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Motorola DCT5100 Digital Set-top Box: how-tos

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A/V Club
December 1, 2004 • Vol.1 Issue 1 Page(s) 42-44 in print issue
Motorola DCT5100 Digital Set-top Box: how-tos

Motorola DCT5100 Digital Set-top Box
Price N/A: lease through cable operators.
www.motorola.com/us

If you want HDTV from a local cable provider, there's a good chance you'll end up leasing a Motorola DCT-5100. This digital set-top box has a lot of features and functionality that aren't necessarily used to their full potential if you have an inept installer set it up, but this guide will let you unleash the device's full potential.

Video Connections

The only video input for this box is the Cable In port where you attach the coaxial cable that comes out of your wall. For video output, however, you have a few options. You should avoid using the yellow RCA jack if possible, as it transmits a composite video signal that won't let you view HDTV content on your television. S-Video has better quality but still does not transmit an HDTV signal, so don't use that as your main connection, either. Instead, connect a VCR, TiVo, or other recording device that lacks HDTV capabilities to the set-top box using one of these video outputs (preferably S-Video if the recording device has an S-Video input port).

Make the connection to the television using either the set-top box's DVI (Digital Visual Interface) or component video outputs. DVI is the preferred connection method if you have an all-digital HDTV such as an LCD or plasma screen, as DVI outputs a pure digital video signal. Unfortunately, the DVI port is disabled on many DCT5100 units, so if you have a digital HDTV, contact your cable provider to see if it can activate the DVI output on its equipment before you commit to a contract.

The component outputs transmit an analog high-definition signal that is comparable in quality to the DVI output and best-suited for analog HDTVs such as CRT (cathode-ray tube) models or any other model that lacks a DVI output. Component cables are much less expensive than DVI cables, but if your HDTV has both DVI and component inputs, you should try to get your hands on both types of cables to see which offers better image quality when used with your particular setup.

Audio Connections

Here's where things get tricky. The DCT5100 has standard RCA stereo jacks (the red and white jacks next to the component video jacks), but also offers fiber-optic and coaxial digital audio output (if the company where you leased the equipment didn't disable these outputs). If you have a surround-sound setup that accepts optical SPDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) or coaxial SPDIF inputs, use one of those digital audio connections to transmit Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic, and other surround-sound formats. An increasing number of broadcasters incorporate digital surround-sound into their transmissions (the 2004 Olympic Games were broadcast in high-definition with Dolby Digital audio), and taking advantage of this feature transforms your HDTV into a true home theater. Note that the cable box itself simply has the capability to output an encoded surround-sound signal. To actually hear all of those channels, you'll need a home theater receiver with a Dolby Digital decoder that can translate the signal.

Connect your TV to the composite connections on the back of the set-top box for the best video quality.

Many home theater receivers accept both fiber-optic and coaxial digital connections, and in our testing the DCT5100's sound quality was equivalent using either type of connection. If you have access to both types of cables, try them to see which sounds best and take care not to crimp the cables when making the connection. Fiber-optic cables are especially fragile and will shatter if crushed, or snap internally if bent to an extreme angle.

Those analog RCA jacks aren't completely useless. Connect them to your VCR, TiVo, or other device that you attach to the set-top box via the composite or S-Video connections. You also can connect them directly to your television for those times when you want to watch TV without firing up the surround-sound system. You can also use RCA splitter cables to connect both the HDTV and the recording device to the analog audio outputs.

Adjust The Advanced Menu

If a technician set up your cable box or it didn't come with a manual, you may be unaware of the User Settings menu. To access this menu, turn off the cable box and press the Menu key on the front of the unit. Make sure the television is turned on when you do this because it's much easier to select options when the menu is displayed on-screen. You can highlight options by either using the cursor keys on the front of the DCT5100 or by using the cursor keys on the unit's remote control. Press the Up and Down arrow buttons to highlight an option and then press the Left or Right buttons to make changes to the highlighted option.

The first option is TV Type, which you can set to 16:9, 4:3 Letterbox, or 4:3 Pan/Scan. The numbers refer to the width to height ratio of the television screen, so use the 16:9 option if you have a widescreen television. If you have a standard 4:3 TV, select 4:3 Letterbox if you want to display all of the content of a widescreen HDTV channel on the television. This places black bars on the top and bottom of the display to preserve the HDTV channel's native aspect ratio (16:9). If you are willing to crop some of the image to get rid of the black bars, select 4:3 Pan/Scan, which crops the image on the left and right to create a 4:3 aspect ratio image that fills the entire 4:3 screen.

The next option is YPbPr Output, referring to the component video connection used for HDTV output. This is an extremely important setting because it determines what video format the DCT5100 outputs from the component video connection. 480i is the least desirable option. It is an interlaced video format with low resolution (640 x 480 pixels) suitable only for older analog televisions that don't support progressive-scan or HDTV technology. 480p is the same thing as 480i only it is not interlaced. It displays an entire frame of video at once using progressive-scan technology, so the picture quality is better than 480i. Use this setting if you have a 4:3 television that supports progressive scan but does not support HDTV.

The two HDTV formats are 720p and 1080i. 720p has a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels and is a progressive-scan format, while 1080i is interlaced but has a much higher resolution (1920 x 1,080 pixels). Check your television's manual to see if it natively supports one format or the other, and use that format. If it supports both, watch some HDTV content in both formats and select the one that looks best on your television.

Another important setting is 4:3 Override. It determines how your TV displays 4:3 standard definition channels (as opposed to 16:9 HDTV channels). If you have a widescreen television, select Off or 480p (whichever looks best). If you have a 4:3 TV, select 480p if the set supports progressive scan or 480i if
it doesn't.

Additional Considerations

If your 4:3 progressive-scan television (or your receiver) converts standard 480i signals to 480p format, you may want to bypass the upconversion on the cable box by selecting 480i and let your A/V equipment convert the signal to 480p. High-end A/V equipment generally does a better job of converting television signals, so experiment to see which combination of settings looks best.

The DCT5100 has a switched power outlet on the back, meaning any device plugged into the outlet will lose power when the cable box is turned off. It is rated for 500W and 4A max, so check the specifications of any device you plan to plug into it to make sure it doesn't exceed those values. There's nothing worse than having a cheap leased cable box fry your expensive A/V equipment.

by Tracy Baker

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