Q&A # 159 - February 3, 2000

Staff

Q I need to make a decision on a new receiver, a powered sub, and a center channel. I am on a limited budget but refuse to buy junk. I am leaning towards a Denon AVR-3300 or 2800, a Velodyne CT-120 or a Energy e:XL-S12, and either a Paradigm cc350, Acoustic Research CS25-HO, or an Energy e:XL-C center. I am using Infinity SM-122s for fronts and matching bookshelves for surrounds. This is all I have for now but would like to upgrade later to match my new center and sub. In summary, what I need is a center and sub that will match well with my Infinity speakers and be useful when I upgrade my fronts. Any of the products I have listed are just ideas and I am open to any suggestions you have in these price ranges.

A It really depends on your long term vision. I don't see the 122 listed at Infinity right now so I'm guessing they are older models. Basically, if you plan on keeping the 122s as mains for the foreseeable future, I'd recommend getting their SM Center for the most cohesive front sound stage. If you have plans to replace the 122s soon, then by all means give the CC350 or any of the others you mentioned a serious listen, with the understanding that you'll be getting a matching set of mains down the road (in Paradigm's case, something from the Monitor line). If you can swing the extra (and have the room), I think that the Velodyne CT-150 is worth the stretch. Besides being bigger and badder, it is the only one in the series to have feedback (albeit current sensing which is not as accurate as servo, such as may be found in their more expensive subs). I got one this Christmas and am absolutely thrilled with the performance vs. price. Unfortunately I have not had allot of exposure to the Denon receivers, but the few informal listens I have had were positive. The only misgivings I have had with the Denons in the past is an incompleteness of pre-ins and pre-outs. You never know how your life will turn: You may in the near future be in a position to get an outboard  power amplifier, at which time having a full set of pre-outs on a receiver will be a great boon! I've spent many happy years with receivers alone but once you hear a proper outboard power amp, you'll never want to go back. In short,: be prepared. As a recommendation for an alternate name to check out, you should give Yamaha a listen.

Q I am considering purchasing the DVDO iScan Pus and the Toshiba SD-5109 progressive scan DVD player. Question: 1) Does the Toshiba progressive scan work with (benefit) S -Video or only with color stream? 2) Is there any benefit to have the Toshiba 5109 DVD player and the iScan plus to work together in improving picture quality? I am displaying movies on my DLP 800 x 600 Kodak projector (it has a 15 pin RGB S-Video & connector ).

A Progressive is only available on the progressive component video output (Color Stream Pro). The S-Video will output an interlaced picture. The DVDO iScan Plus and the Toshiba SD-5109 will not work together on the progressive output. You have to use the S-Video output on the 5109 to the iScan Plus. Does your DLP offer component and RGB input? If it only offers RGB, then you cannot use the 5109 as it only offers component outputs. The 5109 will deliver a better picture through its component outputs than you would get going S-Video out to the iScan Plus. With a 5109 only the DVD will look great. Cable, DSS, and VHS all need to be scaled as well. For these sources, the DVDO will offer many improvements over the standard DLP scaling. Another note is that the iScan Plus and the 5109 will output 480p. The DLP will have to scale the 480p to 600p.

Q I have a Technics SA-AX720, Pioneer DVD 626D, Panasonic VCR (Scart), Satellite receiver (Scart), and Sony 25" TV (Scart). I can connect everything to the Technics besides the Sattellite receiver. What is the best configuration to connect the equipment?

A It is always best to go straight from the source components to the TV. It's never convenient, it just offers the best quality. A problem that you may have since you have 3 sources is input jacks on the TV. I would run the DVD straight to the TV and route the VCR and Satellite through the Technics and then into the TV. If you have two inputs on the TV, then add the satellite as a direct connection to the TV.

Q I have recently purchased a Toshiba 43" Rear Project TV, and I play videogames on the TV often. My friend later told me it's bad to play videogames on a projection TV because it will damage the projector as well as the screen. Is this true? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent this damage while still playing videogames on it?

A This is an ongoing debate. TV manufacturers tell you to never to play video games on your TV (yeah, right) because it can burn the CRTs. What they don't tell you is that watching CNN, MSNBC, the Home Shopping Network, or any show that puts up still images can also burn the TV. This will happen if you leave the picture setting contrast in the factory default position. Its set WAY too high from the factory. If you take a trip to your local AV chain, you will see burned in network logos on the display models. If you use a test disc like Avia or Video Essentials and set contrast where it belongs, chances are you will never have any problems. I have used Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64, and the Sega Dreamcast for hours on end with no problems at all. Try setting not only the contrast a little lower, but the brightness as well. Play the games with the curtains drawn, and a soft backlight behind the TV to keep your eyes from getting fatigued.

Q Recently I bought a Sony DVPS7700 DVD player. According to the User's Manual, it says the supplied remote commander can be programmed to control components such as processors made by other manufacturers. I intend to set the remote to control my Macintosh C39 AV Control Center. Please advice me on the Procedure.

A The procedure is pretty much the same for all such remotes. I will give you a generic procedure that may work for you. First, you determine which button on your Mac remote is the one that activates the function you want your Sony remote to learn. Then, you turn on the learning function on your Sony remote. From there on, the procedure may vary depending on the learning remote. Sometimes you press a "learn" button on the Sony, then, putting the Sony remote face to face with the Mac remote (usually a few inches from each other), you press the button on the Mac that you want the Sony to learn, then you press the button on the Sony that you want to have the learned function. The lights on the Sony might blink a few times to tell you the function has been learned. Then, you take the Sony remote out of the learn mode, and the function has been stored in the Sony.

Q I have a Panasonic PT-56WXF95 HDTV with Y, PB, PR component inputs and an RCA DTC-100 HDTV receiver with a VGA output. What are my options in connecting the VGA output to component inputs? Is a commercial adapter available? Can you suggest a DIY circuit to combine the VGA signals into component signals?

A I have the exact same problem as you do. I have just ordered my DTC-100 and have a Toshiba TV with component inputs. You need what is called a transcoder. There are several companies that make these and they run between $600 and $1,200. Extron offers the CVC200, Current Design has the CVT-100, and coming soon from Audio Authority is the $129 9A60 VGA to component HD video converter. You can read about the $129 version here: http://www.audioauthority.com.I have no idea what the quality will be like until it is actually released, and I get my hands on one.

Q Are the new digital TV sets from RCA, Toshiba, etc. worth investigating at this point? I was considering the Sony XBR, but the digital sets seem to offer additional capability (even if you don't use it right now) for about the same price. Are there drawbacks? I read something about lack of aspect control on the RCA - this seems like a serious limitation. How about the Toshiba?

A All of the current HDTV sets are still new technology. It is going to take a few years before things settle down. You will get enjoyment out of any set you purchase, but it's just what specific features you want and how much you are willing to spend. If it were me, I would purchase the Princeton 34" 16x9 direct view. It is the ONLY direct view that will support 720p and 1080i. Of course, it does 480p as well. You need to decide if you want a 4:3 or 16x9 set. If you go for a 4:3, which is not the shape of a proper HDTV set, you will have those black bars on the top and bottom. I am still upset that manufacturers are releasing 4:3 HDTV sets. This is only going to cause a mess in the future. Consumers are going to keep complaining about the black bars. If you do get a set, be sure it can squeeze the 16x9 image preserving the resolution. This way HDTV and DVD can have the full anamophic resolution in their images.

Q I am thinking of getting and playing DVD through my Creativelab 6X PC DVD player in my PC. It has a coaxial digital out for DD audio and an S-video jack for TV connection. How does this player sound in audio and video terms compared to a stand alone DVD player like Pioneer DV515? Also what are the differences between software decoding and hardware decoding?

A The decoder and video card are the most important components for DVD playback in PCs. The Matrox G400 Max is one of the more popular cards because it offers really good scaling above 480p. NVidia does poor-to-fair scaling above 480p. This includes the new GeForce256 card. It's great for games, probably the best, but its DVD playback is only fair. However, it (NVidia) will still produce a wonderful picture that will beat any standard interlaced consumer appliance. I have found WinDVD to be one of the best DVD decoders. ATI and Ravisent also offer great decoders that do proper film-mode de-interlacing. With software decoding, all the heavy duty activity is handled by your Intel PIII processor, while with hardware decoding, the heavy duty stuff is handled by a chip on your video card. Hardware decoding is faster than software decoding.

P.S. - We located the Radio Shack RF Modulator that some of you asked about a while back. It lets you plug your stereo audio and video signals from your DVD player into it, and it will then modulate the movie (video and sound) onto either channel 3 or 4, and outputs the signal to the antenna input on your old TV. That way, if you have an older TV with no external audio/video inputs, you can watch DVD movies. You should just use the video portion though, if you have a stereo receiver or digital surround receiver. Keep in mind this is just a temporary measure. It will result in loss of the superb video quality that your DVD player has, and the image will look like a conventional TV program, maybe worse. Get a new TV with S-Video inputs when you can do so. The Radio Shack modulator is item # 15-1244 and is $30. 

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