480i out of my 6416 STB?

[#1]

I'm trying to figure out my options for getting my Toshiba HDD DVDr with S-video input to record full screen HD (at SD resolutions I know).

My options are:

1. add a component to S-video converter (needs 480i input, about $139)

2. add a component to S-video converter (accepts anything, about $230)

3. abandon the Toshiba and buy a DVDr from eBay that has component inputs (maybe $50)

4. live with the black bars all around

Question:

    Can I even set the 6416 to give me 480i out of the component outs?  The more I think about that, the more I don't think I really want to.  My TV uses HDMI from the STB.  I'd want to keep that at 1081i.

Any help would be appreciated.

[#2]

This actually isn't difficult. At least on my 6416, the S-Video output jack is active even in HD channels, in fact I have a JVC S-VHS VCR connected that way.

Just run an S-VHS cable from the back of the 6416 to the S-Video input on the DVR. S-video isn't 480i, and it isn't component, but S-Video is capable of about 400 line resolution. By contrast, SD over the air is limited to about 330 lines. So while S-Video isn't quite as good as 480i, it is very close, and a lot better than composite video.

At any rate, I can watch HD channels as SD full screen by routing the s-video signal through the VCR and into the S-Video input on my TV. I can also record them as SD on the S-VHS VCR, so there is no reason to think you cannot do the same thing with a DVD recorder.

So you should be able to record HD TV to your DVD recorder via the S-Video output on the 6416 while watching HD TV.