Few questions about home theatre stuff

[Arkitech]

I'm still in the midst of tweaking my home theater setup and I have a ton of questions that maybe the experts could answer.

1. Is there a difference between Dolby technology vs DTS? Which has the superior sound quality?

2. How much of a difference is there between HDMI and component video?

3. I have one HDMI input on my TV but I have 2 HDMI devices (PC and cable box) are there any HDMI switches or something similar?

4. For the people with a Samsung DLP and ATI video cards, have you been able to eliminate the overscan issue? What drivers are you using?

5. Is it true that most HD broadcasts have protection encoded into the stream? For example if I wanted to record a HD program and burn it to disk would there be encryption in the stream that would prevent me from backing it up?

6. Anyone here experienced with FFDShow? Is it really worth using or trying to figure out? Does it actually improve video image or just upscale the video to different sizes?



thanks for any help

 

[SaltBoy]

1. Is there a difference between Dolby technology vs DTS? Which has the superior sound quality?

DTS, by far.

2. How much of a difference is there between HDMI and component video?

Component != Digital Signal
HDMI = Digital Signal

3. I have one HDMI input on my TV but I have 2 HDMI devices (PC and cable box) are there any HDMI switches or something similar?

I don't know. I wouldn't doubt it.

4. For the people with a Samsung DLP and ATI video cards, have you been able to eliminate the overscan issue? What drivers are you using?

I've never been able to eliminate overscan; it's impossible. That being said, however, I have been able to set my resolution to 1248x702, which is still 16:9 but doesn't cover the whole screen when the screen is set to normal mode.

Of course, this does prevent a true 720p image from broadcasting, so I change the resolution when playing high-def content.

5. Is it true that most HD broadcasts have protection encoded into the stream? For example if I wanted to record a HD program and burn it to disk would there be encryption in the stream that would prevent me from backing it up?

I don't know how it works, but there are ways of putting HD programs onto your HD if you have the right equipment without having to worry about copy protection.

6. Anyone here experienced with FFDShow? Is it really worth using or trying to figure out? Does it actually improve video image or just upscale the video to different sizes?

Use it with what?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

1. Actually depends on how well they made the tracks from what I understand.

I haven't gotten around to reading this yet but here's some info
http://www.spannerworks.net/reference/10_1a.asp

EDIT: browsing through the article:

"When comparing DTS with 448kbps Dolby Digital (and even, to a lesser degree, 384kbps Dolby Digital) any difference noticeable can more likely be attributed to differences in mastering or production than coding schemes. Under identical mastering conditions the two systems should be nearly indistinguishable from one another."


2. If you have a digital display, DVI/HDMI will tend to be better. There are some situations where manufacturers have done a sh!tty job implementing the digital inputs and it ends up looking worse than component.

3. Some high end receivers have HDMI switching... but that probably doesn't help you. Do you have DVI inputs on your TV? You could get a HDMI to DVI adapter if you have a free DVI input.

4. Check AVSforum for other opinions (even your specific model)

5. I haven't gotten into HD yet, no idea.

6. I've read very positive things about FFDShow, but haven't tried it myself. I don't really use my computer as a source for anything other than occational gaming. AVSforum will have info for you. Check out the HTPC area.

 

[Muadib]

I can answer #3. Yes, they make HDMI switches, but they aint cheap!

The answer to #5 read this.