component connections - crt to wdtv

[jayantadak]

Hi,

I am using the wdTVlive with my crt sony 29". Since it is not lcd/plasma the hdmi connects are out of question, hence I opted for the composite route. The a/v connections were fine. I have hooked the optical cable to my avr with the wd, and as for the video I connected with the usual yellow cable for video at the back of my tv. So far so good.

The manual suggests to use component cables for better video quality. I tried to connect the same via component i.e. y/b/g. My tv has one set of the y/b/g slots. But are these slots only for the video signals emitted from the dvd player and not for any other device ? (like the media player or VCR) Because when I connected my wd to my crt through the component cables it did not work, no picture.Let me illustrate what I did: I removed the yellow video cable from the composite cable cluster and let remained the red & white audio cables, and at the same time connected the y/b/g cables to the component slot on the rear of my tv. And since there is only one set of y/b/g slot on my tv, there is no other option for component. BTW I also use a dvdp with this set up with composite connections AFAIT even if I remove my dvd player from the whole set-up, it won't work, because I feel the y/b/g slots are dedicated for dvd player signals. Just correct me I got it wrong. Is there any other way to hook up via component cables ?

Thanks and regards

JAYANT

 

[shredder]

The y/b/g is not exclusively for DVD player. It will accept a video signal from any source. I think the solution lies in your WD player. Connect with normal composite cable (yellow) first. Go into the settings and there should be an option to enable component output. Then try again with the component cables. It will work.
I had a similar experience with my PS2 a while back. I had ordered component cables but on initial setup they showed no signal.......... until I went into the PS2 settings and set output for component.
Let us know if this helped.

 

[rsennat]

FYI, I have WDTV first gen. It doesn't have composite out at all. only component, digital audio out optical), hdmi and 2 usb slots. so how could you get component out from WDTV first to connect to your tv's component?

you either need to use hdmi/composite for video. please check for wdtv live does it have this connection first. if so, change the settings in wdtv to use that.

 

[rsennat]

I checked that wdtv live has component out. so you only need to make sure in the settings or cable quality or settings in your tv.

 

[jayantadak]

@shredder,

Hi, thanks for sharing your views. Actually I had done as you had suggested, i.e. I had first connected via composite, changed the settings in A/v to Component video > selected perhaps 520 @50Hz or so,also selected 720 @50 Hz as it was prompted> selected rbg > and came out of it, and later connected via component but still there was no signal.

Are we supposed to let remain the composite video cable (the yellow one) in the Tv's rear, and along with also connect via r/b/g. But then I think the whole object of rbg gets defeated, and moreover it won't make sense of plugging the yellow composite video cable along with the r b g (component) ACtually I did that too, I got the signal but it was definitely of the video composite.

Pl let me know any other settings if to be done in the WDTV Live or my Sony TV. I think there are no settings in the TV as far as component and composite is concerned.

Thanks again and regards

JAYANT

 

[shredder]

Do not connect composite and component at the same time. You can try changing the cables perhaps??

 

[venkatcr]

I removed the yellow video cable from the composite cable cluster and let remained the red & white audio cables, and at the same time connected the y/b/g cables to the component slot on the rear of my tv. And since there is only one set of y/b/g slot on my tv, there is no other option for component.

At the outset there is no need to remove any cables. You can actually connect one source to the TV through multiple connection types. Depending upon which input you choose, the TV will use that option.

Do the following:

1. Make sure the component cable is all right by testing it with the DVD Player.

2. Remember that component does not carry audio, so you have to ensure that the WDTV is connected to the TV through an audio cable also.

3. Connect the WDTV to the TV with the component cable after making sure the Blue and the Green are connected properly to their slots in both the TV and the WDTV. If you reverse these cables you will not get any signal. I make this mistake many times.

4. Set the TV to component input option.

5. Set the WDTV to component out option.

See what happens.

Cheers

 

[jayantadak]

@venkatcr

Sure thing Venkat, I gonna try that soon. But are you sure the tv has the component input option. It's a SONY CRT 29" bought some 6 years ago. No doubt the WD has the component output option which I have set accordingly. Also will take care what shredder commented of not using both the composites and components simultaneously.
Will post the results.

Thanks guys

JAYANT

 

[venkatcr]

But are you sure the tv has the component input option. It's a SONY CRT 29" bought some 6 years ago.

Only you can confirm that. If you look at the back, component RCA ports will either be marked as such of the ports will be two sockets with Blue and Green colour inside. If not, that mean your CRT has only composite.

Cheers

 

[jayantadak]

@venkatcr

It has 3 sockets (green, red and blue) and not two(green and Blue) as pointed by you. It has also got two additional sockets for audio (red and white)and have specified as component video input jacks. The whole RCA port consists of 5 sockets. What I meant in my earlier post, was : is there any settings to be done in TV through remote or on the panel for activating the component video input. WD has this option of selecting the composite or component connection in its "Settings". All the same I am exploring the settings through the TV remote for the same.

Also can you suggest as what to what setting should be selected for the WD component option which prompts for 480p /576p/ 720p /1080i. I have a few movies D/loaded at 720p and 1080p.

Regards.

JAYANT

 

[viper08]

@jayantadak

Check your TV user manual. I beleive your CRT is normal CRT and not 100hz HDTV. Unless your manual specifies it support 480p, 720p it has maximum input resolution upto 480i. (It can not be feed with progressive signal)

Are you able to get the 480P from DVD through component? if not then there is no way to connect to WDTV as it has minimum 480p through component and you will get 480i through composite only which is the only working option.

 

[jayantadak]

@viper08

It is not 100 Hz HDTV. I went through the manual, where it specifies- "If your DVD player can output interlace and progressive mode signals select the interlace output on your dvdp when connecting to component video input on your TV"

It also further states - "Your TV can receiver either 525i/60Hz or 625i/50Hz interlace signals." which implies that the TV is capable of receiving only interlace signals.

I have never used the DVD player through the component cables hence I won't able to comment whether it gets 480p through it. Is there any way whereby I can be ascertained if I get 480p from the dvdp. My DVD manual says that it has both progressive as well as interlace video, interlace being the default setting.

Rest everything is checked as per (1) matching the colour-coded connectors
(2) Setting the option of component video on WD (3).. and I can't blame the cables since they are brand new, just opened.

So what do you make out of it. Let me know if there is a possibility of skipping anything else. BTW how far is the component superior to composite percentage-wise. I have a few d/loaded movies at 720p and 1080p, will it make a marked difference on my CRT, that too if I am lucky to get
componently connected.

Your inputs will be highly appreciated.

Regards

JAYANT

 

[venkatcr]

Most CRTs can accept only interlaced signals. Only digital TVs can accept progressive signals. If you WDTV cannot output interlaced signals, you may not be able to use component connection at all.

It is very difficult to measure the difference between composite and component in percentages. The colours will be brighter and more resolved, and the biggest advantage will be less blurs during high speed motion. Contrast also will be more and the images will be sharper.

Cheers

 

[viper08]

sure Jayant. Will try to help as much I can.
Let me clear the points:

1) As the manual clearly says that it accepts only interlaced singnals, there is no way it can be feed with P singal.
2) You can try 480p through DVD via the output option of player. Check your manual again for how to set the option. Each model will have its own menu/button, so can not comment on that. Sometimes it refers as YbYpR option. If your tv can not support it (mostly not) then it will display some artifacts or freezing or jumping picture or no picture at all. make sure same time you connect by composite as well so that you can switch to it and change the option to interlace again if your component input freezes.
3) Component is way better than composite. It accepts till 1080i but analague signal. Talking percentage-wise is a subjective term but I can see at least 30% improvement in colour and sharpness of picture reason being 3 seperate colour info.
4)Your 720p,1080p movies will surely look better on CRT due to detailed colour information and sharpness than 480i source. But you will need to set the output of player to 480p only ( provided your TV support 480P) You can not have higher resolution that the supported input resolution (in your case is 525i/60Hz or 625i/50Hz which is NTSC or PAL)
5) To ovrcome the issue you have follwoing option.
a) Get a full hd flat panel tv and connect via HDMI
b)if you still like CRT get a used CRT HDTV. some models are philips pixel plus and Sony Wega DRC-MF. But they dont support 1080p or HDMI and spcae is an issue.
c) Look for new breed DVD / Blu ray player supporting 480i through component (just like you have) but with USB input supporting multi file formats. But again they will be limited to resolution of upto 480p due to HDCP on component and file formats.

So on the concluding part I would say you will need to change either tv or WDTV as both do not handshake on component.

 

[jayantadak]

@venkatcr

Thanks Venkat for you inputs. With crt I have hit a dead-end as far as components are concerned due to the limitation of transmitting of interlaced signals through WD. Looking forward for a HD panel purchase in the near future.

@viper08,

Thanks again bro, for elaborating and explaining the issue. As of now I would rather continue with the composites, and 720p or 1080p stuff would not matter on my dated crt. May be by year end I would switch over to SONY LCD or PLASMA,along with a Blu-ray player possibly Samsung. I would prefer Samsung blu-ray over Sony as it would play majority of the formats with no restricted playability as in Sony.

Thanks and regards

JAYANT