S-Video hack for DTV converter box?

I like the programmable feature of the DTV Pal (Dish Network) converter box.
The one drawback is that it doesn't output S-Video.

I haven't received it yet, so I can't crack it open and give component
specifics but are the video chips that are common in these boxes capable of
both composite and S-Video output? Is it likely that only a connector and a
bit of wire is all that is needed for a slightly better signal output?

Thanks,
--
DaveC

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DaveC wrote:
I like the programmable feature of the DTV Pal (Dish Network) converter box.
The one drawback is that it doesn't output S-Video.

I haven't received it yet, so I can't crack it open and give component
specifics but are the video chips that are common in these boxes capable of
both composite and S-Video output? Is it likely that only a connector and a
bit of wire is all that is needed for a slightly better signal output?

Thanks,

It would be much simpler to buy a composite to s-video adapter. Places
like MCM Electronics sell them for $4.99 (part number 33-0001 for the
"S" male to RCA female version).
--
Bill R.


e-mail address disguised to reduce spam

"Bill R" wrote in message
...
It would be much simpler to buy a composite to s-video adapter.

Yeah, but then the image quality is no better than the original composite
signal. For a larger TV set, this difference is noticeable.

Yeah, but then the image quality is no better than the original composite
signal. For a larger TV set, this difference is noticeable.

Yeah, the whole purpose for adding a S-Video connector isn't for convenience,
but to get the video signals (ie separate Y & C signals) "prior" to the
composite connector.
--
John English

On Feb 19, 3:27*pm, "Joel Koltner"
wrote:
"Bill R" wrote in message

...

It would be much simpler to buy a composite to s-video adapter.

Yeah, but then the image quality is no better than the original composite
signal. *For a larger TV set, this difference is noticeable.

Is/was S-video ever really better quality signals than Composite
video?
My impression is that converting between the two was only a
matter of routing the right pin.

Was the alleged higher quality (S-Video over composite)
by virtue of the type of cabling as opposed to the
signal sent through it?

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produc...-322G-/33-0001

$7.89

Features:
This high quality adaptor converts composite video to S video and S
video to composite video. With a male S VHS connector on one end and a
female RCA type connector on the other (#33-0001), only a standard RCA
type video cable is required for connection or you can match the S-
video adaptor to your cables. The adaptor measures only 13/4" long and
1/2" in diameter allowing it to plug directly into the equipment and
solves the problems associated with mixing composite and S–video
inputs and outputs.
Note: This unit is a passive device and although it will allow
composite video signals to be used in S video inputs the signal will
remain the quality of composite video.

Greegor wrote:

Is/was S-video ever really better quality signals than Composite
video?

Yes.

My impression is that converting between the two was only a
matter of routing the right pin.

http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html


Was the alleged higher quality (S-Video over composite)
by virtue of the type of cabling as opposed to the
signal sent through it?

Nope.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produc...-322G-/33-0001

$7.89

Expensive for a single cap.

--
Adrian C

On Feb 19, 2:06*pm, Greegor wrote:
On Feb 19, 3:27*pm, "Joel Koltner"
wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message

...

It would be much simpler to buy a composite to s-video adapter.

Yeah, but then the image quality is no better than the original
composite
signal. *For a larger TV set, this difference is noticeable.

Is/was S-video ever really better quality signals than Composite
video?
My impression is that converting between the two was only a
matter of routing the right pin.

Was the alleged higher quality (S-Video over composite)
by virtue of the type of cabling as opposed to the
signal sent through it?

Yes - provided there was sufficient bandwidth of he components

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produc...M-RGB-322G-/33...

$7.89

Features:
This high quality adaptor converts composite video to S video and S
video to composite video. With a male S VHS connector on one end
and a
female RCA type connector on the other (#33-0001), only a standard
RCA
type video cable is required for connection or you can match the S-
video adaptor to your cables. The adaptor measures only 13/4" long
and
1/2" in diameter allowing it to plug directly into the equipment
and
solves the problems associated with mixing composite and S–video
inputs and outputs.
Note: This unit is a passive device and although it will allow
composite video signals to be used in S video inputs the signal
will
remain the quality of composite video.

The worst thing to happen to composite video is to mix the cubcarrier
onto the 'Y' channel because separating them out can bve real easy
(cheap trap, poor performance) or difficult (expensive comb). The
cheapy adaptor isn't even a trap in that there is still subcarrier on
the 'Y' channel. The best separators are the digital 3 line combs
which some of the expensive TVs have in them. They come _very_ close
to component but cost more.

G²

In article ,
Adrian C wrote:

Is/was S-video ever really better quality signals than Composite
video?

Yes.

My impression is that converting between the two was only a
matter of routing the right pin.

http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html


Was the alleged higher quality (S-Video over composite)
by virtue of the type of cabling as opposed to the
signal sent through it?

Nope.

S-Video sends the color (chroma) and brightness (luminance)
information separately. Composite video sends them both as part of
the same electrical signal.

A TV or monitor needs to deal with chroma and luminance separately in
order to produce a color picture. If they're sent separately (via
S-Video) they're pretty much ready to use. If they're sent together
(as a composite signal) the TV has to separate them before using them.

Unfortunately, the chroma and luminance parts of a composite-video
signal actually overlap (in the frequency domain). This makes it
difficult for the TV to separate them cleanly - the process of
filtering one out of the other tends to create artifacts (e.g. "dot
crawl" at brightly-lit edges).

Many video-source devices (e.g. digital set-top boxes) can and do
create the chroma and luminance signals separately. Sending them to
the TV via separate wires, and avoiding the "combine them, and then
filter them apart" step, eliminates the artifacts-of-filtering-them-
apart, and thus gives you a better-looking image.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

Thanks, guys.

But i'm talking about a soldering iron hack. I guess what I want to know is
whether the Y and C signals are commonly available on pins of a video chip
used in many of these TV converter boxes. I have no qualms about running
conductors from pins on an IC to an epoxied-in S-video connector.
--
DaveC

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On Feb 19, 6:45*pm, DaveC wrote:
Thanks, guys.

But i'm talking about a soldering iron hack. I guess what I want to know is
whether the Y and C signals are commonly available on pins of a video chip
used in many of these TV converter boxes. I have no qualms about running
conductors from pins on an IC to an epoxied-in S-video connector.
--
DaveC

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Please reply in the news group

It depends on exactly which chip is used for the output of the box.
Datasheets are often availalble for many chips on-line as freebies.
There are almost always examples of how to use the chip which would
likely include S-video if the chip is capable of it. So, it's time to
peel off the lid and tell us what chips are actually in the box.

G²