doesn't quite have enough bandwidth to pass them all with full clarity. Because of this I would doubt composite is going to be better than RF.

The reason S-Video is a step up on composite is it can pass the Luma by itself and the Chromas are sent separately 90 degrees out of phase with each other.

Component further increases the bandwidth/quality by giving each channel its own cable.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. RF is tricky, as the cable has all the info in it for every channel on your TV. If you are tuning into a digital signal, its clearly going to be better to pass the RF than the composite . For an analog signal, the whole signal is coming in through the RF cable anyways, so its not like you will increase quality by tuning it, then turning it into composite and passing it, so I would imagine that passing RF is probably going to be best still, but it depends which device has the better tuner I suppose. Since passing RF relies on the TV's tuner, and passing composite relies on the Cable box's tuner (or whatever device you're using)

 

[erwos]

The issue with F-connectors (what you're calling "RF") is that the physical connectors almost always suck, and tend to oxidize quickly. Composite, in practice, is usually slightly better.

As for "smart sound", that's generally something done by the receiver. I suppose some LCDs might have some support for it, but I don't know of any offhand.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: erwos
The issue with F-connectors (what you're calling "RF") is that the physical connectors almost always suck, and tend to oxidize quickly. Composite, in practice, is usually slightly better.

As for "smart sound", that's generally something done by the receiver. I suppose some LCDs might have some support for it, but I don't know of any offhand.

Depends, RF can be used to transmit HD, composite is never used to do that. So it depends on what the usage is.

 

[Cl1ckm3]

so suppose i'll stick with RF then?
for my DVD i'm goin to use HDMI direct to TV, RF? from cablebox direct to TV, then have TV audio out to my reciever, which has so many settings its rediculous, i cant figure out what sounds best or how it should be hooked up for correct 5.1 but likely i assume most LCD's only have 2 rca audo outs. my reciever does have a digital input for audio(a weird shaped smal plug), so hopefully a new LCD will too and i'd use that instead.

As for "smart sound", that's generally something done by the receiver

i dont think my receiver does (sony btw), however i was looking and found a feature called D. Range Comp (settings go from 0-10) and googled it and is "digital range compression"

i'm thinkn that setting might be like autovolume, so i turned it on max and see if it works later.

thanks all

 

[Muadib]

If you are using a cablebox, your best bet for video is to use component or HDMI. You would also use the cablebox for your audio, and your digital input, or toslink input would give you the best sound.

 

[Soundmanred]

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3
so suppose i'll stick with RF then?
for my DVD i'm goin to use HDMI direct to TV, RF? from cablebox direct to TV, then have TV audio out to my reciever, which has so many settings its rediculous, i cant figure out what sounds best or how it should be hooked up for correct 5.1 but likely i assume most LCD's only have 2 rca audo outs. my reciever does have a digital input for audio(a weird shaped smal plug), so hopefully a new LCD will too and i'd use that instead.

As for "smart sound", that's generally something done by the receiver

i dont think my receiver does (sony btw), however i was looking and found a feature called D. Range Comp (settings go from 0-10) and googled it and is "digital range compression"

i'm thinkn that setting might be like autovolume, so i turned it on max and see if it works later.

thanks all

It's Dynamic Range (the range from softest to loudest sounds) Compression.
It basicaly normalizes the audio so the loud parts are't as loud and the soft parts aren't as soft. It brings everything to mid volume so there's no really loud and really quiet parts. There are many names for it. Yamaha called it "Night Mode" if I remember correctly. Most recievers have it, but I don't like losing dynamic range, so I don't use it.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
For almost all larger TVs you can find an existing thread at AVS and read/search in it, so you don't need to ask a question yourself.

avsforum is too scary for most people.

 

[Cl1ckm3]

Originally posted by: Soundmanred

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3
so suppose i'll stick with RF then?
for my DVD i'm goin to use HDMI direct to TV, RF? from cablebox direct to TV, then have TV audio out to my reciever, which has so many settings its rediculous, i cant figure out what sounds best or how it should be hooked up for correct 5.1 but likely i assume most LCD's only have 2 rca audo outs. my reciever does have a digital input for audio(a weird shaped smal plug), so hopefully a new LCD will too and i'd use that instead.

As for "smart sound", that's generally something done by the receiver

i dont think my receiver does (sony btw), however i was looking and found a feature called D. Range Comp (settings go from 0-10) and googled it and is "digital range compression"

i'm thinkn that setting might be like autovolume, so i turned it on max and see if it works later.

thanks all

It's Dynamic Range (the range from softest to loudest sounds) Compression.
It basicaly normalizes the audio so the loud parts are't as loud and the soft parts aren't as soft. It brings everything to mid volume so there's no really loud and really quiet parts. There are many names for it. Yamaha called it "Night Mode" if I remember correctly. Most recievers have it, but I don't like losing dynamic range, so I don't use it.

ok, so the D-range thing on my sony amp is basically auto volume then correct? i need it cause this is for a bedroom tv, mostly watched at night anyway. i just hate how complex the reciever is.

If you are using a cablebox, your best bet for video is to use component or HDMI. You would also use the cablebox for your audio, and your digital input, or toslink input would give you the best sound.

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all
since thats the main source feed for television, i'm basically reduced to those levels of quality. so i'm assuming RF would be the best audio/video signal??

so i'm doing cable box to TV, from my TV i'd be limited to only the inputs my reciever can accept...RCA/digital optical or S-video.
i havnt bought my LCD yet, so i dunno if new tv's offer digital optical ouputs for audio?

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all
since thats the main source feed for television, i'm basically reduced to those levels of quality. so i'm assuming RF would be the best audio/video signal??

You need to find out what kind of audio signal your cable box ouptuts over Rf.
Some only output mono sound.
If its only mono then using rca would be slightly less video quality but better audio quality.


Some of the newer tv do have digital out for sound some don't.
Just depends on the brand.
I have a hitachi 51" that does have optical out.
Its selectable as pass through or tv sourced.

 

[Muadib]

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all

Then you need to go get a newer box. You have Comcast in Muncie. Do you have digital cable there, or are you in an area that doesn't have it yet?

 

[Cl1ckm3]

Originally posted by: Muadib

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all

Then you need to go get a newer box. You have Comcast in Muncie. Do you have digital cable there, or are you in an area that doesn't have it yet?

digital cable, i have latest box, just got it a month ago and they mentioned its the newest

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3

Originally posted by: Muadib

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all

Then you need to go get a newer box. You have Comcast in Muncie. Do you have digital cable there, or are you in an area that doesn't have it yet?

digital cable, i have latest box, just got it a month ago and they mentioned its the newest

Is it a tiny ass box with ridges on the top? We had that box for a while...POS when it came to outputs.

I found that the RF connection provided a significantly better picture than the Composite. Seemed odd to me but I can imagine how it would make sense.

 

[Cl1ckm3]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Cl1ckm3

Originally posted by: Muadib

ok, but my cable box only has RCA or RF ouput...thats all

Then you need to go get a newer box. You have Comcast in Muncie. Do you have digital cable there, or are you in an area that doesn't have it yet?

digital cable, i have latest box, just got it a month ago and they mentioned its the newest

Is it a tiny ass box with ridges on the top? We had that box for a while...POS when it came to outputs.

I found that the RF connection provided a significantly better picture than the Composite. Seemed odd to me but I can imagine how it would make sense.

thanks, i'll probably stick with RF, doubt i'd notice the difference but just wanted tomake sure i'm using the best option.

btw, no its not a tiny box, nor has ridges on top. its about the size of a thick DVD player, probably 15-17" wide, has lots of vent holes on top.....really sorry output options, its a motorola and comcast probably buys the cheapest pos they can

 

[master7045]

If you're hooking this up to an LCD, i'd wager that RCA will look better, given you get a decent set of cables. If you use the crap r/w/y cables that come w/ every dvd player, you probably won't notice. If you get a semi nice set, with an LCD tv, it would look a little nicer (maybe). No need to run off to a retail store and plunk down $50 just for some copper wire. Check out monoprice.com for some good prices on cabeling.

Coaxial (your RF) cable is used to transmit HD content when it comes in uncompressed from an OTA antenna. The cable box is used to decompress the signal from the cable company and then send it out. Usually the order of quality goes (from worst to best) RF->RCA composite (red/white/yellow)->S-video-> component video (red/green/blue colored cables, that is not the colors each cable sends btw, just color coded for ease of use)-> and then HDMI/DVI. obviously audio is a different story as I have left some of that out.

Honestly, SD on an LCD tv looks like poo no matter how you connect it (coaxial or composite). I'm a little biased to the Plasma group so that could come into play w/ that last statement though. Actually, SD looks like poo on all large HD tv's really.

That got a little off topic, but I hope it helps.