RDC-7 and HDTV..Great!

[Frank]

I finally purchased extra Canare component cables and have run my DVD and Hughes E86 thru the RDC-7. Excellent results. To bad the on screen display does not work thru the component output. HDTV looks better going thru the RDC than direct to the TV, however, this may be the result of the new cable rather than the junk that came with the box.

This situation really makes me appreciate the unit. I was able to assign different a different optical input to a component input rather than juggle everything around in the back. Then I labeled video 2 HDTV on the display.....coool!!!


Frank




Frank

[Burke Strickland]

Frank -

Thanks for that report -- glad to hear that RDC-7's component switching is working so well with your HDTV. I'm guessing your theory about the cables being the reason for a better picture is correct. I'm assuming you didn't run the HDTV signal through the RDC-7 prior to the THX Ultra 2 upgrade, so the improvement in the picture now would not be attributable to the increase in bandwith in the RDC-7's component switching.

If the cables that came with the box are not true 75 ohm video cables (like they might have cheaped out with 50 ohm audio cables) while the new ones are, then that would make a signifcant difference right there. Of course crappy video cables compared to good ones can make a difference too.

As far as I know, the RDC-7 does not "processs" the video signal. What we really want for it to do is pass the signal "as is" without degrading it or "enhancing" it. Sounds like that is what it is doing.

Burke

[Frank]

Burke,

Did the Ultra 2 upgrade increase the bandwidth over the orginal 45mhz? I may have missed that but the more the merrier.

Frank




Frank

[Burke Strickland]

Frank -

I've only heard about an increase in video bandwidth (reportedly to 60mhz) secondhand -- not from Integra Research directly (although that is supposed to be where the information originated).

Since no one I've communicated with who used the component switchng with HDTV prior to the upgrade reported any signal degradation, I would assume if they actually did increase that value, it was due to THX Ultra 2 requirements rather than customer complaints.

However, on their website under features for the RDC-7, they now list "THX Ultra2" but still proclaim it to be "HDTV-Ready with 45-MHz-Wide Video Signal Path". Whether that is an editing oversight or is still a valid spec, I don't know. But the bottom line is, the RDC-7's component video switching works fine with HDTV.

Burke

[Jon SS]

I got an e-mail from Onkyo last month:

"Bandwidth, is 60MHz, yes, it will be enough for all HDTV, signals."

Hope this helps.

[Burke Strickland]

Jon -

Thanks for that info. Looks like they need to update the site.

Burke

[Razvan]

It's not clear though if that's the bandwidth for the RDC-7 version 2 only or if it refers to upgraded RDC-7's too. I don't recall anyone mentioning that the RDC-7 upgrade included an increased bandwidth. It's also possible that the RDC-7 version 2 might have other improvements over an upgraded RDC-7 like newer/better DAC's.

Razvan