Moderately Technical Format Questions

[CowboyDren]

I have a 625 DVR, and I like it quite a bit. It runs into a 31" Sanyo CRT TV, which is on it's last leg. Naturally, buying another 4:3 ratio CRT sounds like a bad idea, especially considering the price nosedive of 42-ish" 16:9 LCD TVs. I can nurse the CRT a little longer to try and waste the least money on a flashy new screen. But I got to thinking...

The 625 has an S-Video output. Does it put out 480i or 480p? What is the underlying MPEG implementation on my standard programming, anyway? Is it really just NTSC video frame size, or is it actually bigger and better?

I've tried digging in the forums a bit, but there's just SO MUCH CHATTER that I couldn't wade through it. The HD DVR looks nice, but I'm just not ready to take that monthly cost hit...it'll be bad enough that I'm paying off a $2000 TV.

 

[garys]

Several of the LCD tv's do not handle s-video/rca inputs very well. You may wind up spending several thousand dollars and wind up with a poorer PQ from your 625.

 

[navychop]

I'd say that was likely. And why buy a $2,000 HDTV and get little if any HD use out of it when maybe $200 more might get the full HD signal? I think after 2/1, or maybe now, you might get a deal where you pay $200, but get $200 in programming credits, and get a ViP622. Someone more knowledgeable than I might help you here. Call a CSR and see what they say. You'll pay an additional $20 per month for HD. I don't think you'll have any other additional amount to pay, assuming you swap the 625 out.

Besides, I'm pretty sure S-video doesn't pass 480p, just 480i. It certainly doesn't pass any higher resolution.

SD from satellite is normally MPEG-2, but will slowly move to MPEG-4 (which the 625 does not support). SD is 480 lines out of a 525 signal. Digitally, you might actually get 400 to 480 viewable lines. I think OTA analog you get 350-400, and VHS as low as 200. Other factors vary these numbers somewhat. If you want HD, you need an HD signal and an HDTV. You won't magically get SD looking better on an HDTV- there isn't any extra picture info thrown away by the 625 or analog TVs.

 

[Smith P.]

It was reports Dish provided on PPV 704x480 and for regular channels 640x480 recently, but now they downplay to 544x480 and 480x480 .
S-VHS output is 480i only, regardless channel resolution.

 

[CowboyDren]

SD from satellite is normally MPEG-2, but will slowly move to MPEG-4 (which the 625 does not support)...If you want HD, you need an HD signal and an HDTV. You won't magically get SD looking better on an HDTV- there isn't any extra picture info thrown away by the 625 or analog TVs.

The migration from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 is the only thing that bothers me. I've even been looking at EDTV monitors (which are only 480 lines anyway) because the 625 and a plain-old 480p DVD player are my sources. By the math, a 40-42" (diagonal) 16:9 screen is the same height as my 31" 4:3 screen, and I have no intention of going any bigger.

TV isn't really that important to me, but I like to watch what I like to watch, and I'd like for it to look nice. It's also important to know how bad the CRT is running these days. No ghosting yet, but I have a lot of field instability.

Who knows? Maybe by this time next year, a 50" LCD will cost a Grand, and Dish will be giving away 500-hour DVR units? Thanks for the technical info, guys.

 

[navychop]

Good luck. You can certainly save on EDTV monitors, but look at them to make sure there aren't other drawbacks- some have poor PQ. I suspect this is the last batch of EDTVs in your size range, they'll all be HDTVs in the future.