I currently have an excellent quality JVC SD CRT TV and I am running it until it dies. Interested in a Freesat PVR and the Humax looks good, but it is HD. I noted that it has SCART/Composite outputs, but can I output to my SD TV using these? Not expecting to get HD content, unless it “downscales” these to SD?

I know I will get flamed for this. Yeah I know I should get a new HDTV but have yet to see many that can match my old CRT - I hate the motion blur on most flat panel screens.

You can indeed do everything you want! There is not a lot of HD to watch or record (the BBC HD channel 7 hours a day and ITV occasional broadcast), but what there is can be viewed via the SCART in SD. There is nothing extra on HD so you probably won't bother with it anyway (other than to have a play). Not much point filling up the disk with recordings in HD if you are only going to view them in SD. Everything else is SD anyway.

So no, you do not need to get a new HDTV just to watch satellite TV, I would suspect that the majority of people with a freeview PVR do not have full spec HD sets. It's just another set top box that can do a few extra things. And the Humax foxsat-hdr is pretty good (well, I think so).

And not a flame in sight!

Yes you can, but sadly because of Freesat's somewhat ridicolous copy protection you only get downscaled SD in composite (no RGB) during HD transmissions which means HD channel piccies are worse than the same SD ones in RGB.

Thanks VM for the replies. I thought you could but did not want to part with over 200 quid and find it won't work on my TV

Anyway its got to be better than my TopUpTV box....

So if I use an av sender to send a signal to another room, the picture will not be of a very high standard. This to an hd ready TV. At the moment a transmit my Sky via its second RF output and the Sky Link.. This is not an option with the Humax Freesat. Unless I buy an RF adaptor.
Any other suggestions.

An HDMI Splitter/Switch, together with an HDMI/Cat5e extender/receiver. Not a particularly elegant, or cheap, solution, but enables HD to another TV.

Rgds.


Les.

Mmmm,was just wondering about this yesterday.Will have a look at the HDMI/Cat5e gizmo.

No, only of the lowest possible quailty available.


Unfortunately Freesat boxes are very limited in this way - a great shame, it costs them a LOT of sales - it's a VERY popular facility on Sky boxes.

That's what quad/octo LNB's are for, do it properly!

The picture quality of a video sender should be similar if not better than a sky rf2 output. Both use composite video as the source with the sky box creating a analogue tv channel with only mono sound that relies on the analogue tuner in the remote set to tune into so picture quality depends both on the quality of the sky stb modulator and the tuner in the receiving tv. A video sender also takes the composite video output and uses this to modulate a high frequency carrier signal that it transmits. The recieving box removes the carrier (exactly like TV is transmitted to your TV using an aerial) and outputs audio and video that a scart connector sends straight to the screen without a tuner being required, as a result this connection will give you stereo sound and also os likely to have a better picture quality. Despite what Nigel says Sky or other systems using a modulator are really only suitable for small screen portable TV's like a kitchen or bedroom SD only model, due to the small screen the picture imperfections are not very visible, use this system to feed a HD ready display of any size will really show up the limitations.

You have misunderstood my comment, a hdr connected to a local TV will give it's best quality picture when connected to a TV using a RGB scart cable. This same cable also carries the inferior composite signal. When HD transmissions are recieved RGB is turned off so the local TV can only use composite reducing the quality of the local TV picture. It won't affect remote connected TV's as these can only use composite signals using either way to send the signal.

As Les says to transmit HD to a remote TV you have either to use a long HDMI cable or use a pair of hdmi hdcp capable baluns joined by cat5e network cable

And how does a quad (or octo) LNB let you play an HDD recording from a different room?.

With RF2 and a magic eye you can use one cheap Sky box in every room in the house - it's a great feature and badly missed on Freesat.

Thanks Graham and Les.AS you suspected the TV's I wish to transmit to are bedroom and kitchen. Supposedly HD Ready but small TV's. Th Sky RF2 therefore looks "Reasonable"

The easiest way around this could be a :-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ILS102-MODUL...0095095&sr=1-1

We have some knocking about although I have never used one. Definitely worth a try for occasional use.

I use exactly that moderator with a hdr to feed a 15" CRT in the kitchen. It works fine with SD or HD, you just need to identify a suitable uhf channel. If you get the full list used by your local transmitter for analogue and digital and choose the lowest number thats at least 2 (preferably more) from any uhf channel already used. Use a lower number so that you use the lowest frequency which minimises losses in the coax. Easiest way to connect is to use the hdrs rca phono outputs, yellow video, red and black audio. Only snag is without extra equipment you can't control the hdr from the kitchen

That's interesting Graham. I seem to remember you mentioning the adaptor before. Shame about the lack of HDR control. The kitchen is not a problem , I have line of site to the Humax. Bedroom, is another matter.

I have a list of the UHF channels already. Now all I have to do is find the adaptors. They are in a safe place.

Replying to your original point, I too decided that none of the current flat panels offer performance equivalent to a good traditional CRT. I have an old SKY dish and have been using 2 (Goodmans + SKY) SD to get good quality visual programmes. In order to reduce the furniture clutter I then looked at the current panels which have integrated FREESAT tuners, but the reviews of their performance from FREESAT were not very good, and they did not record anyway.

However 2 weeks ago the programme schedule at 9:00 pm across BBC1, 2 and ITV was congested, so I decided to invest in a HUMAX HD PVR to provide me wirh 2 channels of simultaneous recording plus a means of viewing a third channel. In addition the BBC HD channel repeats some programmes at different times (see tonights listing of Dragons Den v Who do you think you are).

I am viewing the programmes on a CRT via the SCART, and the HD channel is not only available, but its broadcast quality is distinguishable even on a CRT running at 576i. As far as know the horizontal bandwidth is not limited by the SCART connection, and the visual quality is limited only by your CRT screen size and the shadow mask. Remember the horizontal signal is analogue.

I am left with the only reason to buy a new screen is that of size, and that of course that is a furniture / family limited decision.

So rest assured, you should get impressive flexible performance from the HD channels

Thanks Boff70man - that's great to know.

I have taken the plunge and have ordered a Humax HDR.

Agree re flat panels - interesting a friend of a friend works in a major vendor. He told me main reason why manufacturers have been dropping CRT and favouring flat panels is the decreased cost of shipping (weight) and because they can cram more into a container. OK, there has been a shift in trends towards flat panels by consumers but not at the speed that they switched over.

Whilst there are some good flat panels out there; in my experience many are not good at all - I'm sick to death of watching other people's smeary TVs, or those who have bought a screen that is too big for their room and you end up watching pixelated scaled-up SD....

I'm leaving it until my current one expires and hopefully by then there will be more HD transmissions.