S video vs RCA cables

[Fiveohhh]

looking to get a new receiver and have access to one for a good deal now, but doesn't have s vid input and my tv only has one s vid input. When I'm using the xbox, theres a big difference in color clarity using s vid and the cheap generic rca cables I have, if I bought nice cables do the RCA cables still carry a decent signal? or should I upgrade to a different receiver with s vid switching?
Thanks

 

[CraigRT]

S-Video is alot better like you said, but with a VHS, probably not a huge deal.

EDIT: do you have any component video hook ups? you could get one of those for the X-Box.. i got a component cable for my PS2 and it rox!!!

 

[woowoo]

Svid is a form of comonent (luma and croma are seperate)
RCA is composite
Component will always look better than composite.
(although not by much)

 

[Viper GTS]

You can get an s-video switch if you want one.

Honestly, for regular VHS composite cables are fine. The only VCR's that have S-video output are S-VHS players, which are relatively uncommon.

Viper GTS

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: woowoo
Svid is a form of comonent (luma and croma are seperate)
RCA is composite
Component will always look better than composite.
(although not by nuch)

The jump from composite to s-video is huge (with DVD and other high-quality sources), the jump from s-video to component is much smaller.

Viper GTS

 

[BigSmooth]

What kind of receiver are you looking at? Nowadays even the cheapest receivers usually have S-Video switching, if not component video switching.

If possible, definitely go with S-Video. I can see a noticeable difference on my set, even though it's only 27". The colors are much sharper with S-Video.

 

[amnesiac]

Personally, I don't think ANY receiver without S-Video can be classified as a "good deal".
Get something with s-video at the least.

 

[murphy55d]

My receiver has 4 s-video inputs and I couldn't live with anything less. Look elsewhere.
And yes, there IS a big difference in quality.

 

[Fiveohhh]

cool sounds like I'll go with the s vid one looking at a yamaha htr 5250 , the one without the s vid is a sony de625. Also have a denon 3200 I'm kinda interested in, but its onlder and doesn't have a dts decoder will only be using a VHS for recording occasional shows, otherwise I use my win-tv-d to the tv, and dvd player and xbox, and s vid out on my video card. I just call them RCA cables cause thats what I always have

 

[Fiveohhh]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
S-Video is alot better like you said, but with a VHS, probably not a huge deal.

EDIT: do you have any component video hook ups? you could get one of those for the X-Box.. i got a component cable for my PS2 and it rox!!!

does s video to component make a big difference? I was going to buy the hdtv pack for my xbox but didn't know if it was worht the upgrade. I allready have the advanced A/V pack with optical audio.

 

[rh71]

I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

 

[cressida]

s video

 

[Triumph]

If you don't buy a receiver with room for upgradeability now, you'll be wasting your money, because you'll just have to buy another one later. Get as many inputs as you can. You should see the contraption I have set up for my vcr, dvd, and playstation, all because I don't have the right inputs on my receiver and tv.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: rh71
I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

If you can't tell the different between RCA and component video, you need glasses or something. The resolution is nearly doubled!

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: rh71
I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

If you can't tell the different between RCA and component video, you need glasses or something. The resolution is nearly doubled!

Read my thread, it's not my vision. It's probably the hardware that already compensated for it. Believe me, I WANT to see the difference.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: rh71
I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

If you can't tell the different between RCA and component video, you need glasses or something. The resolution is nearly doubled!

Seriously. I know one of my friends can't tell the difference and he's nearly blind w/o his glasses. I threw a s-video cable on my PS2 and was amazed. Even on my PS1 it made a big difference. I don't have a home theater setup yet so I just have a solid-state input selector for DirecTV, PS2, DVD and SVHS. Works great and there's no noticeable loss of quality.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: rh71
I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

If you can't tell the different between RCA and component video, you need glasses or something. The resolution is nearly doubled!

Seriously. I know one of my friends can't tell the difference and he's nearly blind w/o his glasses. I threw a s-video cable on my PS2 and was amazed. Even on my PS1 it made a big difference. I don't have a home theater setup yet so I just have a solid-state input selector for DirecTV, PS2, DVD and SVHS. Works great and there's no noticeable loss of quality.

I never needed glasses and still don't. There simply is no difference. Hell, I switched from INTERLACE to PROGRESSIVE on the back of the unit, swapped cables, etc. and it was the same picture. Like I said, read the thread if you still think I'm blind. I hope this isn't coming from someone who does wear glasses or contacts already...

 

[NokiaDude]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: rh71
I can't say that I've tested too many DVDs/XBOX games, but I went from RCA cables to COMPONENT (better than S-video, and on XBOX too) and I saw little-to-no difference. I had an entire thread on this a couple months back.

Here if you feel like reading about it.

If you can't tell the different between RCA and component video, you need glasses or something. The resolution is nearly doubled!

Seriously. I know one of my friends can't tell the difference and he's nearly blind w/o his glasses. I threw a s-video cable on my PS2 and was amazed. Even on my PS1 it made a big difference. I don't have a home theater setup yet so I just have a solid-state input selector for DirecTV, PS2, DVD and SVHS. Works great and there's no noticeable loss of quality.

Going from RCA to S-Video on a PS2 is a HUGE difference in picture quality. My friend currently has a ~10 year old 27' JVC TV and with an RCA cable, the picture that comes from his PS2 to his TV is sooooo fuzzy. So I went down to Gamestop and bought him a S-Video PS2 cable. He noticed the difference right away, he was able to read the text on the PS2 bootup screen and text in his games never looked better. He also said the coolor was 10x better than before.

 

[RayH]

Originally posted by: Fiveohhhdoes s video to component make a big difference? I was going to buy the hdtv pack for my xbox but didn't know if it was worht the upgrade. I allready have the advanced A/V pack with optical audio.

If you're looking to pass a progressive signal, it's only available through component. I found that even without a progressive signal, passing 480i though component was much sharper than using s-video from the same dvd player. Might not be noticeable on a smaller tv but was a huge difference through a 1024x768 projector on a 100" screen.

 

[Fiveohhh]

Going to see if I can find a decent composite cable tonight and see if the pic is decent, but with the cables I have now the difference is huge on my 55" RPTV. One more question Is there anyway to switch the component video through a receiver(not s vid, but the kind that uses 3 jacks)

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: Fiveohhh
Going to see if I can find a decent composite cable tonight and see if the pic is decent, but with the cables I have now the difference is huge on my 55" RPTV. One more question Is there anyway to switch the component video through a receiver(not s vid, but the kind that uses 3 jacks)

Yes, but you'll end up paying a fair amount more for a receiver that can do this. Additionally, some receivers don't have enough video switching bandwidth to properly pass through HDTV signals.

 

[woowoo]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: woowoo
Svid is a form of comonent (luma and croma are seperate)
RCA is composite
Component will always look better than composite.
(although not by nuch)

The jump from composite to s-video is huge (with DVD and other high-quality sources), the jump from s-video to component is much smaller.

Viper GTS

eeeerrrrr.......... how do I say this nicely......
Dude your mistaken
Going from composite to svhs gets rid of intermod components
Going from svhs to component opens up the croma bandwidth.
both are equal levels of improvement.
Component is best.
But
It all depends on the source material
(I'm a Broadcast engineer during the day)

 

[pulse8]

I'm a Broadcast engineer during the day

Are you an English teacher at night?

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: pulse8

I'm a Broadcast engineer during the day

Are you an English teacher at night?

Actually....well....I'm not supposed to say but woo is actually a crime-fighting super-hero at night.

I just refuse to say what he wears (or...rather...what he doesn't wear!)

 

[woowoo]

A superhero who doesn't spell/type worth a SH*T
But if you need an uplink built..........