An old HDTV and a new PC...

[brianjedi]

I’m considering getting rid of cable television service in favor of a home theater PC. Specifically, I’m looking at the Dell Inspiron Zino HD.

The problem I have is that the Zino has two display outputs: an HDMI output and a VGA output. My television is a circa-2001 Toshiba rear projection HDTV that predates HDMI.

Am I going to be able to connect the two in some fashion without major (and expensive) technological gymnastics? I’m going to use the PC for Netflix streaming, Hulu, ESPN3 and the occasional DVD.

[Palooka]

No. You’ll need a new TV or build your own HTPC using an old video card with a component dongle. Something from the NVIDIA 8— or 9— series with passive cooling would work well. Quiet with plenty of power.

Unless I’ve missed some recent nettop with a component dongle, your Toshiba has DVI, or you give in and buy a hdmi-to-component transcoder.

[brianjedi]

@Palooka

No. You’ll need a new TV or build your own HTPC using an old video card with a component dongle. Something from the NVIDIA 8— or 9— series with passive cooling would work well. Quiet with plenty of power.

Unless I’ve missed some recent nettop with a component dongle, your Toshiba has DVI, or you give in and buy a hdmi-to-component transcoder.

HDMI to component transcoder… would something like this work?

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Ypbpr-Component-RGB-Converter/dp/B002SFT3ZI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1289772453&sr=8-2

[Munch]

@brianjedi

I’m considering getting rid of cable television service in favor of a home theater PC. Specifically, I’m looking at the Dell Inspiron Zino HD.

Have you thought about the Acer Aspire Revo? It’s not as good performance-wise, but noticeably cheaper if you were thinking about updating your HDTV.

[brianjedi]

@Munch

Have you thought about the Acer Aspire Revo? It’s not as good performance-wise, but noticeably cheaper if you were thinking about updating your HDTV.

Since this TV cost me all of $75, I’d like to get my money’s worth out of it.

[Palooka]

@brianjedi

HDMI to component transcoder… would something like this work?

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Ypbpr-Component-RGB-Converter/dp/B002SFT3ZI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1289772453&sr=8-2

Yeah, something like that. I’ve no idea if that particular model is any good though. A guy I know uses an HDFury2 to convert PS3 HDMI/HDCP to component for his PC capture card. It works very well, but costs 3x more than that thing.

[BigT]

Isn’t component video limited to 480p?

[Boyo_Jim]

@BigT

Isn’t component video limited to 480p?

No. 1080i can be fed through component. I’m not certain about 1080p, but I would guess it would work as well.

[firstname]

@Boyo_Jim

No. 1080i can be fed through component. I’m not certain about 1080p, but I would guess it would work as well.

My xbox would allow 1080i but not 1080p when using component cables.

[BigT]

@Boyo_Jim

No. 1080i can be fed through component. I’m not certain about 1080p, but I would guess it would work as well.

Okay. It must’ve been a limitation of the equipment I was using, then.

[Boyo_Jim]

@firstname

My xbox would allow 1080i but not 1080p when using component cables.

Thanks. I learn something every day on the Dope.

[dzero]

Settop boxes like Roku are pretty cheap and will get you streaming netflix and soon, hulu plus. Not sure about ESPN but they have other sports channels. Actually, the number of channels available is pretty amazing.

However Google TV is supposed to be out soon, if it’s not already, but I would hope the latest set top boxes have taken that into account.

To answer your question directly though, as others have said, if the best input you have is component, then you’ll be limited to 1080i. Too bad the tv doesn’t have at least a vga or usb port.

[Palooka]

Component does 1080p60 just fine.

[dzero]

Apparently the correct answer is, “it depends”

Source

The best cables used to connect these sources to your HDTV will depend on the product’s features. For example, the Microsoft Xbox 360 requires a component video cable to view HDTV at 1080p, but SONY’s PS3 requires an HDMI cable to view 1080p.

I know that when I had Directv installed and I was going to use component cables (pretty good cables at that) to hook it up since I was out of HDMI ports on the tv, the installer told me that I wouldn’t be able to get full 1080p resolution. Another example, a friend recently bought a Roku player and it specifically said that to watch 1080p programming, you need an HDMI cable (source). I’ve heard the same thing from other sources but I guess that information was dated.

I always assumed that the limiting factor was the cable but or the specification used for component connections. That doesn’t seem to have been true - or at least it isn’t true any more.

It would be interesting to know the exact nature of any limitations. Does a 360 box handle the signal differently? Why would Sony go with HDMI if they could get away with component.

[Boyo_Jim]

It could be something very simple. Perhaps they find it cheaper to add another input for a new type of signal than to redesign their existing input circuitry.

I bought my 1080i TV before anyone ever mentioned 1080p, I knew 1080i was a regulated broadcast standard that was going to be in place for a long time, and I never imagined there would be a whole new option for non-broadcast media. So it makes a kind of sense that manufacturers would slap in additional gear for the new signal, rather than redesign everything integrally to accommodate it.

[dzero]

I did a search to try to answer my own questions and, miraculously enough, my google-fu must be very strong tonight because I happened to find an articlethat provides what appears to be (not that I would necessarily know) a very thorough discussion of the issue. But the conclusion of the author is also “it depends” - although for much better considered reasons than what I provided.

So, which is better, DVI or component? HDMI or component? The answer–unsatisfying, perhaps, but true–is that it depends. It depends upon your source and display devices, and there’s no good way, in principle, to say in advance whether the digital or the analog connection will render a better picture. You may even find, say, that your DVD player looks better through its DVI or HDMI output, while your satellite or cable box looks better through its component output, on the same display. In this case, there’s no real substitute for simply plugging it in and giving it a try both ways.

[Palooka]

Many devices don’t bother to support 1080p over component because the Blu Ray spec doesn’t allow 1080p on analog connections for digital rights management purposes. YPbPr does 1080p, but if the only practical 1080p source doesn’t allow it, why spend the money on better chipsets?

My buddy with the HDFury2 converts to component so he can stream gameplay video at 1080p30 with his Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle without a performance hit. It’s awesome.

[dzero]

@Palooka

Many devices don’t bother to support 1080p over component because the Blu Ray spec doesn’t allow 1080p on analog connections for digital rights management purposes. YPbPr does 1080p, but if the only practical 1080p source doesn’t allow it, why spend the money on better chipsets?

My buddy with the HDFury2 converts to component so he can stream gameplay video at 1080p30 with his Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle without a performance hit. It’s awesome.

I ran that through the google translator but it couldn’t identify the original language.

Seriously, I think I get the point though - the limitation isn’t with the cabling but is the result of other considerations like DRM.

Thanks.

[Palooka]

Composite cables (red/white/yellow) are identical to component cables (red/blue/green). Component cables are generally better shielded, but if interference isn’t an issue, you can save a wad of cash by using composite cables instead.

/random A/V tip.