# RS 232? Is that VGA?



## bkchurch

There's a male port and female port on the back of my Barco Data 701s that say RS 232 IN and RS 232 OUT. They look exactly like VGA ports so is it safe to assume that's what they are? And if so I also assume they will accept an HD signal just as well as the the RGBS and component inputs right? I know this probably sounds like a dumb question but I wanted to check before I bought the VGA cables for my 360 which will allow me to upscale my DVD's to 720p or 1080i instead of paying $130 for an Oppo 970 and hacking it to upscale over component.


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## nashou66

No they're not video ports they're controler port for conecting a computer rs 232 or other controler to the projector to control certain functions of the projector. so basicaly you could bypass using the remote and use a computer to set up your projector. some one else confirm this please. not sure if i got it exactly right.


Athanasios


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## bkchurch

Crap no upscaling for me


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## Clarence

nash is right about RS232 being a controller connection.


But you can still use the xbox vga cable, just connect it with a VGA-5BNC cable too.

Search ebay for "vga bnc cable". You can get a cheap set that'll do the job for


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## bkchurch

Do I have RGBHV? I have 5 BNC connectors on the back of my pj: R, G, B, S, and Video. Can I just use 4 of the BNC jacks on the VGA-to-5BNC cable for RGBS or do I use all 5 jacks and use them with all 5 plugs, I don't even know if the Video plug has anything to do with RGB. I'm still catching on to this CRT thing, it's a lot different from the connections on those new-fangled flat panels all my friends are drooling over.


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## bkchurch

Ok, just found a VGA-4BNC RGB cable that says it's for RGBS so I assume that's what I'd use.


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## Clarence

Yes, the 4BNC should work. You could probably use a BNC t-connector to combine H+V into a combined sync... I've done that with ECPs before.


Just a slight clarification, I gave Tim credit for putting BNCs on a Xbox360 VGA cable, but I dug up the picture and it looks like he just did a component cable (I like the RGB sharpie marker stripes)...
 


This would be a good idea with the VGA cable, too.


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## bkchurch

Yea, actually component would probably work just as well. Going from VGA to component or RGBS isn't going to prevent me from getting DVD upscaling is it?


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## mtmelvin

Like others have said RS232 is a serial control connection and not video. But I'm curious because you say that the connectors look "exactly like VGA ports." Usually RS232 utilizes a DB9 (DE9 for the educated and/or purist) with is the same size as a VGA (HD15) but has only 9 pins in two rows instead of 15 pins in three rows.

Take another look and count the pins or holes and I think you will see that there are only 9 and not 15. If they did in fact use an HD15 connector for this then please correct me.


-Mark



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bkchurch* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> There's a male port and female port on the back of my Barco Data 701s that say RS 232 IN and RS 232 OUT. They look exactly like VGA ports so is it safe to assume that's what they are? And if so I also assume they will accept an HD signal just as well as the the RGBS and component inputs right? I know this probably sounds like a dumb question but I wanted to check before I bought the VGA cables for my 360 which will allow me to upscale my DVD's to 720p or 1080i instead of paying $130 for an Oppo 970 and hacking it to upscale over component.


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## mtmelvin

In the case of the Xbox 360, in order to ulitize the component output you need the component adaptor cable, which you probably already have. This will not allow you to watch your SD-DVD's upscaled. The VGA cable will, and you will need a breakout cable to adapt from the HD15 (VGA) connector on the output cable to 5 BNC connectors.


No one is suggesting that you can take the VGA output and convert it a component signal without some external hardware. And there is no reason that you should want to, because your projector will accept RGBHV, or some form of it anyway.


So the bottom line is that in order to use your 360 to watch upscaled DVD's you will need BOTH the 360 VGA output cable AND a VGA breakout cable.


-Mark



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bkchurch* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yea, actually component would probably work just as well. Going from VGA to component or RGBS isn't going to prevent me from getting DVD upscaling is it?


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## swechsler

Ah, these kids with their newfangled USB2 cables, never had to deal with RS-232 1200 baud modems, line noise, parity settings, port speeds, rolling their own cables. What fun...


Seriously though, if they have a PC manufactured within the last 3 years, there's a good chance it doesn't have any RS-232 ports at all, which could have led to the confusion of DB9 vs. HD-15. RS-232 still appears to be popular in the professional video industry, however.


On the other hand, the NEC XG projectors use HD-15 plugs for serial connections (I believe because they support both RS-232 and RS-485).


Aside to *bkchurch*: a quick Googling of RS-232 would have gotten you the answer also.


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## bkchurch




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mtmelvin* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> In the case of the Xbox 360, in order to ulitize the component output you need the component adaptor cable, which you probably already have. This will not allow you to watch your SD-DVD's upscaled. The VGA cable will, and you will need a breakout cable to adapt from the HD15 (VGA) connector on the output cable to 5 BNC connectors.
> 
> 
> No one is suggesting that you can take the VGA output and convert it a component signal without some external hardware. And there is no reason that you should want to, because your projector will accept RGBHV, or some form of it anyway.
> 
> 
> So the bottom line is that in order to use your 360 to watch upscaled DVD's you will need BOTH the 360 VGA output cable AND a VGA breakout cable.
> 
> 
> -Mark



I'm not talking about converting the signal, I'm saying if I use the 360 VGA cable and use an adapter to connect it to a VGA-Component or VGA-4BNC cable will it kill the upscaling? And yes my projector accepts component in case you were going to ask.


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## Clarence

The VGA cable will allow upscaling of standard-def DVDs (except 1080i is not an available resolution option with the VGA cable, which is too bad because 1080i would probably be the sweet spot for your projector).


The component cable will not allow upscaled DVDs... 480p only.


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## mtmelvin

You ARE talking about converting the signal.


Adapting VGA to Component (or vice versa) is not possible without converting the signal. It takes more than a simple breakout cable to get Component Video from RGBHV (which is what VGA really is). That is the point I was trying to make.


I know that your Barco will accept component video. But the 360 will not upscale if you're using the component output. If you want to utilize the upscaling feature of the 360 you will need the VGA output cable. When you use this cable your 360 will not output component video, it will output RGBHV. Those are two different types of signals, and you can't just change the signal type with an adaptor. You would need a transcoder. And if you're going to go to that kind of trouble you might as well get a scaler.


If this still doesn't make sense then you need to read up on the differences between Component Video and RGBHV. They are not interchangeble.


-Mark



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bkchurch* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm not talking about converting the signal, I'm saying if I use the 360 VGA cable and use an adapter to connect it to a VGA-Component or VGA-4BNC cable will it kill the upscaling? And yes my projector accepts component in case you were going to ask.


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## tgranber

So a VGA to DB9 cable will not allow for video playback. I have a 720p movie on my laptop and want to get it on my big screen. I have 2 HDMI ports, component ports, and a RS232C port. What do you think my best option is.


Tim


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