how should i move forward...blu-ray etc...?


my gear is pretty old school but looks and sounds stellar...theta casanova, lexicon rt-10, kell fpb600c, krell kav 3250, wilson wp7's and watch center/surrounds assorted great cables mostly mit, and screen is runco pl50-hdx with vivix proc...so it seems the new technology has plateaued and it may be time to test the bluray waters...

i am reluctant to get away from my 5.1 standard dolby dig/dts world but i am very curious about the new hd formats. what are some cheap (ha ha) ways to test the waters with the stuff i have?

first post here but have been lurking and really respect some of the minds that type here...
richard_stacy
so that sounds pretty simple johnny, just run 1 toslink from blu-ray to digital input on the casanova...what would i use to run video then to the runco. the vivix has only one pass through and i use it for the hd dtv box..?
02-10-09: Richard_stacy
...what would i use to run video then to the runco. the vivix has only one pass through and i use it for the hd dtv box..?
What physical format is the pass-through--component or DVI? I couldn't find any pics of the back panels of the two units.

Without more info, I'm assuming the VIVX only outputs composite, S-video, and component video, right? But the Runco display itself accepts DVI as well. If that's the case, directly connect the Blu-ray player to the PL 50-HDX. Use an HDMI-to-DVI cable such as this or this, bypassing the VIVX altogether.
johhny not sure what the format of the pass through is, they call it hdx looks like rs-232, may be proprietary.
the only output on the vivix is component. inputs are composite, component, svideo and an rs232 for controllers.
there is a dvi input on the panel which they describe as...use to connect a computer. does not support the display of copyguard-protected video signals.
2-10-09: Richard_stacy
...
there is a dvi input on the panel which they describe as...use to connect a computer. does not support the display of copyguard-protected video signals.
According to this 12/2002 review of the PL 50-HDX at this page:
They ... include a DVI (digital video interface) input fully compliant with HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) protocols for future copyrighted HD sources. By incorporating DVI HDCP, the PL-43HDX and PL-50HDX are compatible with forthcoming high-definition DTV tuners equipped with digital-direct outputs in this format.
In other words, HDCP is made to *pass* copyrighted hi-def video signals. That's how HDMI works, and HDMI has a pin-for-pin video compatibility with DVI. I suspect Runco added this DVI input to the monitor to help "future-proof" it for emerging digital video standards. They didn't include it in the VIVX switching, but they provided it on the monitor. The VIVX II *does* have 2-in/1-out DVI switching.

That would be a way to upgrade switchability without ditching your Runco display. But again, with an HDMI-to-DVI cable, you probably won't have to.