OTHER TECH

Dub? Don't Bother

Q. I recently bought an Infocus DLP front projector and a 102-inch screen, and I love it. DVDs look so film-like, even though the projector is only an EDTV model. However, when I hooked my laserdisc player up to it using an S-video connection, the picture was unwatchable. I still have more than 300 laserdiscs and a couple hundred S-VHS tapes, so my question is: Will the picture be improved if I dub my discs and tapes to DVD and watch them on the projector via a component-video connection? Eugene Knapp Deerfield Beach, FL

A. Al Griffin says: Sorry, but I'm afraid not. Both laserdisc and S-VHS tapes offer limited horizontal resolution compared to DVD (425 lines for laserdisc and around 400 lines for S-VHS, versus DVD's 540 lines), so you won't see any gain in sharpness by dubbing your media to DVD - you'll just be capturing the tape's maximum resolution. And unlike DVD movies, which are mastered in component-video format, movies on laserdisc are recorded in composite video. So it doesn't matter if you transfer them to DVD and watch them on a player with a component-video connection - you still won't derive the benefits of component video, which include improved color resolution and sharper color definition. One remedy you could try is running a composite-video connection between your laserdisc player and projector. When using an S-video connection, the player's comb filter is called upon to separate the color from the black-and-white portions of the composite-video signal. But by switching over to a composite cable, the projector's comb filter will be used, and it may perform better than your laserdisc player's filter.

Hearing D-D-Double

Q. I have a digital surround receiver and a multi-format DVD player. I'm totally stumped on how to correctly set them up, because both components allow me to do speaker-distance compensation, but in different ways. Does setting both of them double the delay or compensation? Buddy Boyle Orlando, FL

A. Ian G. Masters says: Probably not. The DVD player's speaker-distance compensation affects only its multichannel analog output, and most receivers don't apply bass management or speaker-distance compensation to their multichannel analog inputs, only to signals coming in via their digital inputs. But if your receiver is one of the few that does process its multichannel analog inputs you might get some pretty strange effects. Start by setting both of them. Then, making sure you've selected the receiver's multichannel analog input, try switching the receiver's speaker-distance compensation and bass management on and off. If the sound changes signficantly, disable the bass management and speaker-distance compensation in the player and let the receiver handle it. If it doesn't, leave it set in both components.