Please help achieve HDTV without HDMI...

Our daughter bought a condo in a deal that included appliances, etc., of
which one was an LCD television set by LG: model DU-42LZ30. Online there
are excellent reviews for this ~4 year old product, but the published
specifications confirm that it lacks an HDMI input.

The off-air HDTV tuner is excellent, and for that we need no help.
However, she has a DVR "Box" from Time Warner that has video, component
video, and HDMI outputs.

The LG television set has the following inputs:

RS232 - DB-9
Component - 3 RCAs
DVI - 24 pin
S-Video - 4-pin DIN


At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video, but the
image is definitely *NOT* HDTV-quality. What can we do to improve the
video?

Thanks,

Lon

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
In article ,
Lon wrote:

At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video

Ummmmmm...if those are three RCA jacks colored red, white, and yellow,
that isn't component. That's composite.

They are, so presumably it is, though I don't know the difference.

Still, redefining the problem - what do we do about it? Purchase an
HDMIVI adapter? Or?

Thanks

On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:21:19 -0800, Lon wrote:

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
In article ,
Lon wrote:

At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video

Ummmmmm...if those are three RCA jacks colored red, white, and yellow,
that isn't component. That's composite.

They are, so presumably it is, though I don't know the difference.

Still, redefining the problem - what do we do about it? Purchase an
HDMIVI adapter? Or?

No, you get a set of component cables. They will be red, blue, and green
(RGB), and may also have the audio cables included which are red and
white. you plug those 5 cables into the component and audio output of the
TW box and configure the TW box outputs to match your TV. You can use 2
sets of composite cables (y,r,w) to test the component output, but it
will not be as good as using real component cables (RGB+ RW for audio).
Download the manual for your TV or pretty much any TV, and it will show
you how to connect it.

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Lon wrote:
At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video

Ummmmmm...if those are three RCA jacks colored red, white, and yellow,
that isn't component. That's composite.

They are, so presumably it is, though I don't know the difference.

Component video (three plugs; red, green, and blue) offers excellent
quality that is more or less indistinguishable from a digital
connection (HDMI or DVI). Composite video (one plug; yellow)'s quality
is greatly inferior.

If the settop box is high definition-capable, it likely has component
jacks. The television also likely has component jacks. Get a component
cable, either a five-plug type (with red and white cables for the
audio jacks), or a three-plus type (and use your existing red and
white cables).

Purchase an HDMIVI adapter?

If the settop box is high-definition-capable, it also likely has DVI
output. Yes, a DVI-to-HDMI adapter is an alternative to component
video; of course, you'll need a DVI cable, and you will again reuse
the existing red and white cables.

I personally use Monoprice.com for cables and adapters that are much,
much, much cheaper than from the local Best Buy.

--
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On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:21:19 -0800, Lon
wrote:

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
In article ,
Lon wrote:

At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video

Ummmmmm...if those are three RCA jacks colored red, white, and yellow,
that isn't component. That's composite.

They are, so presumably it is, though I don't know the difference.

Still, redefining the problem - what do we do about it? Purchase an
HDMIVI adapter? Or?

Thanks

Yes, you can buy a cable that has an HDMI connection to your STB and a
DVI connection to your TV, that will give you HD picture but no sound,
so you need to add simple coax for sound separately. I "think" there
may be some special adapters that will give you sound over DVI, but
I've not seen them, and it's likely that you have to have something
special on the TV side for that to work.

BUT, if those component connection have good component cables, you
should already be getting HD. I have one HD DVR connected to my 1080p
set via HDMI and the other HD DVR connected via component cables, and
I can't tell any difference in the picture quality when viewing 1080i
content.

Lon wrote (in part):

Our daughter bought a condo in a deal that included appliances, etc., of
which one was an LCD television set by LG: model DU-42LZ30. Online there
are excellent reviews for this ~4 year old product, but the published
specifications confirm that it lacks an HDMI input.

If the owner's manual is missing, it's available he
http://www.hdtvreview.com/pdf/lg-ele...z30-manual.pdf

The off-air HDTV tuner is excellent, and for that we need no help.
However, she has a DVR "Box" from Time Warner that has video, component
video, and HDMI outputs.

The LG television set has the following inputs:

RS232 - DB-9
Component - 3 RCAs
DVI - 24 pin
S-Video - 4-pin DIN

The DB-9 isn't for video. However, there's also a DB-15 for VGA-style
video. 2 sets of component inputs (red/blue/green) with analog audio
(red/white), 2 composite (yellow) or S-Video with analog audio and 2
DVI inputs. There are also optical audio inputs associated with at
least 1 DVI and 1 component input. I didn't read far enough to
determine all the possibilities.

At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video, but the
image is definitely *NOT* HDTV-quality. What can we do to improve the
video?

Component (not composite or S-Video) should give you HD very similar
to what you see off-air. It's possible the cable STB is reducing the
resolution on the component output. In any case, I recommend trying
an HDMI to DVI cable. Don't pay a lot for it. You'll find good
prices he
http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...s_id=10231 04

See p. 14 of the manual for various STB connection options.

You can also connect the cable directly to the TV, bypassing the STB,
and scan for unencrypted cable channels. The manual isn't clear about
whether the TV will tune digital cable but If it does you'll probably
just find the ones you're already getting with an antenna plus a few
others you don't care about (which is why they're not encrypted).

Del Mibbler

Del Mibbler wrote:
Lon wrote (in part):

Our daughter bought a condo in a deal that included appliances, etc., of
which one was an LCD television set by LG: model DU-42LZ30. Online there
are excellent reviews for this ~4 year old product, but the published
specifications confirm that it lacks an HDMI input.

If the owner's manual is missing, it's available he
http://www.hdtvreview.com/pdf/lg-ele...z30-manual.pdf
The off-air HDTV tuner is excellent, and for that we need no help.
However, she has a DVR "Box" from Time Warner that has video, component
video, and HDMI outputs.

The LG television set has the following inputs:

RS232 - DB-9
Component - 3 RCAs
DVI - 24 pin
S-Video - 4-pin DIN

The DB-9 isn't for video. However, there's also a DB-15 for VGA-style
video. 2 sets of component inputs (red/blue/green) with analog audio
(red/white), 2 composite (yellow) or S-Video with analog audio and 2
DVI inputs. There are also optical audio inputs associated with at
least 1 DVI and 1 component input. I didn't read far enough to
determine all the possibilities.
At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video, but the
image is definitely *NOT* HDTV-quality. What can we do to improve the
video?

Component (not composite or S-Video) should give you HD very similar
to what you see off-air. It's possible the cable STB is reducing the
resolution on the component output. In any case, I recommend trying
an HDMI to DVI cable. Don't pay a lot for it. You'll find good
prices he
http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...s_id=10231 04

See p. 14 of the manual for various STB connection options.

You can also connect the cable directly to the TV, bypassing the STB,
and scan for unencrypted cable channels. The manual isn't clear about
whether the TV will tune digital cable but If it does you'll probably
just find the ones you're already getting with an antenna plus a few
others you don't care about (which is why they're not encrypted).

Del Mibbler

Good overview, Del, but it seems like a lot for a display that is not
'true hd' (only 720).

On Nov 27, 3:44*pm, Lon wrote:

At the moment she has the TW Box connected via component video, but the
image is definitely *NOT* HDTV-quality. What can we do to improve the
video?

Note that the CNET review http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...tml#cnetReview
says, in part, "Resolution measured much higher with the DVI input
than with either of the component-video inputs; the component-video
input rolls off some of the high-frequency video resolution from a
720p signal. We recommend that you use the DVI input for your HDTV
connection."

So you might do better with an HDMI-DVI cable, as others have already
suggested.

Constructive/gratifying responses -- THANK YOU.

She'll pick up an HDMIDVI cable today, which for a few dollars should
optimize the situation.

Ken wrote:
On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:27:12 -0500, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
wrote:

Good overview, Del, but it seems like a lot for a display
that is not 'true hd' (only 720).

720p *is* true HD.

No.

Sorry Ken, you are plain wrong. 720p is hd,
as is 1080i and 1080p.

Chip

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