Question:
Dear Experts,
They told me you were the men who “knew it all”. So here goes:
I just purchased a Sony Blu Ray BDP-301 player. I have a Zenith Pro 900x 3-beam projector with 5 BNC inputs (R, G, B a Horizontal sync(white), and a vertical synch(yellow)). I have tried every combination of cables and connections to try to get the Blu Ray to play on 1080i settings through this projector. No matter what I do, all I get is a green image on the screen of the video.
Please help! Or can you direct me to the proper resource. Thank you.
-Glenn L.
Answer:
Hello, Glenn,
For your purposes, no passive cable or adapter is going to work, no matter how you plug it in. The component video signal format is not something that can be translated to RGB+HV format without active electronics. The fact that 3 of the cables have the same color (red, green and blue) is deceiving because the signals on those cables are quite different on component vs. RGB+HV.
You need something called a component video to RGBHV signal converter or transcoder. Most of these actually come with DB15 outputs (sometimes called "VGA"). But you can adapt that DB15 output to 5-cable RGB+HV BNC cables with an inexpensive DB15 to RGB+HV breakout cable.
High-end signal converters are not inexpensive. The Key Digital KD-VA5 does exactly what you need for $399 and should maintain the full 1080i signal quality and color fidelity. Another option is the Audio Authority PC/HD Converter (model1365) which also supports 1080i inputs and sells for $250-$300.
There are some less known brand transcoders made for the gaming market that sell for appreciably less. These also may work but I have no direct experience with them. One is the "MayFlash YPbPr to RGBHV VGA Box" (how's the for a mouthful?) This sells for under $50 online and may be worth trying if you're on a limited budget.
Combine any of these with a DB15 to RGB+HV break-out cable and you should get a high definition 1080i signal to your projector.
Product Links:
Hope that helps.
Regards,
-Chris
