So I finally got a chance to do some rewiring this weekend of my setup. I use to run the component feeds from my cable box and DVD player directly into the two inputs of my TV. I bought a 25 foot component video cable to run from my 990 to the TV and then tied the cable and DVD to the 900. I have to say the results were not good. Not sure if the problem was a result of the 990 or the 25 foot cable I added to the run, I then connected the 25 foot cable from the TV directly to the cable box. The picture then improved back to what I was use to seeing. I use the Discovery HD channel as a reference. This is 1080i, but I also noticed that 480p DVD playback was not a good as well.

So has anyone else noticed a signal quality hit when running component through the 990?

Exactly what does the video look like when you run it through the 990 as opposed to straight to the display? How much different is it when you select the cable box vs the DVD player?

This is a hard one to put into words, but I will try. I have not had a chance to mess with the DVD much yet so this is mainly with the HD cable.

Last night I was watching a Blue Angles special on Discovery HD. It was like I was watching non HD TV. The planes just looked like blue airplanes. You could not see the detail in people's face like you normally can with HDTV. When I took the 990 and the 6 foot input cable out of the signal path (25 foot cable still in the path), the picture was back to sharp. You could see the shine on the airplane's paint, the detail in people's faces, etc.

So I guess I would say it looks as if the signal is almost filtered in that it lacks detail. I know the 990 is rated at 100Mhz bandwidth on the component, but it acts like it is not.

Hmmm, it does sound like it would be 990 related...I've used my 990 as a switch for all my DVD/Console/HDTV feeds and it's been perfect. I'm using a much smaller run of cable than you though. Did you happen to run a shorter length (if possible)? Not sure if cable length would cause the 990 to display poorly...

While you did connect the 25 ft cable from the source to the display, one wonders if the stack-up of the long cable, a cable from the source to the 990 and the inner path of the 990 has put things over the limit with regard to signal path length. How long is the cable from the source to the 990? What type of video display? Without siwtching things around too much, it could be the 990, could be the "short" cable, could be a combination of things. Given all the people with 990s at this point, one has to suspect that the 990 itself isn't the culprit from a design standpoint, though it is certainlly possible that you have a problem with yours -- but if could be other things, as well.

I might be wrong...but...

I noticed something very similar on my setup (KD-34XBR960) when I switched to the component inputs from the S-video inputs. That is, the picture was blue as clo2016 has stated....and I was at first concerned that the 990 was responsible. So, I bypassed the 990 and went direct to the component outs of my DVD player...and saw the same thing (blue tinged screen). Only at that point did I look at the back of the Sony HD TV did I realize that I had swapped two cables there.

So...in my case...I found that in my haste to connect everything, I inadvertantly swapped two of the component cables. As soon as I made sure they were 'right' at both ends, the HD picture came in in perfect color and sharpness, and the blune tinge was completely gone through the DVD's component outputs, and when I then took the component outputs from the 990 I had perfect picture and the proper HD signal.

I'm not saying this is absolutely it, but when swapping / extending cables it is an easy mistake to make.

So...try it out and see if this fixes it for you as well.

Let us know...

Mark

Like old_school, I would suggest double-checking all of the wiring - the behavior that you reported is very significant, and does not match my experience (which includes running 1080i HD cable through it, and I think seeing bits and pieces of the same special on DiscoveryHD) at all. If one cable were loose or something got swapped somethere, though, what you saw would be inevitable.

Sorry not to reply sooner. When I was talking about the airplane just looking like a blue plane, that was because the plane is blue. The whole picture did not have a blue look to it. Everything is hooked up correctly. I would be up to getting a shorter connecting cable between the source and 990 i.e. 3' instead of 6' and I might be able to shorten the 25' cable I have to about 20', but I hate to spend more money if it is not going to work.

Also, is the OSD suppose to be displayed on the component outputs?

You'll see the OSD on the component lines when the input is standard (480i) video or 480P. However, as is the case with any product that does not do internal video processing, there is no way to impose menus on incoming HD signals. That takes a considerable amount of circuitry that isn't in the budget for products such as the 990 -- and similar units from other brands.

The onscreen overlays (volume/input information) appear on s-video and composite inputs, which are then passed along to the component outputs. The onscreen menu (the unit's setup menu) is overlayed on the s-video and composite inputs but is presented on a blue screen when working with component inputs - it replaces the incoming video signal rather than being overlayed.