speedbump Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 Hey everyone, My money hemorrage seems to have come to an end with the purchase of my new Mitsubishi big screen. It is the 55" widescreen platinum version if that helps anyone answer the question I am about to ask. It seems that VCR images are now so "blocky" that it makes the thing almost unusable. I have set and reset my convergence, changed from stretch to zoom to standard to ??? and still looks bad. Do you suppose it's because I am using the old coax out of the VCR to the TV. Would hooking up the composite give me a noticable improvement? Could the heads just need cleaning? To make a computer comparison, it looks like I'm running 640x480 on a 55" inch monitor. DVD is better, as is sattelite (Dish Network). I am going to get the component video cable for my PS2 so that image improves. Any tips on making it look better. The TV is HD capable, do I woulf think it has to be my source components. System consists of (here's where I get to brag a little)..... Mitsubuishi 55" Widescreen Yamaha RV-901 Pro Logic Receiver (next to go) Yamaha 5 disc CD changer RCA 4 Head Stereo VCR Sony Playstation 2 (Games and DVD) Klipsch Chorus I (Main L & R) Klipsch Heresy I (Rear L & R) Klipsch KLF-C7 Center Channel Old DCM Subwoofer (waiting for the new ones) EchoStar 7200 Tivo/Sattelite receiver I don't really use the VCR much anymore, but I would like to make it work if I can. I can't watch it like this, so I may as well give it the old heave ho. Speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenten Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 My dad has a 60 Hitachi & just switched to digital cable. They hooked him up with coax to the TV & he was very much not impressed. Got him a RadShack Gold Series A/V interconect and we both noticed a significant picture & sound improvement. Absolutely a noticeable difference--and only $15 for 6 ft cables! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 what you are suffering from is the weakest link in your video sources(that being a 220-hlor)vhs vcr. the tv 'upconverts' the incoming video to probably 480p.the less your picture quality goin in, the worse the upconversion looks. i would suggest, especially since you have a high res. source like dishnetwork, that you look into a s-vhs-ET vcr! we sell a jvc for $200 that takes a regular (cheap) vhs tape and records at 400 hlor! then you wouldn't see so much degredation in recorded-from-satellite material. it won't help 'store-bought' tapes, but the ones you record will look better. avman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 Yo Speedbump! Do I know what you mean! I bought a Mitsu RPHD1080i 65"... at not exactly a bargain basement price... to provide a better picture for my 93 year old mother's weakening eyes. Eventually, with better cables (I used high end Monster component, fiber optic, and S-video cables) and upgraded cable companies to RCN's fiber optic network. And, with some tweaking... I am getting all the picture I paid for... and then some. That is, except for video tapes. However, I did replace my primary SVHS unit with a Toshiba W808 six head unit that records and plays SVHS ET... so, as avman relates, you can record great results on non-SVHS tape... but make sure you use a high grade "regular" tape to capture the fidelity. The big gain you will notice is that the six-head unit provides a smoother source for your Mitsu... not DVD but a whole lot better than you have been experiencing. That Toshiba goes for about $312 not on sale. You are right, like the Klipsch speakers, the Mitsu you bought needs and deserves good input. Hope you get over your "videobump" soon. HornEd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 I am being redundent here but the coax connection is the lowest rez method of video connection. Composite is next, S-VHS better yet and component video the best to date. With coax connector, you get not much more than 200 lines of horizontal resolution (lhor as above)plus you get maximum noise (video noise) to boot. Use regular old RCA cables to connect the VCR to the Mits (L,R&Video) and you'll get immediate improvement. VHS can deliver about 240 lines of horizontal resolution (vertical res is fixed by the NTSC standard). Record at fastest speed (2 hour mode) and use best connection method to minimize noise and maximize the luminance signal component (Y of Y&C). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyranny Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 yup yup bobg! i own the 56' mitsu 16x9. run the better out from your vcr. and a word on those mitsu widescreens... my experence is that unfortunately they do not ship these sets tuned very well. (this is even very common in reviews seen all over the net). spend the money to have a qualified technition come out and tweek it out for you... WOW. all of a sudden i have a better then when i bought it set. i was so happy. i had thought switching between my dvd (480i) and my progressive dvd (480p) produced a difference... (of course it was a big wow) but getting it tuned made me go WOW again hee hee hee. note: you can try to do this tuning yourself, but i would recommend you do not as you could cause more harm then good. - the codes are all over the net for getting into the config menus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbump Posted May 29, 2001 Author Share Posted May 29, 2001 Thanks for all of your help. I guess my money is not safe yet. I may just go for a big Tivo unit and dump the VCR altogether. A component video cable did the trick on the playstation 2 for DVD and games. Composite video out of the VCR is still very poor. Oh well. To Do List: New Reference sub Dolby Digital Receiver (Probably Yamaha or Marantz) Real DVD Player Cash donations appreciated. Wife ready to leave......hehe. Speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bensilb Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 Speed, I have been doing a lot of dish network research lately. I am planning on getting it soon. Dish Network offers the 501 receiver which had an integrated PVR system (basicaly TIVO). You could probably upgrade for $200. I agree with everyone on you VCR problem. My dad have a Mitsubishi HDTV and he is using a Mitsubishi Super VHS VCR and it does not have the problem you mention here. I say go for the PVR Dish Network Receiver. That thing look f***ing cool!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 i just got the dishplayer model 7200. this unit does not record as long as the pvr system, but i'm dumping the video to a s-vhs et vcr, and the picture quality of a recorded program on my 35" tv looks just like live satellite! i REALLY like the webtv-driven software, although i will NOT use the web tv service,i use my personal computer for that, i like the search feature w/ the web tv keyboard.i'm getting about a zillion channels- of course my wife-to-be says $69.99/month is too much,i told her i would take care of the $30/month difference between our bill now,and what our cable bill was, and the equipment/installation (which i had to complete,there was a tech. problem) was free. avman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbump Posted May 30, 2001 Author Share Posted May 30, 2001 AVMAN, It looks like we have very similar setups with regards to Dish Network. Believe me, as long as you don't rent too many movies on top of the Top 150 and movie channel package, it is worth every penny. I too was (I repeat WAS) dumping all recorded media from the 7200 to my VCR. Maybe I'll finish up my setup with a small computer, complete with massive Hard Disks, run the Tivo on the 7200 to the video in on the vid card, and voila......digital movie storage. I could then record the movies to CDR, or just keep them on the hard drives. The plus side is that I could integrate a DVD player, internet access, and MP3 capability all into the same unit. TV out would give me high resolution DVD playback with 5.1 preouts from my soundcard, etc.....Network the whole thing to the server in the back room, and add a wireless keyboard and mouse....... Time to find tiny case, black, with an ATX supply. Here we go again. Wish me luck. Speed Hell, if it works I'll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted June 4, 2001 Share Posted June 4, 2001 Yo speedbump, You need to go to this forum to get some really good Mits info: http://www.HomeTheaterSpot.Com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=10 !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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