I currently have my 811 hooked up to my projector with component cables. I'm going to buy a 720p projector with HDMI, and I'm wondering if I'll see any improvement in the image from 811 with DVI/HDMI hookup vs. component? I know I should theoretically, but has anyone compared the 811's component output to DVI output? Thanks.
811 and DVI input
- Thread starter JimMcC
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Local dealer had an 811 hooked up for a bit, he thought the 811 looked slightly better with the components.
I've got both hooked up to my Sammy, and HDMI/DVI connection looks better on the Hi-Def channels, and about equal on the SD channels.
You have to remember that component connection is analog, and HDMI/DVI is the only digital output from the STB.
Of course, OTA HD looks the best.
Walt
You have to remember that component connection is analog, and HDMI/DVI is the only digital output from the STB.
Of course, OTA HD looks the best.
Walt
I have an 811 and have tried both. IMO the component had better color then the HDMI and the HDMI was a bit sharper but color not so bright.
Yeah - That has been exactly my experience - digital is sharper, analog is "warmer". This is a very subjective evaluation and there will be a wide range of opinions.
I believe I have always had my 811 and my 622 set at 1080i.
My Sony TV also has a "color palette" that will allow me to do a lot of adjusting on the color rendition so perhaps if I spend some time with that I can make the HDMI result appear to have the same color saturation is with component. But due to lack of time I still have the unit at the factory settings.
I also agree with Grampaw that OTA looks the best, in my case that's in terms of sharpness, but that is due to the higher resolution from my local OTA HDs vs. anything presently coming over the sat. That is under the control of the local b'caster, i.e., how much BW he wants to allocate to each signal in his channel, so YMMV...
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I have an 811 set at 1080i (for HD of course) using the DVI output. DVI looks a little better than component for me. The color saturation is better using DVI in both HD and SD. It can depend on your TV, but generally a digital transfer will look better.
JimMcC, you need a DVI-D cable if you decide to go DVI. You can also by a hybred DVI to HDMI cable if that's what you need. Need a good price on that cable? Go to monoprice.com for your cables. You cannot beat the price for cables there.
JimMcC, you need a DVI-D cable if you decide to go DVI. You can also by a hybred DVI to HDMI cable if that's what you need. Need a good price on that cable? Go to monoprice.com for your cables. You cannot beat the price for cables there.
I've run my Sammy DLP (720p native) from both the DVI and component outputs of the Dish 811 (had both over 3 years). I leave the Dish 811 set to 1080i output and let my Sammy do the conversion. Sometimes, if I really care about a live show broadcast from a 720p source (e.g., NFL on Fox), I'll reset the Dish 811 to a 720p output to eliminate any conversions. The Dish 811 does a terrible job of converting 1080i broadcasts to 720p, so almost anybody else's converter will do better.
On OTA HD, the DVI output will produce a slightly sharper picture, but the colors will be less saturated than with the component output. You can play with your HDTVs settings to improve the color saturation, but I could never get it to equal that of a well tuned component input. On all other sources, the sharpness is about the same and the color is almost always better with component. Note, the Dish 811 off of DVI had significantly better PQ than component back in 2003 and early 2004. Then Dish did a software change to "fix" the dark picture output from s-video and screwed up the DVI color output. They never fixed this dispite many complaints. In fact, Dish never acknowledged the problem.
Anyway, I run my Sammy off the Dish 811 component output and use the 2 DVI inputs (I have a switch on the DVI input to my Sammy) for an upscaling DVD Player and an LG LST4200A OTA HDTV receiver. With the LG receiver, I get the best HD picture of all using the DVI input.
