TV quality - better or worse than "standard" TV?

[Spragleknas]

Usinng standard TV-card (Hauppauge PVR 150/250/300/500) and a typical TV-out from a DX9 GFX (like my 9600PRO or eq.), is the quality better or worse than using std. TV-tuner (in a CRT)?

How is it possible to achive HDTV when using MP?

[Taipan]

Originally Posted by Okay

Usinng standard TV-card (Hauppauge PVR 150/250/300/500) and a typical TV-out from a DX9 GFX (like my 9600PRO or eq.), is the quality better or worse than using std. TV-tuner (in a CRT)?

If you are able to connect to the CRT TV via RGB connections (component), then the quality should be equivalent to standard TV. However, if you use the S-Video or composite connection to the CRT TV, then the quality will be inferior.

Originally Posted by Okay

How is it possible to achive HDTV when using MP?

You need a HDTV tuner (DVB or ATSC), a HD display (at least 1280x720, but preferably 1920x1080) and the connection from the video card to the display must be at least component, but preferably VGA or DVI.

You cannot get HDTV using S-Video or composite to a CRT TV.....

[chili]

Question, if you use an hd card and view an sd signal, is the image going to be better than if you use an analog card for the same signal?

[Callifo]

Question, if you use an hd card and view an sd signal, is the image going to be better than if you use an analog card for the same signal?

Unless you analogue signal is absolutely perfect than yes. If it is absolutely perfect than it should be the same.

[gxtracker]

Originally Posted by Okay

Usinng standard TV-card (Hauppauge PVR 150/250/300/500) and a typical TV-out from a DX9 GFX (like my 9600PRO or eq.), is the quality better or worse than using std. TV-tuner (in a CRT)?

Since we're talking about standard def TV, forget about component or RGB connections. S-video will give you the best quality signal, and using something like ffdshow to massage the video, (colour, brightness, sharpness, etc...) will provide you a slightly better picture.

Composite will provide you a worse picture than S-video, but of course, the term quality is a subjective statement. I wouldn't go so far as to say inferior.

Put it this way: when people come over and watch my TV, they dont even know they're watching through the HTPC until I press the "fullscreen" button on the remote to go back to the TV menu. Usually when they discover this, they too want a HTPC. My HTPC is connected by S-video to my TV.

Originally Posted by Okay

How is it possible to achive HDTV when using MP?

Simple; purchase a a HDTV card for capturing or watching, or download HDTV content and connect to a HDTV through DVI or VGA.

[Efros]

Interestingly I find that the video output from my PC is better than connecting directly to Cable. Analogue cable.

[roosterx]

gxtracker:

quote - 'Since we're talking about standard def TV, forget about component or RGB connections. S-video will give you the best quality signal, and using something like ffdshow to massage the video, (colour, brightness, sharpness, etc...) will provide you a slightly better picture.'

How can you say something like that, svideo(y/c) signal is blurry compared to rgb/component - in which is truly as sharp as it can get on a crt.

Don't you see any difference on your telly when you connect your standalone dvd player with y/c instead of rgb?

[gxtracker]

Originally Posted by roosterx

How can you say something like that, svideo(y/c) signal is blurry compared to rgb/component - in which is truly as sharp as it can get on a crt.

It all depends on the quality of the input source, the quality of the transmission medium (cables) and the quality of the input decoder that will determine overall picture quality. Remember we're talking about SDTV here.

If we were talking about EDTV (480p) or HDTV (720p, 1080i) than I would whole heartedly agree with you - component/RGB IS better than S-video.

[chili]

My path is out from Dish receiver via s-video to my pvr-150, then to the hdtv via DVI out on my 6600. (I don't have HD channels yet)

So I ask again, if I had an HD card using the same setup, would I get a better picture?

This is important to me as I have a 61" rptv and the SD source already looks bad enough at that size.

[rtv]

After a year of tweaking I've achieved at least the same quality as you can reach with a "standard" high quality DVB-S Receiver.

The thing where most HTPC fail is deinterlacing with fast movements. Especially the purevideo codec adds a lot of blur here.. (which people with bad signal like :roll: )

Now I'm using MPV codec and S-Video (better results then component cableing to the AVR)