Component vs S video on a Trinitron

[TheShaner]

I picked up a 27" trinitron as opposed to paying an arm and a leg for a Makvision 27".  I have read that component is probably the way to go for picture quality.  Is that a pretty good assumption?  If so, what are my options for getting connected to this tv through the rgb cables?  

I am better sticking with this tube than trying to go LCD I would assume...

[elkameleon]

i think you are talking about component video, not true RGB.

[TheShaner]

Yes, you are indeed correct.  I have changed the post to reflect.  Any opinions?

[Justin Z]

Depending on both the output device and the TV itself, S-Video can look pretty damn good.  Generally, you're going to get the best colors and fewest artifacts with component, so to be on the safe side, it's probably the best option.  But if you have a video card that puts out a decent s-video signal, considering you're using a Trinitron TV, it ought to look nearly as good.

[lettuce]

I think people are getting component mixed up with composite...or composhit as we call it in the UK. Video source would go in this order from poorest to greatest...

R/F > Composite > S-Video > Component > Scart (RGB)

Or maybe its different in the US??. Out of the CRT video standard age Component was the only video input that allowed a progressive picture so 480p (all others were 480i) so for stuff like your PS2, XBOX, GC etc consoles Component was the best connection to have, even better than Scart!!. The only reason i put Scart ahead of Component in the list above is that is not that great for lower 15khz signals that you associate with retro consoles and arcade games, as Component is progressive you'll lose scanlines on the display thus losing the Arcade monitor look on your CRT TV

Now i know that in the US scart isnt a recognised standard, so most are stuck with s-video or component/compsite. I feel quite lucky to have scart widely available to me being in the UK, as i hear alot of member on here say how good s-video looks! trust me if you ever saw how good scart looks there would be no comparison and you would never be able to go back.

This vid shows how good scart looks on a standard CRT TV, jump to 15 minutes 27 seconds to see outrun in all its arcade gloriousness!....



Watch the hole video if you like its quite informative

[Justin Z]

Thanks for the info lettuce, but honestly I don't think anyone's confused about component vs. composite in this particular thread . . .  not to say it doesn't happen.  A lot.

[MonMotha]

How good S-Video looks is HIGHLY dependent on the quality of the TV.  I've seen the quality range from "no better than composite" to "indistinguishable from RGB at normal viewing distances", depending on the set.  The Sony WEGA sets, which do use Trinitron tubes (though this has nothing to do with S-Video quality), tend to be pretty good.

Note that the S-Video output from a PC is generally inferior in MANY ways to its RGB output, so don't use that as your basis for comparing the two.

Analog YPbPr component video has an identical quality capability to analog RGB (which, one should note, is also a "component" video format).  In practice, it tends to be less "vibrant" and can look "washed out" (I hate those terms as they're totally subjective, but most people seem to get what they imply) compared to RGB on most TVs that support both.

With proper calibration and similar adjustment (which, note, may not be easy), you should be able to get a VERY good picture out of a TV as high end as this sounds using the YPbPr component output.  The "HDTV output" found on many ATi and nVidia cards from the mid-2000s are pretty good and should permit you to have full control over the video timing so you can avoid ugly scaling.  In general, it should look better than any LCD, since it doesn't need to be scaled.

Also, SOME (not many, but a few) TVs can accept RGB on their "component" inputs.  You'll need a suitable breakout cable (like $5 on monoprice) and a video card that can do sync-on-green.  If the TV supports it, there should be an option in the menu somewhere to change the "input colorspace" from YPbPr to RGB.