HDTV, Without the TV

Hi, I have a question... I thought the HD box only outputed RGB?? How did you get the signal into a vcr that only has coax and rca type connections?

How much did this whole this cost you?

If Melissa hooked up the HDTV set-top box via composite cable to her VCR, she is not getting true HDTV, since I believe only component video (RGB) cables will carry the entire HD signal. Essentially, she is receiving regular cable-quality images through her VCR, though the reception through the composite RCA connection is probably a little better than what she would get through a regular coax F-type cable.

Great idea! Too late for me to get it done for these Olympics. I will have four years to prepare for the next opportunity. While I am waiting I would like to listen to my CD library through my HT system. What software or anything else do I need to use my PC as a jukebox, similar to the 300 and 400 CD players?
Thanks for any ideas and help.

J. Pyun is right. Melissa is not seeing HDTV. First of all, regular composite cables cannot carry a HD signal. Second, her 27 inch TV is not HD capable. She is, at best, watching 480i. Not 720p or 1080i.

Also, why connect through a VCR at all? Just connect the composite cables directly into the TV. Only reason I can see is if the TV did not have composite inputs but a 4 year old TV should have them.

I don't know how the picture looked better from the HD box at all. She said she already had a digital cable box, and that would be connected via composite in the first place (if she was smart about it).
By playing the HD through a VCR (A VCR!!!) you lose ALL the High Def signal. And like Tim and Pyun said.. her TV is capable of showing 480 interlaced lines. No matter what she connects, it will only display 480. Sorry. Its not HD.
To get HDTV you need a monitor with the appropriate resolution, a computer monitor, a television, whatever. What Melissa did was stupid, all she did was lose a lot of viewable television because HD is 16:9 and her TV is 4:3.
I really hope she doesn't actually work for PC World.
They should hire someone who knows what they're talking about (me! I'm unemployed, anyone interested??)

Also, she's not recording HD. To record HDTV you need a HD VCR. (And who wants so spend over $500 for a VCR??) Regular tapes and recorders can't record all the information necessary to record High Def.

The main point of this is not whether she actually was seeing hd quality but the hd feed had coverage of events that were not broadcast in primetime her signal may have been clearer due to less line noise seen in standard cable

Why not use three VCRs? As long as they're the same model, you could control them with one remote. Then, you could have one each for red, green, and blue.

Also, why did they stop building VCRs with s-video? I have an old one with lots of inputs and outputs.

Lots of posts, folks! I'll try to address some of the comments and queries here...

Craig, you're right about what my main point with this experiment was. My goals were two-fold. First, I wanted to *see* the content NBC was broadcasting on its HDTV broadcast feed.

Second--and in answer to Tim's query of why use the VCR in this set up at all--well, my second goal was to *record* the Olympic gymanstics competition for posterity. The VCR was the first line of defense here, because, with a T-160 tape, I could record the entire 8-hour programming block of NBC's HDTV broadcast on a single tape (while I worked during the day). Not all DVD recorders pack 8 hours onto a DVD-R or +R, and even if they do, the image quality suffers, arguably more so than on a VHS recorded at EP.

I wanted to do all of this without paying thousands of dollars to upgrade my TV set and buy an HD hard drive recorder, or an HD VCR.

So far, I'm very pleased with the results. The extra content on NBC's HDTV broadcast is well-worth having to step over the wires criss-crossing my living room this week. I'm not disappointed that the end result I'm seeing isn't true HD resolution, since I'm not ready to plunk down the bucks for a brand-new HDTV right now. This is a compromise, for sure--but at least I'm not missing out on the original content on the HDTV channel.

And yes, Ike, the down-sampled image I see on my old TV actually is far superior to the pathetic cable reception I get on standard-def NBC.

You don't know what you are talking about. HDTV televisions have about 2.5 million pixels, so for you to say you were watching HDTV on an analog TV is pure B.S.

Tony, as I pointed out in my response above your comment, my point was to find a way to watch the HDTV *broadcast feed*. I am watching NBC's HDTV channel on an analog TV; obviously, because it is an analog TV, I am not watching the HDTV channel in HDTV resolution.

If you're a purist seeking HDTV resolution, then no, my approach won't do you any good. If you're a fan of gymnastics, diving, swimming, and other Olympic sports getting expanded coverage on NBC's HDTV channel, then this approach might work for you.

Melissa just wanted the content not the quality of the HDTV signal.

Good compromise you found there Melissa to watch the NBC's HDTV channel on your regular TV set.

Guys, I don't now how you understood that Melissa was claiming she somehow hacked an old TV set + an old VCR into a HDTV set????

why not just go out and buy a HDTV, prices have come down so much, it might have been just as cheap as all it cost you for the cable setup. here on the east coast, cable is expensive as hell.

Melissa:- I have done much the same, maybe simpler. Bought a low-end HDTV (I needed a new Tv anyway), got a digital HD box from the cable company ($5 a month extra) connected thru a VCR and tape the NBC-HDTV for 8 hours at a time and watch it when I am ready. Skipping the events I am not interested in (gymnastics) and watching all the swimming. Maybe 2 hours before work and 2 hours after. The 1-day delay is a real pain but NBC always makes Olympics viewing a minefield. I don't care at all about the HD quality, but I can toggle my TV between HD quality if I am watching live and non-HD quality, which looks almost the same to me, if watching the tape.

Melissa, your idea is great. I am tech rep for the company that owns the patents for HD(hint hint) Though you are not recieving getting true HD, you are able to see programming that you would never have access to with a regular set up. Everyone please understand, she wanted to extra programming!! Please visit www.zenith.com for more info about HDTV!

Nice one Melissa
really thot provoking there plus all the different posts.

Nice one Melissa
really thot provoking there plus all the different posts.

Tango, long story short, my apartment complex had recently switch cable companies, and I was scheduled for free cable installation around now anyway, to get the digital cable box. So the cable costs to me were virtually nill. I asked them to just add an HDTV box to the setup, at a rental cost to me of just $5 for the month. I have no obligations to keep it, either.

Brian--I skipped the TV part because I'm not quite ready to upgrade, not just yet, at least. My HD digital cable box is $5, too, and I have the VCR recording the first 8-hour feed on an 8-hour tape.

The way I'm getting past the annoying detail of no true NBC HDTV schedule of events: I scan through the video tape of the first, overnight broadcast to find my sport (ie, skimming past all the swimming, and stopping at gymnastics ), and then figure out where the competition I'm interested in starts and stops (time counters rock) within the 8-hour broadcast. Then, I've been using the two repeat broadcasts to capture the gymnastics competition on DVD, in the maximum image quality (1-hour per disc). This way, I'm not recording the events I don't want (though, I admit, swimming is cool this year--I've been capturing some of the NBC primetime swimming, too ), and I'm not wondering if I missed something!

Melissa - Your idea is terrific, but I'm not sure it will work with all HD boxes. I have an HDTV set, so I'm not in need of your method, but I note that my HD box has only component outputs; no composite or RF outs whatsoever. So I guess it depends on what kind of equipment your cable company provides.

Lenny--That's very true. Your success rate in doing this may depend upon the outputs available on your HD box. It also may depend on whether the company providing the HD box (presumably, but not necessarily, a cable company) has left the ports enabled. I was told over the phone by my cable company, for example, that some boxes that they offer will output analog; and in some, that feature is disabled, even though the ports are still there.

Imagine my whoop! of joy when I did the first experimental recording, and realized I had gotten a box where analog out worked .