I'm a complete AV newbie. Getting a Sony HDTV capable projection TV, so do I want/need component video switching (i.e. is the 1050 enough for me)? What's the benefit over SuperVideo?

Component video will provide the best picture quality, but because of the bandwidth involved in component video it's best to go directly from the source (DVD, HD decoder) to the display -- switching that won't cause any degradation is expensive. Also, you can't get an HD signal to the display without component video, so you'll definitely want to use that if you have an HD decoder. The 1050 has no on-screen display (the display on the unit handles everything), so you don't need to go through it except for convenience.

S-Video typically is a good bit better than composite. With some source material can look comparable to component, but with the right source material and equipment component will definitely win out.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I don't completely understand the bandwidth argumet. If a switch is just connecting the input to the output, why should the bandwidth of the signal matter at all? What's the bandwitdh capacity of a copper wire?

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

I know more or less zilch about the design details of component video switching, but I can see the need for certain consideration in that design.



How big a copper wire? And is it a wire at all, or a lead on a printed circuit board? How big a lead? How close to other leads? How susceptible to interference from elsewhere in the piece of equipment (power supply, other portions of the component video signal, other component inputs that might have a signal coming in but not be in use, radio tuner, analog audio sources, ...)? How does the unit switch between inputs -- some sort of relay-driven mechanical switch (very doubtful if it's in a receiver or pre/pro) or some electronic switch on the PCB? Those are all questions that come to my mind, but that I have no answers to. I do know that I've been hearing for as long as I can remember now that it's always best to keep the signal path simple (logical, since KISS is a pretty consistently good engineering principle), and that it is particularly true of component video signals since inexpensive component video switching is said to potentially degrade the signal. That may change as component video is becoming more and more common in mass market gear. *shrug* Until I have a TV with component inputs (assuming I don't end up skipping directly to DVI, as I think I'll be sticking with my Mitsu for at least a couple more years), it's nothing I will be messing with first-hand.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I use the 1050 and have Component video hooked up to my HDTV. I do not switch it through my receiver, but rather, send the
video directly from the DVD player to the
TV. Since in my case,the only source of component video is my DVD player, this is
practical in my application. If I had another source, e.g. satellite or broadcast sources, then I'd not have an acceptable situation.

All my other vid sources are switched through S-video. I am completely satisfied because this meets my needs. Switching is there because many have various sources among which they wish to switch. If this is true with you, the 1050 may be a tad inadequate. The switch is where you have the bandwidth issues, not the wire.

Eddyboy