Page 1 of Why is component video better than RGB?

I read that component video is better than RGB.

Where am I going wrong here?......

In the back of the tube we need to generate 3 signals, Red, Green & Blue. If we supply those exact signals, then the TV or other display has to do almost no work at all right?

If, however, we supply those signals in a different format, then surely they have to be processed back again into R, G & B.

Soooooo..... what exactly is component video and why is it better?

I know this is a bit geeky, but I am interested to know what I am mis-understanding.

In a magazine I read about 3 months ago two reviewers were arguing that each way of connecting was the best. I have the Toshiba SD210e & the 36inch Toshiba widescreen TV they both can connect either way. I have conected both ways & looked & Looked & can`t see any difference.

You`re not misunderstanding anything - component is technically no better than RGB, either way the signals have to be converted from one to the other at some point! If you use a component connection, the conversion takes place inside the TV, whereas with a RGB connection, it takes place inside the DVD player.

That`s if all other things are equal, of course. Component may appear better, however, depending on how your TV processes the various signals. Owners of certain models of Toshiba TV (some of which are notoriously bad at handling RGB) typically swear by component.

Mike

This item was edited on Thursday, 14th February 2002, 16:00

So.... in my setup I have a Philips DVDQ50 driving a Philips 32PW9616 (builtin 5.1). The same bunch of boys designed the chips in both boxes so it will probably make not an ounce of difference either way!

I guess that I will just make sure I put a decent quality scart cable between them and leave it at that. Which sounds a whole lot easier than wasting hours groping around behind the TV buying loads of cables & driving my wife crazy whilst she wants to watch East Enders, Holby City, or Casualty anyway!.... in fact why did I just buy a new DVD player?

The reason is that TV signal processing is split into luminance (black and white, if you like) and chrominance (colour - actually colour difference). This also applies to how compressed video data is stored on a dvd. The three *components* are:

Y (luminance)
Cb or Pb (Blue-Y)
Cr or Pr (Red-Y)

So for component video from a dvd to a TV with component inputs the signal passes unchanged from the dvd right up to the final output stage of the TV, where the Y, Cb and Cr signals are combined to make R, G and B.

On the other hand an RGB signal from a dvd has to be generated in the dvd player by combining the Y, Cb and Cr channels, which are then passed to the TV where the RGB signals are re-combined to produce Y, Cb and Cr and than the final output stages of the TV combine these signals again to make RGB.

This, in a nutshell, is why component video is better quality - there`s much less signal processing to do.

Just found this on the web: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Articles/VideoConnectors/VideoConnectors.asp - says it all really.

This item was edited on Thursday, 14th February 2002, 18:07

regarding scart& other connector`s i have seen on www.7dayshop.com some good cables, if your order is over £18.00 they split up your order to save you paying custom`s duty and being outside of uk there is a saving on vat.

Cut the KAK try both then chose which you like better,easy hey!

This item was edited on Thursday, 14th February 2002, 18:49

Not all TVs recombine RGB to Y, Cb, and Cr - in most sets, particularly older ones, the RGB signals remain separated right up to the tube, giving the best possible picture quality with no additional processing.

Some modern sets do recombine the RGB signal in the way you describe, however, in order to perform digital processing (an unfortunate trend in my opinion!)

As a general rule, try adjusting the Colour control on your TV when the RGB input is being used. If nothing happens (i.e. the colour stays the same), then what you`re seeing is the pure RGB signal, as nature intended. If you *can* adjust the colour control in RGB mode, then you`re seeing "electronically reprocessed" RGB!

Using a component connection will provide an improvement in the latter case, but not the former.

Mike