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View Full Version : Navigating DBS with a New Plasma..Choices?


msa6
12-22-05, 10:13 PM
Been a Dish customer since they had just one satellite. About to move into my newly built house and am trying to construct a system to work nicely with my new Panasonic EDTV plasma.

I've had a 501 (I believe that's the number) PVR before, and definitely want to keep the functionality. I don't see a need to get HD programming right now, however (not enough available, and my set won't give full bang since its ED). But it doesn't look like any of the Dish PVRs, other than the 942/921, have better output options than S-video, and after spending a lot of money on a new set, I'd like to at least know that I'm getting component output from my satellite box.

So what am I supposed to do? Get a 942 (I've seen some horror stories on 921 software...is that the case?)? Get another PVR and settle on S-video? Or am I supposed to go some Tivo route, presuming there's a Tivo box with component output? I'm not inclined to go the Tivo route, however, since we're likely to have 3 PVRs in the house and I don't can't see paying big fees on three boxes, and don't really want the clutter...unless it's the "right" thing to do.

Another option might be Direct, though in my city they don't have locals, so that would force me to involve the cable company, which I'd rather not do.

Thanks.

Stewart Vernon
12-22-05, 11:33 PM
I could be wrong, and if I am I surely will be corrected...

But if you only get an SD-PVR, I think the S-video connection will be more than capable of delivering the highest quality video from that box.

I believe you'd only need the higher quality of component (or HDMI digital) output if you were going with an HD-PVR.

I know from my HDTV experience, using an HD receiver, that SD actually looks better coming from my S-video than from the component so sometimes I actually switch to that if I'm going to watch SD for an extended period of time.

The exception to the above is if you have a Progressive scan DVD player. My DVD player only does progressive scan over the component output... so for that I am hooking SD up via component output... but I think that's the only case where the component output is superior to S-video for SD programming.