US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > [DVR] Trying to get an HDMI DVR...insanity realized

reply to mariod

Re: Trying to get an HDMI DVR...insanity realized

reply to mogamer
Oh they know what they have just no one but the warehouse probally uses it, or knows how to access it.

reply to mariod
You can rest assured that a DVI (Digital Video Interface) connection is FAR superior to a component (analog) connection, assuming a relatively new digital TV. To state otherwise "defies science and logic".

100% better may not be technically 'correct', but it is a common expression and conveys the poster's perception of the degree of improvement.

Not trying to get into the middle of this, but found this here.

»www.ecoustics.com/electronics/pr···868.html

Isn't Digital Just Better?

It is often supposed by writers on this subject that "digital is better." Digital signal transfer, it is assumed, is error-free, while analog signals are always subject to some amount of degradation and information loss. There is an element of truth to this argument, but it tends to fly in the face of real-world considerations. First, there is no reason why any perceptible degradation of an analog component video signal should occur even over rather substantial distances; the maximum runs in home theater installations do not present a challenge for analog cabling built to professional standards. Second, it is a flawed assumption to suppose that digital signal handling is always error-free. DVI and HDMI signals aren't subject to error correction; once information is lost, it's lost for good. That is not a consideration with well-made cable over short distances, but can easily become a factor at distance.

reply to airwavz

reply to airwavz

reply to mariod

reply to lorennerol
Unless you are looking at cheap as hell cables, bad connections, an above average cable run, or an EXTREMELY noisy environment, It's highly unlikely that you will notice any major difference from a signal sent from a cable STB to a TV via HDMI or Component cabling. With a typical 3ft-6ft cable, That's just not enough length for the digital vs. analog signal degradation to really become a factor.

Keep in mind, this is talking about a Cable STB signal. HD video from cable providers is only sent at 720p or 1080i, which a Component cable is perfectly cable of sending. Other HDVideo Sources (such as BluRay Players) can be capable of 1080p and increased frame rates, in which case HDMI is the only way to go. You are also talking about a source video sent via RF and compressed, so the source Video is going to be impacted long before your little 6ft component cable has any chance to impact the video signal.

Now, There COULD be other factors that can impact the Component vs. HDMI Image quality beyond simple subjectivity of the viewer, but these have nothing to do with the quality of the input signal and EVERYTHING to do with the display device. Specifically:

* Most modern monitors will have different video settings for each input. Your HDMI input could very well have better tuned Noise Correction, contrast, color quality, sharpness, or GAMMA settings for your environment. Remember that the "factory Default" settings are often tuned for under florescent lighting on a store's sale floor and not typical lighting for home viewing.

* Monitor's Signal processors. You Monitor needs to convert whatever incoming signal into the picture. depending on the quality of those processors, there is always a chance that it might handle some signal types better than others. It could also automatically add additional processing to some input types to sharpen or "correct" an image.

reply to lorennerol
This "Digital is Better!" argument is pure gobbledy gook.

»www.highdefforum.com/directv-for···ter.html

Isn't Digital Just Better?

It is often supposed by writers on this subject that "digital is better." Digital signal transfer, it is assumed, is error-free, while analog signals are always subject to some amount of degradation and information loss. There is an element of truth to this argument, but it tends to fly in the face of real-world considerations. First, there is no reason why any perceptible degradation of an analog component video signal should occur even over rather substantial distances; the maximum runs in home theater installations do not present a challenge for analog cabling built to professional standards. Second, it is a flawed assumption to suppose that digital signal handling is always error-free. DVI and HDMI signals aren't subject to error correction; once information is lost, it's lost for good. That is not a consideration with well-made cable over short distances, but can easily become a factor at distance.
[...]

The argument often made for the DVI or HDMI signal formats is the "pure digital" argument--that by taking a digital recording, such as a DVD or a digital satellite signal, and rendering it straight into digital form as a DVI or HDMI signal, and then delivering that digital signal straight to the display, there is a sort of a perfect no-loss-and-no-alteration-of-information signal chain. If the display itself is a native digital display (e.g. an LCD or Plasma display), the argument goes, the signal never has to undergo digital-to-analog conversion and therefore is less altered along the way.

That might be true, were it not for the fact that digital signals are encoded in different ways and have to be converted, and that these signals have to be scaled and processed to be displayed. Consequently, there are always conversions going on, and these conversions aren't always easy going. "Digital to digital" conversion is no more a guarantee of signal quality than "digital to analog," and in practice may be substantially worse. Whether it's better or worse will depend upon the circuitry involved--and that is something which isn't usually practical to figure out. As a general rule, with consumer equipment, one simply doesn't know how signals are processed, and one doesn't know how that processing varies by input. Analog and digital inputs must either be scaled through separate circuits, or one must be converted to the other to use the same scaler. How is that done? In general, you won't find an answer to that anywhere in your instruction manual, and even if you did, it'd be hard to judge which is the better scaler without viewing the actual video output. It's fair to say, in general, that even in very high-end consumer gear, the quality of circuits for signal processing and scaling is quite variable.

reply to mariod

Companies that have real competition in the market place balance the bottom line with customer satisfaction, otherwise they won't survive the market.

reply to RalphKramden

reply to not

reply to lorennerol
An even better solution would be to just go to Best Buy and get a TiVo box (I have two of them with lifetime subs on them) and all you'll need from Comcast is a CableCard. I have had MANY issues with the Comcast DVRs and ZERO issues with the TiVos. Plus the TiVos have a larger Hard Drive and you can pay more to get a larger HD or use an external HD. I know Comcast here charges $18 per month for a DVR and I have two TVs so that is two DVRs. As for Comcast and their junk DVRs, my setup is $36 of lost revenue for Comcast minus the $6 for the second CableCard. Plus I own my EMTA which is another $7 in lost revenue for Comcast.

When I got rid of DirecTV and had Comcast installed, the installer (a contractor) brought an old piece of Junk DVR and I requested two, he brought one and it was broken. I had to swap it at the office and they gave me a DCX 3400. Later that summer, I had an unexpected windfall and I went to Best Buy and bought two TiVo DVRs and purchased lifetime subs on them. It was a win-win for me as I got a better DVR while lowering my Comcast bill by a good chunk. So I can use the money that I would spend on equipment rentals and spend it on service upgrades instead (such as the Extreme 50 internet upgrade, which adds $40 per month to the bill, and it is worth it because YouTube works better among other benefits).
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All of my CPE (including my EMTA) is customer owned. The only Comcast owned equipment in my house is the CableCards in the two TiVO boxes I own.

reply to lorennerol

reply to lorennerol
Just for the record. HDMI looks and sounds better than component. Just saying. Anyhow, schedule a truck roll with a tier 1 csr as an upgrade and tell them to put in the notes that you want dvr model # whatever and when they tell you they can't just say "that's ok but can you make sure it's on the work order?" The contractors look at the notes and try to get the right stuff to make the jobs as fast and easy as possible.
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