bn64

Had a pretty successful day today... I went to some local stores and ended up with the Se7en Platinum Series and a Lord Stanley's Cup Hockey DVD. My last stop was Circuit City where a purchased of a Monster 3 S-Video cable happened. After about 45 mins. of testing it compared to the regular jacks (red, yellow, white) I am really hard pressed to find any difference in the picture. I also couldn't get sound using just the S-Video cable so I had to put the old red and white jacks in as well. According to the book from my DVD I should get better sound and picture using just the S-Video but it doesn't seem as though I am. Could somebody please help me out and tell me what I'm doing wrong or should be done? I'm about ready to take it back and get the $40 back because I don't see any $40 difference.

The equipment: 35" Toshiba TV (don't know the model) with front S-Video jack.

Aiwa XDDV-370

Thanks for the help!

Johnny Zhivago

IMHO... You should be able to tell some difference with the S-Video... I can with mine. You could have saved at least half (or more) of that money you spent by picking up the same thing from Radio Shack. Take it back and pay a visit. Monster products might be "it" for serious, dedicated audiophiles (who can tell you the specs of blah blah blah vs this that and the other). But for you and me? It's a rip off. Might as well toss that money out the window.

As for audio... I have the standard jacks plugged into my set. No sound from S-Video. Optical (plain old RCA brand which you can buy at Circuit City - probably hidden somewhere to encourage you to buy Monster) cable to my receiver.

bn64

So shouldn't I be able to tell a difference using the Monster 3? It sounds like you are telling me to down grade to a different S-Video plug but if the high end one doesn't do good then what will a lower version do?

What brands from Radio Shack would you recommend. They had a lot at Circuit City. I just picked Monster Cables because I recognized the name and I'm new to the whole DVD thing. I've barely had my player a month now.

Thanks for the help!

palebluedot

S-Video cables are for video only, they do not carry the sound signal. If you are using a A/V receiver for your sound you should use the digital output on your DVD player if your receiver accepts a digital connection. If you are just running the sound to your TV then you just need the stereo RCA cable.

I agree you should see a difference between S-Video and a regular RCA cable but if you don't then just buy a cheap set of audio/video cables from Radio Shack.

Quality of cable is a huge debate. I have done countless blind tests with audio and video patch cable and there is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE between a cheap set of cables and an expensive set. The only time I have ever heard a difference in sound quality by changing cables is with speaker cable. In that instance I can hear an improvment with the more expensive cable.

cloud

Speaking in general terms as I do not know what is going on with your particular setup, S-Video makes a big difference when moving up from the RCA video connection (yellow jack).

I have all my equipment connected using S-Video - TiVo, VCR, DVD, satellite receiver, PS2 and Dreamcast. I don't use high end S-Video cables and the difference is still noticeable.

Finally from what you are saying you do not have a high ens setup so you will not neccessarily benefit from an expensive (Monster) cable. You should just get a decent quality cable from Radio Shack, Best Buy, Frys etc. Although if for what ever reason you can't tell the difference, which I find hard to believe then you might just want to return it.

reverb

Umm, Monster isn't even a consideration for real audiophiles Monster and Radio Shack cables would be in the same category.


We need to be careful with semantics here... RCA video connections exist on the highest end component HDTV connections, far superior to s-video. RCA is only the connector type. You are referring to composite connections, usually delineated by yellow, and utilizing RCA type connectors.


But yes, s-video is superior to composite and with a quality source and a calibrated monitor you should discern a difference. It should be harder to discern a difference between s-video and component.

Nonetheless, it seems very clear that you do not require the Monster Video 3 cable, and should at least trade down to the Video 2 or a comparable, more cost effective, solution.

BTW, I can absolutely discern differences from different quality cables and connectors, both audio and video, with the right gear. Cables color sound for example, it's physics. I will concede that you must be using excellent components for this to be applicable though. However, and this does apply here, often cheap video cables don't have true 75 ohm connectors which are required for video. But perhaps more important is quality construction, particularly in regards to shielding, which can be a big problem with video signals.

Incidentally, if you've yet to see differences in cable comparisons, I recommend a particular test... Take a generic video cable (composite, component, whatever) to a high-end shop with a calibrated display, and switch out your cable with a higher-end silver plated copper conductor cable. You should see a difference if your an acute viewer. Such a cable would be terrible for audio, BTW.



[Edited by reverb on 03-01-01 at 06:14 PM]

cloud

reverb I think we may have got our wires crossed somewhere.

I was refering to composite video and not component video. I am fully aware of the subltelity WRT the difference between S-Video and component, however there is a significant difference between composite and S-Video, which is what I was trying to point out.

DigIt

We need to be careful with semantics here... s-video is superior to composite, but it is not superior to component.

Kromax

Right. I thought I was missing something.

reverb

No doubt

Edited to correct erratum!


Right, but you didn't say composite video in your post, you said an RCA connection. Yellow may or may not indicate composite, so I was just pointing out you were referring to composite video, and that you can move up from s-video to RCA connections as well, if they are on component cables

cloud

Right, but you didn't say composite video in your post, you said an RCA connection. Yellow may or may not indicate composite, so I was just pointing out you were referring to composite video, and that you can move up from s-video to RCA connections as well, if they are on component cables

[/B][/QUOTE]

I was just trying to keep it in laymans terms.

Kelly2exp

I know this thread is kinda dead but I could use some help. I have a Toshiba 55xh70 and Iam planning on buying the Toshiba 6200. Iam alittle brain dead with all of this stuff so here my question. I know that this will have a s-video and my tv dose too should I use that or should I go with the rca one? I have a/v receiver, that has the 5.1 channel inputs or out(not sure). I see that you would just plug them in but I dont have plugs on my speaker wire just the wire. Do they make cables for these kinds of speakers? I would need the wire on the side of the speaker and the plug for the a/v side. And also should I use the color stream hook ups for the DVD, that are on the tv? Sorry to be so dum. Kelly
Your help would be great
Thanks

DigIt

You will get better image if you use the s-video output.

Quote:

I have a/v receiver, that has the 5.1 channel inputs or out (not sure).

No, you cannot do this. Speakers should be connected to the speaker outputs, whereas these are "line-level" outputs. Let's see if we can sort this out... If you have an A/V receiver, then you already have your speakers connected to the speaker outputs, correct? (You probably have 5 speakers if this is a surround-sound receiver, and it's operating correctly -- I hope.) You also say this A/V receiver also has 5.1 inputs or "6-channel DVD inputs". So now you are going to buy a DVD player with a decoder built in. You will need to buy 6 RCA-type audio cables and connect the 6 outputs on the back of the DVD player to the 6-channel input on the back of your recever. Then, on your receiver, select the 6-channel input and you should get the DVD sound through all 5 speakers and subwoofer. Make sense? You cannot hook up the speakers directly to the DVD player. Please post the model number of your receiver so someone can confirm that it is 5.1 Dolby Digital-ready, and you should have no problems.

Quote:

And also should I use the color stream hook ups for the DVD, that are on the tv?

If your TV has "Colorsream" inputs, this is another type of video connection known as component video, and it is even better than s-video. If both your TV and DVD player have this connection, it is best to use it. If not, use s-video. (Your last resort should be the single yellow "composite" video output.)

Hope that sorted some things out. If you're still confused, post again and someone can help you out.

[Edited by DigIt on 03-08-01 at 04:11 PM]

Kelly2exp

. You will need to buy 6 RCA-type audio cables and connect the 6 outputs on the back of the DVD player to the 6-channel input on the back of your recever. Then, on your receiver, select the 6-channel input and you should get the DVD sound through all 5 speakers and subwoofer. Make sense? You cannot hook up the speakers directly to the DVD player. Please post the model number of your receiver so someone can confirm that it is 5.1 Dolby Digital-ready, and you should have no problems.

Ok lets see I have one of those package deals surrond sound.
Sony STR-DE635 this is the only number I could find on it. I know this package is a little lame but I cant update that at this time.
Right now I have my VCR pluged into video-1 on the TV and the receiver is plug into auido out, and pluged into audio in on the video-1 receiver side.
When I get the DVD would I plug that into colorstream HD 1 and leave the rest?


And a big thank you for help me on this, My husband can fix cars but cant help me with this LOL. Oh yeah did I tell you I was blond Kelly

DigIt

Yes, this is a surround receiver that has a 6-channel input. Good.

Quote:

Right now I have my VCR plugged into video-1 on the TV and the receiver is plug into audio out, and plugged into audio in on the video-1 receiver side.

OK, makes sense, you have the TV audio output connected to your receiver. Now, you'll need to find out which receiver input has the 5.1 input, it is most likely "DVD". You'll want to connect the 6-channel outputs on the back of the DVD player to the 6-channel inputs on the receiver "DVD" input, and you should be good to go for Dolby Digital surround sound.
The VCR can most likely stay where it is.

Quote:

When I get the DVD would I plug that into colorstream HD 1 and leave the rest?

Wow, this is gonna be great. You will need a component video cable (a 3-way video cable) and you will connect the 3 progressive-scan component video outputs on the DVD player to the 3 high-definition "Colorstream" inputs on the back of the TV. This will give you the best possible picture resolution available. (If for some reason it does not work, I suggest you resort to s-video until you can figure out why -- this HD stuff can be tricky.)

Let's recap: You have the VCR video and audio going to the TV. You have the TV audio going to the receiver on "Video1", so you can listen to TV shows and VCR tapes in Dolby Pro-Logic Surround Sound. You have the DVD player hooked up to the progressive-scan component-video input on the TV, and the 6-channel 5.1 audio is connected to the receiver's 6-channel 5.1 "DVD" input for listening to the DVD player in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.

You might have to do a few menu changes on the DVD player to enable the built-in decoder to send the 5.1 6-channel sound. Check the manual, should be easy. You'll also have to tell the receiver to use all 6 channels in the "DVD" 5.1 input. This is usually a small button that needs to be switched once. Then you're all set for audio.

Likewise, consult your TV's manual for making sure that the TV is accepting the DVD input correctly. There's so many things you can do with your TV -- progressive input, 16:9 enhancement, etc. -- that I can't possibly give you help on all of it. All I can suggest is that if you're getting an excellent picture on the TV but the image seems a little stretched vertically (people look tall & skinny) you should either (a) set the DVD player to 4:3 mode instead of 16:9 or (b) set the TV to 16:9-enhanced mode instead of 4:3. Consult your manuals for info.

Anway, that should get you set up and ready to go. If you encounter any problems, start a new thread here and people will be glad to help. Otherwise, once you've settled in and you want to start tweaking your system, experimenting with different picture modes, or upgrading your equipment, you can check back to learn some more.

And don't let anyone ever tell you you're dumb -- after you do this, you've got bragging rights over your husband!


[Edited by DigIt on 03-09-01 at 07:12 AM]

Kelly2exp

hey DigIt, I think I have it. So now I just need to go buy the DVD, and the cables and I think that will be it. ( I hope) I think the tv's going to look great. and I need to give you a big thank you.

I liked how you found a pic of my receiver, thats really cool. Thanks again have a cool day Kelly

Kelly2exp

Sorry Iam back hate to be a pain in a**, but I have a problem. Here gos, I just went out and bought two sets of rca cables to replace the really crapy ones I have. Before I tell you the rest yet me tell you how I have my old ones on. VCR- one set on video out gose to the tv video 1 input.
receiver-one set of oudio cables (white/red) in the video1-oudio in. going to the tv oudio out.

Ok I know that I should be doing it like this and have tryed many times: VCR-one set video/audio cables coming from video out-- to receiver video1 input. (coming out the outputs on the receiver, set two video/audio cables going to the TVs video1 inputs. I have tryed and tryed this it will not work, the sound is there but no pic, I know this is how it is done because on the old TV work great.
Iam at a lost. I dont have the manual for the receiver so I cant look at it and the tv one is no help. Kelly

I hope Iam making my point clear. Thanks