Suggestion on a TVOut card that works well

[jip]

Anyone have a recommendation on a good ($50 range) TV OUT card. What are some features that I would want on a TVOUT card. My PVR box is exclusively used for SS recording and playback.

I am currently using an ATI 7200 radeon card, which I am not too happy about. Anyone have good experiences w/ ATI 7200 card for TVOUT?

- Jimmy

[comptechltd]

I purchased an nvidia FX5200 w/ 128MB RAM VGA/S-VIDEO/DV Out on eBay for about $70-$80. It works perfectly and was well worth the few extra bucks.


Steve

[sloanja]

I concur with NVidia's tv-out functions on their video cards. Best of all, you don't need two cards for pretty much the same function.

If you don't go with a card, you can get a scan converter that will connect to your vga out and be converted to Svideo or something similar for your TV.

[jip]

I now the older card that I have says it works w/ DirectX8, however, I know that SS requires DirectX 9. Does it affect the quality of TVOUT if my ATI 7200 only supports Directx 8 ?

- J

[RobertH]

the tv out isnt affected by the drivers, but since snapstream requires dx 9 any "special" features / tricks they do to get the stuf drawn on screen may not happen.

your better off with a low end nvidia card (gf4mx at the lowest because the gf2 cards dont do overscan for some stupid reason) and the gf4/fx cards have the tvencoder built into the gpu so the signal quality is much higher.

[jip]

Originally posted by RobertH
the tv out isnt affected by the drivers, but since snapstream requires dx 9 any "special" features / tricks they do to get the stuf drawn on screen may not happen.

your better off with a low end nvidia card (gf4mx at the lowest because the gf2 cards dont do overscan for some stupid reason) and the gf4/fx cards have the tvencoder built into the gpu so the signal quality is much higher.

What does "gf4/fx cards have the tvencoder built into the gpu " mean? Does it do capturing?

- J

[jip]

Would a NVIDIA GF2 MX400 32M do the job?
U think it would be better than the ATI Radeon 7200?

Sorry for the ignorance.
- Jimmy

[RobertH]

the tv encoder is the thingy that processes the image that the graphcs card displays and converts it to something your tv can understand (then pipe it out the svideo jack)

yes a gf2 mx400 would work if you could live with a 3/4" black border around the entire screen on the tv set. This is what overscan is for, at 800x600 or 640x480 the image doesnt take up the whole tv screen so there is a black border, overscan fiddles with the tv encoder's signal to force the picture to be wider/taller than it normally is and thus gets rid of the black border.

It is similar to adjusting the width and height of the picture on a monitor to get rid of the black border.

the gf4 and fx cards have a tv encoder that is capable of overscan and thus gets rid of the black border

[jip]

What's the diff between the two cards. Will I need the features that the FX5200 provide if I use my PVR as a dedicated box?
Does the FX5200 have the TVencoder feature that RobertH was talking about?

Thanks
- Jimmy

[RobertH]

every gf from the 4 series on has it built into the graphics processor.

the differences are listed on nvidia's website, but basically the fx's have more texture pipelines, more memory, faster memory, and if your going to only be using the video for pvr (ie not gaming, although the 440 can certainly handle it) then the 440 would be the optimum (and cheaper) route

[WillP]

RobertH is right on with the last post. I'd just like to clarify things a little for ya:

Performance: For gaming, the FX5200 has the advantage. But if you're a big gamer (First Person Shooters and such) neither of these cards would be stellar as they're both on the low end.

For watching video (using SS), both of these cards will do the job easily.

TV Picture Quality: These two cards both use nVIDIA's integrated TV chip, which allows overscan (important). I use a GF4mx440 myself (system config. below) and the TV output quality is quite good (but not perfect). I haven't had a chance to see the TV-out on the FX5200 but I'd assume the quality is similar. I've read a few posts here and there supporting this assumption, but I don't know first-hand.

Price: The original post in this thread mentioned the $50 range. You can find a GF4mx card in this range. The FX5200 will cost you closer to $70 or $80 because it is newer and faster.


Overall they're pretty evenly matched for SnapStream use, except for the price. I hope this information helps.

Will

[comptechltd]

I have to say I am very impressed with the video quality of the FX5200. It exceeds the TV quality I get on my Tivo (which I realize may be caused by other reasons) and is actually better than or equal to the picture straight through s-video on my DVD player.

Maybe it was overkill but for the difference of maybe $20.00 I couldn't see skimping on this part. If I had had an extra 440 I probably would have just tried it but since I was buying it I figured what the heck.

I read a lot of posts in these forums about people having problems and it usually involves someone who has saved $5 or $10 and bought a low end video or tuner card and I figured I knew what I wanted this machine to do and it wasn't worth the time or aggrivation it would cause. This is the same reason I bought the PVR-350. So between the PVR and FX video card I probably spent and extra $60 - $70. But I have had no problems (yet), my system has actually exceeded my expectations and I'm happy. Also quite possibly SnapStream will be able to take advantage of the extra features in the future. It doesn't take too many hours of pulling your hair out trying to get something to work right before that $60 - $70 is moot. I've been involved with computers to long to go down that road again.

As it worked out I have less than $400 in a system that exceeds a Tivo's performance, Plays DVD's, Plays MP3's and is just flat out 'cool'. Just purchasing a Tivo, upgrading the storage capacity and buying the 'lifetime' subscription would have cost more than that.

Again, just my $.02

Steve

P.S. If you'll notice my spec.'s, the one thing I did skimp on was the processor. That was because I had it already. It does seem to be working fine though. I can record TV and watch DVD's at the same time with no trouble.

[tjodork]

What products are out there that can go in between the VGA out of a video card and convert to TV out ? Any idea of cost ? Thanks for any help!