DescentBB

I have been doing some research on cabling and found that different makeups of VGA cables support different resolution formats.

[ie http://www.cablestogo.com/categories.asp?cat_id=8834002 ]

None seem to support WUXGA 1920x1200 16:10 screen aspect ratio.

Is this just another way for someone to get more money out of you? Is it fact.

Any reasonable quality VGA cable should have the bandwidth to handle 1920x1200. But most monitors that run at that resolution will usually use a dual-link DVI-D for optimal picture quality.

Even cheap cables should be able to handle it, but since VGA is an analog signal the higher a resolution and refresh rate you put through the more likely you will get visual artifacts like shadows. My CRT over a VGA works fine even at 1920x1440 resolution @ 70 Hz which is even higher and more demanding.

The higher resolution and refresh rate you are pushing, the more cable length matters though. Almost any 6 foot cable can handle it, but a 50 foot cable is another story entirely.

I guess I should use the shortest VGA cable I can use to reach a used projector in the ceiling. The higher the shield rating the better the picture then? So would I get a better picture with a VGA-In, S-Video, or Composite Video?

VGA is by far superior to S-Video or Composite.

Whats the distance ______? The projector is a _______?
The source is ______?

*The formats you listed are all inferior to the VGA cable. If your projector has HDMI we should try using that. There are a ton of options including running HDMI audio and video over one RG6.

Canuck wrote:Whats the distance ______? The projector is a _______?
The source is ______?

*The formats you listed are all inferior to the VGA cable. If your projector has HDMI we should try using that. There are a ton of options including running HDMI audio and video over one RG6.

25 feet or less, Optoma EX532, My computer.

HDMI is slightly iffy at 25 feet but it still either works flawlessly or doesn't work at all. I've heard of people with carefully designed and built cables reaching 150 feet with HDMI, but for the price of that particular cable you could just buy a laptop computer or media extender box and put it next to the projector with a dirt cheap 6 foot cable.

A decent shielded VGA cable should be able to reach that far without looking bad in the process. There are plenty of VGA cables that long on newegg and they aren't that expensive either.

I haven't mounted the projector in the ceiling yet. I guess I could just build a small cabinet put in on the floor next to my computer in the room I'm going to use and that would be less the foot.

I think I have my facts straight here:

In general, video quality goes as follows, from worst to best:

Composite (analog, limited to 720i, susceptible to noise)

S-Video (analog, limited to 720i, better noise immunity)

VGA (analog, so you lose something... with a good cable it amounts to color brightness, with a bad cable you get some ghosting/etc)

Component (analog, but HD. I think it's equivalent to VGA, but has better noise immunity)

DVI/HDMI (digital- basically 100% or 0%. Thus, if it works, you don't lose anything quality.)

So, of your available options, VGA is the way to go.

too bad it doesn't have HDCP support...

Snoopy: Component video isn't a connection/cable type of its own, just a broad definition of splitting the various components of video and transmitting each of them over separate wires. Both YPbPr and VGA (RGB) are types of component video. (Acually S-Video also fits into the component video type, but its the lowest quality on the market.)

As to which one actually wins the race: I'd put my money on VGA. Both VGA and YPbPr use coaxial cables so its more a question of individual cable quality and shielding to which is more resistant to interference. At the standard resolutions and 6 foot length they probably come out even, you would have to drive the bandwidth a lot higher number than is commonly used to really find out what separates the two.

Actually “Component ” is a connection type…usually Red, Blue & Green RCA type connectors are used.

fliptw wrote:too bad it doesn't have HDCP support...

Just a starter system for now have to save for about 6 months before I get a good projector. Prices will start dropping with the new stuff coming out from the latest CES show this year. Until I can afford 1000 to 1500 with something that has HDMI ports this will due. One of these would be great

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... oreType=17

Has any one heard of this

http://www.curtpalme.com/HDFury2.shtm

Does your video card have an RGB dongle? If so run 3x RG6 cables to the projector for the component out from the 'puter to the vga in with the supplied adapter your projector shipped with. Use compression ends with RCA. There is no difference in the computer signals between RGB and VGA. That is why simple adapters work. Your projector is native 1024x768 anyway... I find dialing down some systems to 720 P gives a better picture sometimes, try it.

Save your dollars from going to that hdmi converter unit... your system won't be able to display the resolution and will just fork about with it introducing noise.

When you want to get a 1.3b ver 2 display then you can get a balun system from Gefen that runs HDMI and audio on 1 RG6 cable... trust me its far cheaper than buying quality HDMI cables for that run. HDMI has signal loss issues over 5 meters... that's around sixteen feet and its specs say so. Longer runs are achieved because the consumer was lucky the engineers designed that particular product beyond the specs. when building it. That doesn't mean every other product does too, so sometimes you get a blue, green, or black screen because of sync, low voltage, and HDCP issues.

Looks like I can just buy a little adapter to hook my blu-ray and get 1080i out of it. Thanks for all the help.

does HDCP restrict 1080i too or just 1080p?

IIRC HDCP can restrict all analog signals to 960x540, but most content providers don't enable the restriction.

Bleh, I spent a night reading all about HDMI and HDCP and ended up royally pissed off at all the manufacturers who support it. How people who bought the first HD capable TVs can't get HD on them now that HDCP is a standard and required. The hardware is definitely capable of it but artificially limited. Sad day we live in.

According to my blu-ray manual I get 1080i over the the component connection. I haven't bought a blu-ray yet that hasn't work yet on it. The blu-ray isn't even a year old yet. Well we will see after all this is the year hdcp is going to be implemented on disk in Hollywood.