Display expectations....

[IdigPVRs]

I'm new to PVR/HTPCs and enjoying the ride thus far in a big way. I can't stand commericials (and all the crap they try to make one feel less than perfect for not owning) so when I heard of the capability to never have to watch commericals again I decided that's for me.

So working with an equally new but interested friend (and withe help of this forum) we have got a couple of pretty goods PVRs up and working.

All and all I love the results, but am just trying to level set my expectations for picture quality. I should mention I have converted an existing PC and therefore don't have ideal hardware, but I also don't watch much TV (and want to watch even less - meaning commericals) so didn't want to break the bank on this project. That said I'm told the gear should be fine - here's what I've ended up with:

Current Setup:
- PIII 866
- 2x200GB Mator ATA
- 2xAverMedia P150
- ATI 9200SE-DV 128mb w/ S-Video TV out
- S-Video to Onkyo 701 A/V Switch/Receiver
- S-Video to Toshiba Cinema Series 32inch TV
- Onkyo Programmable Remote to IR Reciever thru Girder
- Airboard Wireless Keyboard with built in mouse
- BeyondTV with Sonic Decoder

The results have been great. Very little stuttering, even using transparent menus etc. But I'm not getting as good a quality display as the regular TV feed (with the Onkyo remote it's easy to jump back and forth to compare) and not even close to the quality of my DVD player. So I'm wondering is this as good as it gets. If so I'm happy. If not any suggestions on improving things.

I should mention that I have tried pretty much all the decoders listed in the link below and have settled on the sonic as the winner in my eyes and in my setup. http://www.snapstream.com/community/Articles/decoders/ Although I'm not sure I have tried all the most current versions. Would that make a big difference?

Also I realize my TV isn't exactly state of the art (read very old crap) but that is a constant in the equation and if anything should equalize things in the favor of a lessor signal.

As a new PVR player your input is very much appreciated.

Cheers.

[draven]

The only thing I can tell you is that I tried avermedia products before and was very dissapointed. WHen I set up this computer, I went with Hauppage tuners, and I can't see the difference between live TV and recorded shows (except the lack of commercials) It could be the cause of your picture concerns.

[paulgates]

Your TV out will never be as good as a propper TV feed from your satelite, they will look darker and won't have that 'super' brighness. Test this by comparing and you'll know what i mean.

I have the 'TV Out' of my PVR-350 to Scart2 and when playing my MPEG2 files via WinTV they look 99% as good as when they were broadcast! AMAZING. I have to play them with WinTV as BTV 3.5 doesn't support the PVR-350's 'TV-Out' function! Shame...

Take a look at my other posts with regard to quality, etc..

Have fun!