[pninen]

Anybody operate an S3 with a standard def TV?

I was thinking of upgrading my elderly mom from S2 to an S3, so she could watch programs that her local PBS stations now broadcast ONLY in HD. (Nova, Nature, etc) I have to introduce technology to her slowly, and I don't think she's ready for an HD TV yet. All the ones I have seen have more complex remote controls, menus, etc than her SD TV.

I tried it a bit tonite. Hooked an old TV to the video output of the S3, and it seemed to work ok. I was wondering if anyone had tried this more extensively, and noted any gotchas.

 

[Icarus]

I did just that when I got the S3 last year so I could do the lifetime service transfer to the S3. It works fine, and the channels all looked great.

Eventually, I upgraded my monitor.

-David

 

[wmcbrine]

Yes, it works great. There are no "gotchas". Just be sure to tell it that the display is 4:3. Then the Aspect button cycles between center-cut, letterbox, and vertical stretch on 16:9 (HD) content, while 4:3 content always fills the screen. The "Zoom" aspect (center-cut) is then ideal for handling pillarboxed upconverts.

 

[CharlesH]

Using an SD TV with an HD TiVo is a completely supported configuration. It also has the advantage that there are no multiple video conversions going on, which is the case if you have a digital channel going to a set-top box and then to a Series2 TiVo. You can also watch down-converted HD channels, which gets you the best-possible picture on an SD TV.

 

[TiivoDog]

Would this all be true regarding a TivoHD, as well? I have 2 S2 Single Tuners coming off their free 1 year of service and was thinking of picking up 2 TivoHD units to replace them, so I can leverage the MRV functionality, which is soon to be turne up. Therefore, I'll have the abilility to xfr and watch HD content on a SD unit, correct?