Bought an LG 17" LCD TV/Monitor and Not Happy

[5lab]

first off, see what s-video from the pc looks like. it wont do the high res (tv-out never does more than 1024) so whack it down to 800x600 and have a play, you should be able to display a load of colours etc to check its all working properly. if you cant get s-video to wrok from the pc, you're wasting your time setting it up for the freeview box.

incidentally, divx dvd players can work quite well

[Bob Crabtree]

Alexander,

The first one is no good, because it's for taking S-video INTO the Scart; and the third one is no good, because, although it takes S-video FROM the Scart to an S-video lead, it has no audio output.

However, the second one, the adaptor, should do the job for you and it adds a measure of versatility - though, in an ideal world, you'd choose a hardwired lead, rather than going via an adaptor.

It can move S-video in either direction, and do the same with composite video and L/R audio.

However, for it to deliver an S-video signal to your TV set, you MUST plug into it a Scart lead that is wired for S-video - and not all Scart leads are.

And, of course, you must also make sure you have the switch on the adaptor set the right way.

Bob

Originally Posted by alexander

Hello, thanks for the help. I'm definately not arguing with you, I'm just in my own little world...

For Scart to S-Video leads, would these be good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-S-Video-PC...QQcmdZViewItem

or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-TV-Scart-In...QQcmdZViewItem

or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-5m-SCART-lea...QQcmdZViewItem


Thanks again.

[5lab]

i'd personally use audiovisualonline.co.uk - very cheap, and very good service

[alexander]

Hello, forgive my ignorance Bob but could you just send me an Ebay link with the Scart being wired to the S-Video?

I'm lost in all things like this.

This may sound like yet another stupid question but:

If Scart is worse quality than S-Video which it sounds like, surely the output is going to be going via the Scart and so the quality will be lost. Isn't it like having a Silver output from the TV into Golden Plated speaker heads? So you are just negating the bad preception at the other scart end so the reception can only be as good from the Scart output?

[5lab]

no.

as you are concerned, there are 3 types of transmission

1: composite - all picture information over 1 pair of wires
2: svideo - hue carried over 1 pair, saturation and darkness carried over another (i think)
3: rgb/component video. basically the best, 1 pair of wire per colour, depending on how the colour is split (RGB or py px g or somethign silly)

scart supports all 3. your scart at the moment runs the top one, plus left and right audio. you have support for the 2nd one. better. but not as good as the third. first thing, try s-video from your pc, run a few videos on it. thats the best quality you will get from a video source. no point getting a video cable if thats the best you can do, is there

[alexander]

Ok, thanks very much for explaining that. I guess it means that S-Video will solve it.

Now, can anyone send me a link as to what I need?

[Bob Crabtree]

Originally Posted by alexander

Ok, thanks very much for explaining that. I guess it means that S-Video will solve it.

Now, can anyone send me a link as to what I need?

It's the middle one of the three products you mentioned in your posting.

This one.

Like I said in my last posting

Bob
(wanders off shaking head and mumbling)

[alexander]

Originally Posted by Bob Crabtree

owever, the second one, the adaptor, should do the job for you and it adds a measure of versatility - though, in an ideal world, you'd choose a hardwired lead, rather than going via an adaptor.

I thought you said a hardwired lead would be better? Can I actually buy one?

[5lab]

i thought you could check s-video with your pc first? if so, DO THIS. it might be (fairly likely) that the monitor will still be useless with s-video, so check it before spending more money out..

[alexander]

Hi, I have tried the Monitor with the S-Video and the results were not good.

This is what it looks like:





If you notice, the highlighted text you can read but when it has a blank background, you cannot make out the text. Is this normal S-Video or just a bad monitor?

Has anyone got any views on what they think on the picture, in my view it was awful but that is when put against normal computer mode.


I bought it around 2 and a half weeks ago. I have the receipt and boxes. Will I be allowed to take it back for a refund?


In Comparrison, this is how it is usually:

[Bob Crabtree]

Alexander,

I wouldn't attempt to make a judgement call based on the images you've made available, simply because there's insufficient resolution and clarity.

What I would say, though, is that if you are feeding a TV/monitor S-video from a computer then I would always expect the results to be much worse than the results going out via VGA, hence the results you'll see will NOT be good.

The only possible exception is DVD playing and, even then, I'd expect VGA to be ahead unless the graphics card was something very special - and then, of course, you'd be pairing that graphics card with a TV/monitor that had a digital video input, not VGA, and that would again swing it against S-video.

The reason for having S-video on the TV/monitor you bought is simple - and it absolutely is NOT to allow you to feed the TV from a computer - if you want to feed it from a computer, you use the VGA port.

Why the S-video input is fitted to the TV/monitor is to allow you to use it as a TV set and feed it from the sorts of things you would normally feed a TV set.

That would include set-top DVD players; Sky (or Freeview) boxes; S-VHS VCRs; Hi8 or MiniDV camcorders; or some other piece of consumer electronic video gadgetry that has an S-video output and would normally be connected to a TV set, rather than to a computer.

So, unless you can actually try putting an S-video signal into the TV/monitor from one of the above type devices (and assuming you KNOW that the signal of say, the Freeview box, is good), there is absolutely no point at all asking us any further questions about quality issues because you are not making a valid judgment and are not allowing us to do so either.

Surely you have a mate who has a set top DVD player you can borrow for an hour or two to make a proper judgement about the quality of images produced by inputting a signal to the TV/monitor via S-video?

Or 30 minutes?

Bob

[5lab]

i can see what you're on about. to my eyes, it looks like the contrast is up way too high (maybe broken) and the white is 'bleeding' onto the other colours - that or the colour temperature/intensity (depensds how the monitor is labled up ) is too much. either way, turn *everything* down to 0. there may also be colour 'profiles' you can change.. if that doesnt fix it, imo, take it back

bob, i agree with what you say mate, but clearly this is happening on s-video AND the coax from the tv. this to me suggests a probelm with the set, not what is hooked up to it. i woudl say something with the non-vga input.. its clearly well within warentee so take it back. if the new one is the same, take it back and get a different model..

[Bob Crabtree]

5lab,

A penny to a pound that the problem here is with the source, not the monitor/TV.

But we won't ever know that until alexander tries a known good CE product (set-top DVD, whatever) feeding out S-video to the monitor/TV.

And, until he does that, he's wasting his time, and everyone else's time attempting to make a value judgement.

Like I said, I wouldn't expect the S-video-out of, say, Windows's desktop, to be of as good a quality as if the signal were going via VGA.

And, of course, there are variables, too, when outputting from a computer via S-video.

Some variables MUST be set in accordance with the instructions of the graphics card - yes, I know these are often poor or non-existent - or the picture will be dire.

Others (the picture controls on the monitor/TV) need to be tried out to see what gives the best results but, again, I would stress, I'd only expect the monitor/TV to show a good image from S-video if it is being fed from a known good CE source, such as a set-top DVD player, rather than a PC's graphics card.

To amplify that a bit - a standard-resolution PAL TV set will show a 720x576 picture but unless the graphics card is set to display such a picture, what will be seen via S-video is going to be of a quite different resolution and thus appear highly dodgy.

Bob

[alexander]

Hello, I bought the adapter on the middle link here:




I plugged it into my freeview box and then added the S-Video, but the problem is that the picture is in black and white.

Is the Yellow plug for colour? How would I connect it to the TV, as S-Video goes to S-Video and then the yellow one is left blank?

Do I need to fiddle around with the switch on the top?

[Bob Crabtree]

Alexander,

The switch on the top of the adaptor changes the direction of the signal so, have it one way and nothing will appear on the screen of the monitor/TV; have it the other, and you'll see a picture.

Once you know which position does what, you'd leave it in that position.

As for the picture having no colour, this, I'm reasonably sure, is because the Scart socket you are using on your Freeview box is outputting only composite video (or perhaps even, RGB) not S-video - though I strongly suspect it will be set to output composite video.

So, you need to change the setting on the Freeview box. To do this:

1/ Pick up the manual and turn to page 29.

2/ Follow the instructions on that page to set which ever Scart socket you are using to output S-video.

After that, disconnect the yellow lead completely (that lead carries composite video where colour and brightness signals are mixed together; in contrast S-video carries them separately - hence all the pins in an S-video lead).

Typically the composite video lead carries no signal once you choose to output S-video; though I think it may sometimes be the case that the S-video simply over-rides the composite video at the receiving end.

Whatever is true in your case, you shouldn't need the yellow lead connected when using S-video and its being connected only complicates matters.

Oh, and if you don't have the manual for your Freeview box, you can download it here:
http://www.service.pioneer-eur.com/p...nr=DBR-TF100GB

Oh (2), so, I take it, you're not able to borrow a set-top DVD player from anybody for an hour or two.


Bob

Originally Posted by alexander

Hello, I bought the adapter on the middle link here:




I plugged it into my freeview box and then added the S-Video, but the problem is that the picture is in black and white.

Is the Yellow plug for colour? How would I connect it to the TV, as S-Video goes to S-Video and then the yellow one is left blank?

Do I need to fiddle around with the switch on the top?

[alexander]

Hello, thank you very much for the help Bob and everyone. I can't thank you enough.

The picture is absolutely fine now and very crisp.

The only slight bad thing is something white/yellow on a bright background, there isn't really any definition. But I suppose we have to live with these things and it doesn't happen much anyway so there is no point in thinking about it.


So thanks alot for all your help, it works now!