Which is better?

Now ive got my spanky Dell 2001fp 20" tft screen which has composite, svideo, dvi and d-sub inputs, i can move my xbox upstairs.. question is, is there a difference between the quality of Svid or composite inputs? :confused:

btw... the monitor rawks.. 1600x1200 native resolution..16ms responce time all these inputs + picutre in picture.. good for gaming.. and not a single dead pixel :D

Svideo is way better than composite

The quality from worse to best is

Composite

Svideo

RGB

Component.

With composite, the whole picture is sent down one wire.

With Svideo the signals are split down several cables causing less interference between them.

With RGB, all the signals are carried seperatley. Same with Component except the cables are screened and much better quality.

And now for the really really technical nerdy answer

Composite is sent down one wire. The signal is encoded to "fit" on one cable. The very "coding" of this signal leads to the addition of noise, namely crosstalk between the luminance (brightness) and chrominance parts (colour). You can often see a hazy line between two different shapes on the telly when composite is used.

S-video cures exactly the composite limitation. Although there are four pins, only two wires are used for the signal (the other two are the respective grounds for the signals). The two seperate wires carry the luminance and chrominance signals but with no crosstalk. So that's better

RGB is better still. There's no chrominance like on Svid and composite. Each of the primary colours has their own wire. One for red, one for green and one for blue. Each signal varies according to the intensity of that colour. So if you have full red, green and blue, you end up with white

Component isn't technically "better" than RGB, but it does have the advantage that it's the format in which video is stored on DVDs. If you use RGB, you have a very high quality picture, but it has been "translated" from the component data on the DVD to RGB. Component, like RGB consists of three signals - Y (luminance), U and V. U and V are red minus blue and red minus green respectively. If you take just the Y signal, and plug it in the composite input, it would work, but you'd only have a black and white picture I could dig out the formulas for conversion, but I'm not that sad

HTH

Ok... so i should use the Svid when using the xbox on TFT and component when using it on the widescreen telly

Thanks people

Ok, carrying on the same theme....

Standard VGA connector (D-sub) or DVI? Monitor has both, vid card has both... which is better and why?

Standard VGA connector (D-sub) or DVI? Monitor has both, vid card has both... which is better and why?

The one which uses the best DAC...

Rob.

would there be a difference bearing in mind they are on the same card? Assume shared DAC?

would there be a difference bearing in mind they are on the same card? Assume shared DAC?

DVI is far better

because a normal VGA needs DACS (Digital - Analog Converter) to be converted to analog (which can be quite lossy) for use on a CRT screen..

on a TFT however (or a expensive crt) the image is digital anyway, so on a tft , it has to be converted back into digital to be displayed.

a DVi is purely digital, so doesnt need any DACS.. plus it can handle much more "information" then a d-sub connection.. which helps more the higher the resolution and refresh rate. It also allows the graphics card more control over the monitor.. so using dvi.. all the positioning and contrast is handled by the graphics adapter and ICC profiles

if your screen has dvi... use it!

I could dig out the formulas for conversion, but I'm not that sad

Y (luminence) = + 0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B

U = + 0.492 (Blue - Y)

= - 0.147R - 0.289G + 0.436B

V = + 0.877 (Red - Y)

= + 0.615R - 0.515G - 0.100B

I think...

Y (luminence) = + 0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B

U = + 0.492 (Blue - Y)

= - 0.147R - 0.289G + 0.436B

V = + 0.877 (Red - Y)

= + 0.615R - 0.515G - 0.100B

I think...

Hmm I thought luminance was by definition the average of all three, i.e. (R+G+B)/3.

Maybe I'll have to dig out my uni lecture notes after all

U and V were trig-calculated IIRC

I use a DVI connection into my tft monitor, the picture is far superior to the standard vga cable, and I get more control of the monitor through my nvidia cards software with this connection. Only downside is that dvi cables cost a fortune.

I use a DVI connection into my tft monitor, the picture is far superior to the standard vga cable, and I get more control of the monitor through my nvidia cards software with this connection. Only downside is that dvi cables cost a fortune.

Most decent TFT screens should come supplied with one...

now all i need to do is get a vga adapter for my xbox then i can use it in hdtv mode