Analaog Tv quality - is it just me? (1 Viewer)

erik.p

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January 19, 2007
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Thanks for all the hints & tips.
I tried the MCE drivers (although I have XP Pro), but didn't notice much differance.
The signal in is actually quite good. Still the picture is worse than if fed
straight from the cable-tv cable to the tv. But I can live with that.
Again, thanks for taking your time.
 

diehard2

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  • April 22, 2006
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    What decoders do you use? If you're using the decoders that come with MP, you will not be getting the best looking picture. I would recommend the nvidia purevideo decoders. Well worth the $20
     

    quiller

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    November 28, 2006
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    I agree on both sides: the "MCE" drivers (which work fine for XP) make a huge difference, but the biggest improvement came when I switched to the nVidia codec. It's expensive, but well, well worth the investment.
     

    quiller

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    I wouldn't call $20 expensive. And I don't even make much money :D
    It's expensive to somebody used to open source software replacing commercial alternatives. I suppose I'm saving a bunch of money, normally with better software in the end, to make one purchase acceptable.
     

    Efros

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    January 23, 2006
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    I use the purevideo decoder and the HTPC quality is noticeably better than the straight analog cable.
     

    erik.p

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    Ok, thanks - I'll give them a shot, and see if there is any differance. Funny thing is I hooked the cable-tv signal into the the LCD TV yesterday and then did som Picture in Picture comparison (cable-tv signal vs computer fed signal) and the both looked equal (to me). Of course my gf argued that the signal was worse than before, because I had to use a splitter to feed them simultaneously...oh well...
     

    elconejito

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    Just to throw my hat into the ring on this. I've been fiddling with color settings for about a week now. I have a Hauppauge 150MCE and am using onboard video (ATI x200) to a 32" CRT using the default MPV decoder. I've managed to get the color "close" to what I get from straight cable.

    I've adjusted settings in the Hauppauge tweaker which usually works right away, but sometimes requires a reboot before I notice a difference. I have adjusted the colors in the ATI Catalyst drivers for TV, and general color settings. I have adjusted the colors in the MPV decoder.

    The main issue I have is that very dark and very light colors are crushed like in the image below. I over-exaggerate a little, but hopefully you see what I mean. And further the black isn't really black, more like a dark gray and the white isnt really white, more like an ivory or cream color. Again, its not *that* bad and I would probably not have noticed if I wasn't doing a direct comparison by flipping back and forth between inputs. See pic below, top half is how it it supposed to look, bottom is how it looks onscreen.
    grayscale.jpg


    I guess I'm mainly wondering what settings people are generally using for Hauppauge, MPV decoder, and ATI catalyst (if applicable). Also, I wonder if I can use the PureVideo decoder even tho I have an ATI video out?
     

    quiller

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    I guess I'm mainly wondering what settings people are generally using for Hauppauge, MPV decoder, and ATI catalyst (if applicable). Also, I wonder if I can use the PureVideo decoder even tho I have an ATI video out?
    Yes. My video card is an ATI Radeon 9550, and the nVidia codec made more of a difference than everything else I've done. No matter how I adjusted the codecs, ffdshow or ATI, I still ended up with (as you said) gray blacks and creamy whites. With the nVidia codec, it's almost as good as my STB.
     

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