Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Component cables over-rated

Spent the weekend trying to get DVD player to work with component cables. Frustrating. The DVD image was black and white with two images on screen. Distorted and unwatchable. Found the manual and it tells me I have to turn off Progressive scan to get player to work with Component cables. Is that a step back to go one forward or what? Granted I don't have the best DVD player or T.V. but the picture was the same with S-video. Returning cables and buying new movies or CDS. More enjoyment out of those.

To me this does not make sense. To view a 480p signal, you need at least Component cables, that is their purpose.

If My T.V. has component hook-up, which it does, it should accept the signal. For some strange reason the Progresive scan has to be off. It is a new DVD player, but maybe an older model? You are right, it doesn't make sense.

The component video should be much sharper than your composite or S-Video, if the progressive scan is off that means you would probably be getting an interlaced signal. I would recheck both the manuals for the TV and DVD concerning component setup.

Randolph, what player is it? It's fairly common that players only output progressive scan through the component outputs(progressive can be output through the other outputs from a technical standpoint), but it would be very unusual if a player didn't use the component outputs for this at all.

You all must think I'm crazy. This is a Sony dvd player model dvp-nc80v. on page 68 of the manual it states
Black level(component out) Selects the black level (set-up Level) for the video signals output from the component video jacks. "You cannot select this when the player outputs progressive signals." I searched the problem of distorted picture on line and saw other people had same problem but had no answer. I asume that if my T.V. has component hook-up that it will accept progressive signal, right? It is only a CRT Sony Wega FD Trinitron, so its not HI-Def. Does that matter? In the T.V. manual it specifies 480i only when using component hook-up. Does that mean my T.V. accepts that signal? Is a progressive signal the same as a component signal?

I think you just told us your problem. If the TV only accepts the interlaced signal, that would explain why when you send it a progressive signal it looks the way it does. This is strange however, I've never known a TV to have Component jacks, and not be capable of receiving a 480p signal, but according to what you just said from the Sony manual, it confirms it will only accept 480i.

It would seem that the statement in the manual that the TV only accepts 480i signals over the component inputs tells you that your TV is not progressive scan. Your problem does not reflect a problem with DVD player or the cables or the TV for that matter. You would need a progressive scan TV to accept a progessive signal.

Component signals and the scan format are not related.

Component video, unlike S-video, carries 3 independent signals containing color and intensity information. It can be delivered either as interlaced or progressive scanning.

It looks like your TV accepts component video but does not accept progressive scan. Even in this case the image quality should be better than through S-video.

To take the full advantage of you DVD player you need, I'm afraid, to get a new TV set

Agreed. I too own a few of these Tvs. They do in fact have component video inputs, BUT, they are not progressive scan inputs. To the best of my knowledge, there are no regular (NTSC) TVs that will accept a progressive scan signal. You would have to purchase a HD set for that.

-Alan