OT but Please help me understand s-video connection from my PC to Television

Fotis_Greece wrote on 4/20/2003, 6:24 PM
My VGA card is an ASUS 8460 Ultra which has a. s-video out for connection to the TV. I am mostly interested in using it for viewing DVD movies in my big TV Set. I have some questions to ask since I am a bit confused with cables issues:
1)I have realised that the best quality connection is connection s-video to s-video to the TV set (if it has such input). Is it true?
2) Most televisions I have seen do not have s-video input but only scart (in europe where I live). Is it possible this scart to actully be s-video input with the appropriate adaptor? I mean I have bought an s-video cable which ends by itself in a scart connector. Is my TV set now receiving s-video signal or the scart "kills" the quality?
3) What is the maximum allowed length of an s-video cable so as not to lose quality
4)I have seen s-video ports with 7 or 4 pins. Is there a difference?
5) In the site of the software TV Toll (http://tvtool.info/index_e.htm) the author says that the s-video connection has the disadvantage of having to use two cables, one for Luminance and one for Chrominance. I can't understand this, where does the second cable connects since the VGA has only one port?
(Here is what he says:Especially TVs of the higher price segment offer also a S-VHS input. The 'S' means super and shall clarify that this standard offers a better quality than normal VHS. The S-VHS standard transmits video signals on two lines. On one line you find a b/w picture and on the other line there is the belonging color information. By splitting the picture into these parts the interference effects can be avoided. Also most device which can handle S-VHS use the full resolution of the PAL or the NTSC standards. Therefore you get a sharper picture than with VHS. The disadvantage is that you need two lines instead of one. Also you need special connectors when making a cable since the normal cinch cables can´t be used.If you want to make a S-VHS cable you have to use two lines of course, one for the luminance and one for the chrominance. So if your cable must be 15 m long you have to buy 30 m, what can make the connection expensive)

6) If my TV set is long away from the TV set how can I connect it without losing quality, is there such a thing as repeater like the way we use firewire cables for long connections networking.

I would really appreciate if you could please someone clarify these issues to me. Thanks in advance

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 4/20/2003, 9:27 PM
1)I have realised that the best quality connection is connection s-video to s-video to the TV set (if it has such input). Is it true?

Almost the best. Its better than the old red/white/yellow RCA plugs. If you have component connectors, (most TV's don't) that's a further step up from S-Video. Then of course there is digial input...

2) Most televisions I have seen do not have s-video input but only scart (in europe where I live). Is it possible this scart to actully be s-video input with the appropriate adaptor? I mean I have bought an s-video cable which ends by itself in a scart connector. Is my TV set now receiving s-video signal or the scart "kills" the quality?

Apples and oranges. A SCART connector has more options than a "S" video connector, so you can connect more devices with it. For more:

http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/eprebel/SoundAndVision/Engineering/SCART.html

3) What is the maximum allowed length of an s-video cable so as not to lose quality

I haven't seen them bigger than 25 feet. Most are 10 to 6 feet. I doubt signal loss would be that big an issue until you get over 100 feet or so. Just a guess, never tried more than 10 feet myself.

4)I have seen s-video ports with 7 or 4 pins. Is there a difference?

See the page I offered.

5) In the site of the software TV Toll (http://tvtool.info/index_e.htm) the author says that the s-video connection has the disadvantage of having to use two cables, one for Luminance and one for Chrominance. I can't understand this, where does the second cable connects since the VGA has only one port?

He was referring to TWO wires part the "S" video cable. In other words the Luminance is carried on one wire, the Chrominace on another. Actually this makes for a BETTER images, which is why it is superior to the RCA cables that combine the video into a single connector and only seperate the right and left audio channels.

6) If my TV set is long away from the TV set how can I connect it without losing quality, is there such a thing as repeater like the way we use firewire cables for long connections networking.

Sure. Unless you have a very long run it shouldn't be necessary. What you're looking for if you need it is commonly called a singal splitter/booster/amplifer. What they call it in Europe, I don't know. You guys talk funny. <wink>.

Chienworks wrote on 4/20/2003, 9:47 PM
In response to #3, we often run S-Video cables over 160' (50m) in our church without any noticeable loss. However, we're using high grade braided oxygen-free copper cabling. It's rather pricey, but definately worth it. I've got a 45' run of it here in my house going from my computer room upstairs down to the TV in the living room. The picture downstairs looks perfectly bright and clear. By comparison, composite video seems to start getting fuzzy after 20 or 25'.