Philip_P Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 Greetings. I have very basic questions that illustrates my ignorance. I am looking for the best method of output from a Toshiba S23 to a VCR. S-Video output port seems the way to go (this surely is S-VHS???.) Following VCR sales on EBAY I have only seen two VCR's that have S-VHS. Both very expensive machines second hand. I want to use a cable from the S-Video output port to a matching input port on a VCR. Please explain :- What should I look for in the VCR? How common is a S-Video input port? Thanking you Philip
Christopher1503559517 Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 JVC have a S-VHS machine that isn't too pricey. Also a DVD/S-VHS combi...have a look at JVC Consumer Products Was considering another S-VHS machine myself but have decided to wait and see what the new Thompson std def stb/pvr is like. Christopher
Christopher1503559517 Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 JVC have a S-VHS machine that isn't too pricey. Also a DVD/S-VHS combi...have a look at JVC Consumer Products Was considering another S-VHS machine myself but have decided to wait and see what the new Thompson std def stb/pvr is like. Christopher
Philip_P Posted August 21, 2003 Posted August 21, 2003 Well I found the below browsing "Google" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You may have heard of "Super-VHS" or "S-VHS". This revised standard (introduced in the early 1990s) offers moderately improved picture quality over ordinary VHS. However in order to take advantage of this, one must purchase both an S-VHS video player and use costly S-VHS videocassettes. In terms of releases for the domestic market, material has never been issued on S-VHS cassettes and existing S-VHS players can happily play ordinary VHS tapes anyway. Therefore, for our purposes, S-VHS is not an issue. Another recent innovation is "Digital-VHS" or "D-VHS". Again one needs specialised equipment and cassettes for this but the kit can not be used to play ordinary VHS tapes. But given that recordable DVD is now starting to emerge, it's unlikely that D-VHS will take off. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hence I will forget buying a S-VHS VCR. Thank you the inputs. Philip
LaPlaya Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 Toshiba S23 is now a S23A on the toshiba web page and the price is now $1099.00 The picture is not the same as S23 also. Check it out. http://www.toshiba.net.au/cgi-bin/toshiba/000179.html
rs5f32a Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 Unfortunately, it seems that they're made in Taiwan and the circuit board is the same as the DGTEC's...
Philip_P Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 mmmm quote ------------------------------------------------------------------- Toshiba S23 is now a S23A on the toshiba web page ------------------------------------------------------------------- My box says S23 and I assume the A in S23A = Australia so did not quote it. quote ------------------------------------------------------------------- and the price is now $1099.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing like what I paid. And I did phone Castell head office in Melbourne (2 weeks ago). They/he was surprised at that internet price. quote ------------------------------------------------------------------- The picture is not the same as S23 also. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Not sure what above refers to. My S23 looks like the unit in the referenced Toshiba URL. and............ The more that I use my S23 the happier I am. Philip
Alien Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 Philip Yes JVC sell an SVHS for about $500 from HN or JB Hi-Fi. It also has an enhanced mode that gives better quality pictures on standard tapes. However tapes recorded in the enhanced mode are not playable on normal machines but tapes recorded in standard mode can be replayed on other machines. Regards Paul
Groover ! Posted August 22, 2003 Author Posted August 22, 2003 Unfortunately, it seems that they're made in Taiwan and the circuit board is the same as the DGTEC's... I,ve looked inside both and they are totally different. Were did get this info from ? Angelo
Christopher1503559517 Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 The difference in the picture on the Toshiba website is they've replaced the previous pic with a pic of the box with the power turned on...
craign Posted August 22, 2003 Posted August 22, 2003 I read a lot on this forum but this is my first post. Hi everybody and thanks for the input. I now have both a DGTEC 2000 & a Toshiba S23. I bought the Toshiba at Harvey Normans in SA for $915. First, I have looked in both boxes. They are not the same. Second and most important to me, the picture quality from the Toshiba is much better My comparisons are made using an HD Panasonic Plasma. The differences I think primarily relate to blacks levels. Before I bought the Toshiba, I needed to have 2 different brightness/contrast settings on the plasma. One for DVD (calibrated with Avia) and one for the DGTEC input. This was because the black levels were very different and the picture from the DGTEC was "washed out" otherwise. Even with this different setting I was never completely happy with the DGTEC picture. Now I am much happier, the picture just looks right with vibrant colours and deep blacks. There are also none of the annoying horizontal lines in red areas that others have reported with the DGTEC. The user interface is much better. There is a quick scan tuning feature. This means that all you have to do is tell the unit which city you are in and it already has a database (as of July 03) of all the digital services available and it tunes those in quickly without a prolonged full frequency scan. The best thing for me is that the unit outputs to the plasma the video format that it receives. With the DGTEC I always had the switch at the back set to output 1080i so everything received was I think upconverted. The toshiba automatically outputs at native levels. The output is shown briefly on the screen after changing channels. eg, "PAL" for 576i, "576p" on Channel 70, "1080i "on Channel 90 etc. If you change from a 576i channel to 1080i there is a brief flickering as the screen adjusts itself. Changing from one 576i to another eg from Channel 2 to Channel 7, there is no flickering. There is an aspect ratio control on the remote so you can stretch 4:3 material to fill a 16:9 display and the stretch is quite acceptable. There is a freeze button to hold and display a still. I am sure I have missed a few things but will post again when I can. But the main thing to me is the better PQ.
rs5f32a Posted August 23, 2003 Posted August 23, 2003 It's the same as the 5000i apparently. My mate works for a high-end audio/video retailer.... They pulled it apart and compared everything as soon as they got the first one.. I'm just relaying what I've been told. I'm yet to see and decide for myself which one to get..
bizzibee Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 O.K. So this new Toshiba HD-S23 is rumoured to be using the same Zinwell ZDT-410HD Chassis as the DGTEC 5000i HD STB. See: http://www.zintech.com.tw/data_store/ZDT-4...(Australia).pdf Zinwell are based in Taiwan. I've heard there has been alot of problems with the DGTEC 5000i. Anyway maybe if Toshiba has OEM'ed the Zinwell ZDT-410HD Chassis as DGTEC has done, then maybe they have modified it to their own spec's. Who Knows! They both seem to offer the same spec's & output resolutions. Both are 3.5kgs. I can see the buttons on the front of both boxes are located in the same place and are also labelled with the same functions. Check it out for yourself. So perhaps this story is correct. DGTEC 5000i spec's: http://www.dg-tec.com.au/images/dgtec5000i.pdf Toshiba HD-S23 spec's: http://www.toshiba.net.au/cgi-bin/toshiba/000179.html Talk about being confused. Mark
Pom Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 So..... does anyone know where I can get one in Adelaide??? I've tried Myer Truscotts Good Guys Harvey Norman RR Betta Elec etc etc. And by the way they ALL tried to sell me Dodgy Tec saying they are way better!
craign Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 Harvey Norman (Marion) had them in stock as of last Thursday. I got one for $915.
Pom Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 Craign... well wot do u think of it?? Trust me to go to the wrong HN I went up to the NTh Rd store funny they didn't know anything about them tho' John
chronomagister Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 funny they didn't know anything ...yea that happens a bit I haven't been able to find one either, but since I'm up in Golden Grove I hadn't thought to try as far as Marion. Will be worth a look. As for the similarities between it and the 5000i, I guess the firmware is what will set them apart - how much that can make a difference I guess I'll find out when I finally get to see one.
craign Posted August 24, 2003 Posted August 24, 2003 Pom. Have a look at what I said earlier in this thread. Generally, I am very happy with it.
rs5f32a Posted August 26, 2003 Posted August 26, 2003 I just got an update... apparently, it's exactly the same as the 5000 and in direct comparison testing, worse in picture quality. I'm going to attempt to do a direct comparison myself this weekend....
Digicruiser Posted August 26, 2003 Posted August 26, 2003 What???????? Worse than a DodgyTec! Now I'm going to have nightmares - my wish for a great HD box is slowly disappearing... <baseball bat time with Toshiba!>
Groover ! Posted August 27, 2003 Author Posted August 27, 2003 Some how I really don,t believe that the Toshie is the same creature as the footy (degtec). I have had many Toshiba products over the years and it has been the best name brand I have ever bought. Thats what makes the Rank Arena so great in HDTV its the toshiba tube it uses !!!!! Now I,ve placed an order for the Toshiba STB if it plays up like the footy (which I really don,t believe) then TOSHIBA WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER CENT FROM ME AGAIN. Time will tell. Angelo.
barri Posted August 27, 2003 Posted August 27, 2003 OK it might be a clone but how is it for ........ reliability quality connection upscaling remote control use channel changing instructions warranty support/backup firmware upgrades etc etc If all these are good then who cares who makes it. I haven't heard one bad report about the toshiba HDSTB only panic from people worried about its origins. Lets put this in perspective. Is this a good HD STB or not? John
craign Posted August 27, 2003 Posted August 27, 2003 barri Well said! : from a (so far) happy Toshiba HD/STB owner. I also own a DGTEC 2000 and the Toshiba is better in all respects.
barri Posted August 27, 2003 Posted August 27, 2003 To all Toshiba owners can you explain something to me? I played with the remote today at a shop and couldn't figure out how to set it permanently to 1080i, that is, all signals are upscaled to 1080i. With the dgtec 5000i the resolution is displayed when you hit the v-format button but on the tosh I couldn't see what reslolution was being show. Secondly is it true that the stb automatically adjusts itself to what ever is being broadcast? That is channel 7 (576p), Channel 9 (1080i). But this can be overriden.? Incidently no one has mentioned PIP. It works exactly the same as the dgtec 5000i. You can only show the one station. ie Channel 9 HD with one of the other channel 9s. I couldn't see if it did teletext like the 5000i. Can it? If it can do what I hope it can do then I've made up my mind what my first HD STB will be. Looking forward to some replies.
Recommended Posts