Need advice on Video Capture and output hardware

[nlt499]

My beyond TV setup is:
Shuttle Chassis, 2.4 gig P4, and ATI 9000 AIW
I've had Beyond TV when it was still called snapstream. I love this software, and I'm looking to improve my setup.

My problem is:
I want to output to an HDTV and this video card can't do that. Plus I notice beyond TV has some limitations with AIW cards in general.
What video card and video capture card setup would you recommend for the best performance? Would you recommend going with an AIW card that has HDTV output abilities? Would you recommend going with an ATI card that has HDTV output capabilities and a separate capture card (Hauppagge)? Any particular products you'd recommend?

I don't really play games, this is just for video capture, and playback.

[flavius]

In general, you want separate cards for capturing and output. As far as capture cards are concerned, you want hardware encoding, something known to work well with BTV. Like one of the hauppauge cards.
Output to HDTV .. I don't have one yet, but the ATI 9550 will be something I will take a close look at, come this summer.

[null_pointer_us]

I have a nVidia GeForce 6200TC w/ HDTV output. I do not have an HDTV yet, so I have not tested this feature.

There's a TV tuner here with hardware encoding and good image quality since it comes with the nVidia DVD decoder (which people would normally have to purchase separately).

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q2...o/index.x?pg=1

Together, that's about $140 USD - not bad.

I would hold off on spending a lot of money on a TV tuner since HD input is probably only a few months away. The devs are very tight-lipped on this, however, so I'm just guessing about the time-frame. Also, be careful to get a HDTV output card with the proper dongle for your setup. Newegg.com usually provides good pictures of the box contents for a given product even if you cannot buy from them.

[DanielS]

...Also, be careful to get a HDTV output card with the proper dongle for your setup ...

????? Could you explain what this means please,

[Fonceur]

It basically means that if your HDTV needs component cables, make sure that the video card comes with a break-through cable that has component outputs, otherwise you might have to buy an adapter (dongle) for another 50-100 bucks... If the HDTV takes DVI or VGA, then any newer card should do...

[DanielS]

OH, that kind of dongle. I was thinking about some kind of authentication dongle (stupid me). Thanks.