RGB and HDTV

[akfire]

I currently have a RUNCO 3 Gun projector which has RGB cables. Is it possible to have HDTV without changing the these cables to component or DVI cables?

[Clive]

Hi Andrew, I am not sure I'm following correctly however, most systems that are High Definition Ready uses the component input (the RGB input and cables) to transport that signal. Of course, there is DVI and HDMI available now but if your Runco is High Definition Ready, then the RGB\COMPONENT video input would be the one to use.

[akfire]

Clive, Thanks for your reply. I'm a beginner so please bear with me. My projector does not have actual component inputs. It's older with the 5 input RGB/white, yellow ports. I think the system has HDTV (Runco 980 IDP) capability, but I'm not sure.
Any info I can get is greatly appreciated.

Andy

[Clive]

No apologies required here, this is what "The Starting Block" is about. I have invited a couple of moderators from the front projection forum to assist us here. Please wait for their responses.

[Dean McManis]

Welcome Akfire,

RGB (or RGBHV) is the way that computers output their high resolution analog picture information. The main connections for PCs and high resolution CRT projectors were separate RGBHV cables or the familiar VGA connector.

Component connections were a way to get the RGB and sync signals with only 3 RCA plug connectors.

DVI (Digital Video Interface) is a newer, digital video, PC connection, but it was adopted for HDTV use more for copy protection (DCHP/HDMI) than for picture quality enhancement. DVI output from a PC will not include the DHCP encryption, so it may not work with DTV peripherals.

To start producing equipment that could recieve HDTV broadcasts, limit video piracy, and slow the PC industry from taking over, the electronics manufacturers first used component connections, later DHCP, and now DVI/HDMI connections between video peripherals.

My RCA DTC100 HDTV decoder has VGA/RGB output, and there are a few DVD players that have RGB/VGA out connections.

But most new equipment has only progressive component, DVI, or HDMI connections for connecting to HDTV displays in high resolution.
And composite (low resolution/interlaced), and S-Video or analog component (better, low resolution interlaced) plug connections for backward compatibility to older NTSC media and devices.

The slightly shorter answer is that most CRT/RGB projectors were built years before any HDTV connection standards were set, and they were usually used with PCs for displaying presentations. Some models have S-video inputs for watching VHS, DSS, and DVD video sources, and some with RGBHV inputs can be set to accept progressive component inputs (Y-PbPr) with the proper conversion cable and internal settings.

It's possible, but not guaranteed to have a RGB-only display work with every video device that's available now to buy. So you need to find out the exact capabilities of your projector, and look to try and find video peripherals that match those connection capabilities.

The reason that I've got a long, complex answer is that there have been years of conflicts in trying to set universal HDTV standards, and some are not yet fully defined even today (like HD-DVD).

Feel free to ask more questions if something above doesn't make sense, and I'll try to make it clearer.

-Dean.

[JonMarsh]

I'm in a similar situation, with two NEC CRT projectors with VGA and RGBHV inputs (your Runco is based on an NEC chasis.)

Component video is a format which uses a luminance channel (black and white) (Y) and two color difference signals which are matrixed with the luminance to be decoded into RGB inside the set.

There are transcoders from companies like Key Digital and Extron which will convert from Component to RGBHV. I have a Key Digital for when I need that functionality. You have to be a little careful, and distinguish between DVD component and HDTV component, becuase they use slightly different color space coefficients and if you use one where you need the other, you'll get a viewable image, but the color balance will be off. This was also a problem with some DVD players that offered upscaling on component outputs- they were outputting HD resolutions with a SD (DVD) color matrix.

I use a DVI-D to RGBHV converter also; this is not the small dongle like used with DVI-A from a PC video card, but a true digital to analog converter system with it's own power supply. That works fine, but it's not cheap- they're in the range of $300 to $400 dollars.

Like Dean's RCE, I have an HDTV tuner and a PC HDTV card that can output either RGB or Component. The tuner was a Samsung- maybe the current Samsungs will do that, too. Check them out to see- then you won't need a transcoder. My Key Digital transcoder was a couple of hundred dollars, if I recall correctly, about half the price of an HDTV tuner these days.

Good luck getting your system setup for HD- you'll enjoy it a lot once you do!

~Jon