chalk that one up to experience

[kate_nepveu]

It appears that the reason I had such a hard time finding an S-video to component converter is that the resulting picture is absolute crap.

(I was hooking my old laptop up to the TV and wanted an arrangement of cables that allowed me to have the laptop and the DVD player connected simultaneously. Now I'll just have to swap out the audio cables when we watch DVDs, which is rare these days between the DVR and SteelyKid. And yes, I am quite sure what connections I have usefully available, thank you very much. (None of the equipment in question is new or even new-ish.))

And since I have spent more time doing that than I should considering SteelyKid's cold (she's getting better, but the past few nights have been very short on sleep), g'night, everybody.

Comments

[montoya.livejournal.com]

At the risk of ignoring your second paragraph, VGA to component (http://www.amazon.com/6ft-component-video-cable-HD15/dp/B000FM3EQ0) isn't an option from the laptop?

[kate_nepveu]

. . . huh. I hadn't looked at the laptop, I confess--I knew I had S-video out because I'd used it before (on the front of the TV, but SteelyKid can reach that now). If VGA is, as it appears, 3 rows of 5 pins, then I think I do have it.

Have you done this? Is the quality not crap?

[montoya.livejournal.com]

I haven't done it, and there are probably pitfalls with it (in terms of only some resolutions being supported or whatever), but VGA has the quality at least in theory to make it work.

That said, I'm a moron and this probably isn't a solution for you -- the thing I linked to is for RGB component not YPbPr component, so it won't actually work for your TV. Apparently ones that work for TVs require some processing and are like $100, at which price you could probably buy either a new computer or DVD player in today's market...

[kate_nepveu]

Oh, so there are _different things_ both labeled "component"?

Fuck that.

[montoya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are some PC-oriented projectors that take RGB (one cable for Red, one for Blue, one for Green) component cables, but basically these do not exist in modernity. Regular TVs take in YPbPr (Y is short for "luminance"; Pb is the difference between the overall brightness level and the blue level; Pr is the difference between overall and red).

It's all fairly intuitive.

[kate_nepveu]

(So I forgive you for ignoring me, because you're probably right. Generous, ain't I?)

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Modern flat TVs do skimp on the composite/ S-video inputs in favor of component or HDMI inputs, which is a pain if you have a lot of old or low-end equipment.

[kate_nepveu]

This isn't even that modern a TV! Only the front is flat.

But I suppose it's not its fault that SteelyKid can reach the composite inputs on the front of the TV and thus, if I want those wires to remain intact and unchewed, I cannot use them.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Tangent: I was pleasantly surprised that my new TV would accept a VGA-style connector directly from my PC and would accept a signal for resolutions up to 1920x1080. So pretty! Prices keep coming down, so in the future when you get new equipment, there is some hope that things will hook up right out of the box. (Of course, by then, there could be new standards and require conversion. Grr!)

And totally unrelated: I'm enjoying your LoTR rereads. I'm glad you provided an index page, since you haven't reminded us here on LJ in a while :)

[kate_nepveu]

The VGA would definitely be very cool. I have to scale the laptop down to 800x600 for it to look right (like I said, not a new TV) and while it is entirely watchable (especially for things like the new FMA in subs), I know it could be a lot better.

The nice people at Tor.com did the index page, not me. And after a while I just felt like anyone who was interested in the re-read was already over there, but maybe I'm wrong . . . ? (Also I forget.)

[sargent.livejournal.com]

Off-topic, but is that Barbabeau in your icon?

[kate_nepveu]

I have no idea. I got it from juno_icons and though she cited a source (vale at stock.XCHNG), I was never able to track it down further.

[sargent.livejournal.com]

It looks suspiciously like one of the characters in the series of French children's books (http://www.barbapapa.fr/).

[kate_nepveu]

Could be! Like I said, no idea.