Hi I'd like some advice on the best way to join together the following components... Humux 9200T PVR Onkyo 606 Pioneer 4280XD I've got a scart lead between the PVR and the TV and use analogue connects between the PVR and the AV Receiver for sound. I've also got the AV Receiver plugged into the TV via an HDMI lead for PS3 playback. I quite like this as I can use different settings on the TV for each input (AV Receiver/PS3 and PVR). Can I do better?
Hummy Onk Kuro
- Thread starter PJPro
- Start date
I've got pretty much the same setup on order (only with a BluRay player and Pana Px80 instead of the Pioneer) and I've been thinking about this too.
My thinking so far is that the best quality will be as you have it, Scart from the Humax to the TV and the Humax digital optical out to the Amp. The problem with this is that you don't get the Amp upscaling the humax picture (not sure there's much point though as the freeview signal is so poor to start with you run the risk of polishing a doo-doo!) and you don't get the benefit of input switching from one unit/control.
The only other option is to get a Scart to component cable and run the component in to the Amp. I'm going to start with the set up you've got and see how annoying the button pressing gets. If it's too much to bear I'll probably give the scart/component option a go.
I'd be very interested if anyone has similar set ups. Otherwise I'll let you know how it goes!
My thinking so far is that the best quality will be as you have it, Scart from the Humax to the TV and the Humax digital optical out to the Amp. The problem with this is that you don't get the Amp upscaling the humax picture (not sure there's much point though as the freeview signal is so poor to start with you run the risk of polishing a doo-doo!) and you don't get the benefit of input switching from one unit/control.
The only other option is to get a Scart to component cable and run the component in to the Amp. I'm going to start with the set up you've got and see how annoying the button pressing gets. If it's too much to bear I'll probably give the scart/component option a go.
I'd be very interested if anyone has similar set ups. Otherwise I'll let you know how it goes!
Curses - RGB, S-video and composite only.
Looks like the OP already has the best setup. Using a composite and then upscaling would probably* result in a significantly worse picture than direct RGB scart to the TV.
*Based on surmision and guesswork not real evidence on my part. Others may be able to help more here.
Looks like the OP already has the best setup. Using a composite and then upscaling would probably* result in a significantly worse picture than direct RGB scart to the TV.
*Based on surmision and guesswork not real evidence on my part. Others may be able to help more here.
Let the TV do all the scaling from the Humax via Scart. The Pioneer will do a much better job of de-interlacing and scaling than any amp because it will scale specifically to its resolution. Just make sure you have a good quality Scart lead.
The W3000 is a decent TV and the built-in SD scaling in not too bad. It would be something worth testing to see for yourself. I haven't seen the new 606 for myself so I have no idea how good the scaler is. Obviously it's not as good as the one in the 875 but it might be decent. The review on this site said that it was good but I'm not sure how good it will be through S-Video.
UPSCALING DOES NOT ADD QUALITY - IT REMOVES DETAIL.
Now that I've got that little rant out the way.... the point of upscaling is to be providing your video signal with a *better* upscaler than that which you have been currently using. e.g. TV has a pants upscaler, so use an AVR with a better one built in and upscale your signals this way. Upscaling is a necessary evil one way or another otherwise you would have a 720x576 sized image inside your nice HD Ready display!! In the case of the Pioneer I can't think of a flat screen with better upscaling, the Onkyo could very well be a minor step backwards! The Onkyo also does not have very good film detection, whereas the Pioneer Pure Cinema modes are excellent at film detection. A more significant backwards step. Using s-video connection rather than RGB scart throws away half of the colour resolution of the output straight away just be downconverting to s-video, so again a backwards step. Short story long I would stick with what you have.
Oh also with TVs which are 1024x768 or 1360/1366x768 you have to consider what you are doing when you use something to upscale SD to 720p. Upscaling is a lossy process, so you upscale 576 to 720 lines and effectively smooth out some of the detail. The TV receives *already smoothed out* information, and smooths it out that little bit more to get it to 768. The result is a picture which isn't exactly detail rich. A general rule of thumb is the fewer upscaling processes the better. This is a hard rule to follow mind since sometimes in weirdo circumstances you are gaining more than upscaling (e.g. noise reduction or better connection type).
Now that I've got that little rant out the way.... the point of upscaling is to be providing your video signal with a *better* upscaler than that which you have been currently using. e.g. TV has a pants upscaler, so use an AVR with a better one built in and upscale your signals this way. Upscaling is a necessary evil one way or another otherwise you would have a 720x576 sized image inside your nice HD Ready display!! In the case of the Pioneer I can't think of a flat screen with better upscaling, the Onkyo could very well be a minor step backwards! The Onkyo also does not have very good film detection, whereas the Pioneer Pure Cinema modes are excellent at film detection. A more significant backwards step. Using s-video connection rather than RGB scart throws away half of the colour resolution of the output straight away just be downconverting to s-video, so again a backwards step. Short story long I would stick with what you have.
Oh also with TVs which are 1024x768 or 1360/1366x768 you have to consider what you are doing when you use something to upscale SD to 720p. Upscaling is a lossy process, so you upscale 576 to 720 lines and effectively smooth out some of the detail. The TV receives *already smoothed out* information, and smooths it out that little bit more to get it to 768. The result is a picture which isn't exactly detail rich. A general rule of thumb is the fewer upscaling processes the better. This is a hard rule to follow mind since sometimes in weirdo circumstances you are gaining more than upscaling (e.g. noise reduction or better connection type).
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