are there any cards that can do this? (all in wonder maybe?)

[cesto]

i have a projector which i have hooked up to my computer which i watch movies off of.

i'd like to have a card which has a tv tuner built in and wanted to know if any cards offer what im trying to do.

i'd like to have the tv cable run into the card and have the svideo (and vga) hooked up to my projector so that i can play through either. i then want to have my computer monitor hooked up to the card via (DVI). i also have the option of hooking the monitor up through vga if i don't have the projector hooked up. at any rate, i have yet to see a card that has svideo, vga, dvi, and a cable input in one. anyone have any info? .. maybe better options, besides what i listed above?

thanks.

 

[xtknight]

Need some clarification. You want:
1xRF (TV) in
1xDVI out
1xVGA out
1xS-Video out

Will the S-Video just be transcoded from the RF in or will it take the whole computer screen (like TV out) and push it out?

Any ATI All-in-Wonder should do what you want. Well at least the later ones (at least the 9 series). But the S-Video out (branches from a proprietary connector) will output the whole screen. At least that's what it does on my dad's original All-in-Wonder Radeon.

 

[rbV5]

The AIW X8xx cards (and newer) have both the DVI and VGA, along with TV cable input and s-video and composite in/out and YPbPr out, most other Radeons from the original AIW radeon have DVI and an adaptor for DVI>VGA, and then the rest of the in/outputs. The AIW 96xx cards have dual VGA (no DVI) and the rest of the in/out. AIW 7500 and newer have Dual RAMDAC for concurrent analog outputs (any 2)

You could add a TV Tuner as another option, and most newer cards have s-video/composite output and DVI+ VGA.

 

[cesto]

xtknight, i wish i understood better what you wrote. looks like i have some catching up to do and need to learn some more. RF=? ...yes it does need 1 input for the cable. 1 dvi out so that i can hook it up to my monitor (the projector does not have dvi but the new monitor most likely will). 1 vga out, yes so i can put to the monitor or projector. 1 svideo out so i can play TV channels out the projector.

not to complicate matters more, but i also have an xbox which has a hdtv power pack with an vga converter which plugs into the projector...but this shouldnt affect anything.

based on the components i have, i'm looking for the best hookup (least amount of changing wires when switching outputs) and best quality.

thanks again and sorry for my lack of knowledge here...i have to research more.

 

[xtknight]

RF means radio frequency...
I just used it referring to the TV-in port.

AIW X8xx should be fine then.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: cesto
xtknight, i wish i understood better what you wrote. looks like i have some catching up to do and need to learn some more. RF=? ...yes it does need 1 input for the cable. 1 dvi out so that i can hook it up to my monitor (the projector does not have dvi but the new monitor most likely will). 1 vga out, yes so i can put to the monitor or projector. 1 svideo out so i can play TV channels out the projector.

not to complicate matters more, but i also have an xbox which has a hdtv power pack with an vga converter which plugs into the projector...but this shouldnt affect anything.

based on the components i have, i'm looking for the best hookup (least amount of changing wires when switching outputs) and best quality.

thanks again and sorry for my lack of knowledge here...i have to research more.

An AIW card with dual-head output (or just about any dual-head video card combined with a PCI video capture card) will do that. The outputs can be switched in the drivers without needing to unplug anything.

However, note that most video cards can only output two distinct signals at once, regardless of the number of different outputs they support. So if you have the monitor on your DVI, you can output to either the VGA or the S-Video (or put the same thing on both), but you can't have three distinct different things being displayed. If you want to display three different things at once, you'll either need a Matrox triple-head card, or you'll need to add a second video card (either PCIe or PCI).

 

[cesto]

thanks for the replies... i'd just like to double check really quick that this card fits my scenario better than getting a graphics card and a seperate tv tuner card. i use my machine for general work (programming, designing, etc.) movie editing, entertainment (dvd playing, mp3 listening) mostly. i do not game very often (but might get into it a little more...not sure) and i have yet to overclock (most likely wont in the future either). if i get an AIW card with 256mb of ram..that should be fine...or should i consider any other route?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: cesto
thanks for the replies... i'd just like to double check really quick that this card fits my scenario better than getting a graphics card and a seperate tv tuner card. i use my machine for general work (programming, designing, etc.) movie editing, entertainment (dvd playing, mp3 listening) mostly. i do not game very often (but might get into it a little more...not sure) and i have yet to overclock (most likely wont in the future either). if i get an AIW card with 256mb of ram..that should be fine...or should i consider any other route?

Depending on how much you want to use the tuner card, you might want to consider a standalone one. The AIW cards are great for occasional use (like converting some home movies to DVD), or if you just want to watch TV, but if you want to use your system as a full-time PVR, you'll get better results from a good hardware encoder card. Standalone cards also tend to be more widely compatible with third-party software.

Also, you sometimes pay a significant premium for an AIW card with good 3D capabilities -- but if you're looking at an older one (not the latest generation), it's usually no more than the price of a separate tuner anyway.

There's also the advantage that if you can upgrade them separately (for instance, if you decide you need a faster graphics card, or you want an HDTV tuner). With an AIW card, if you want to upgrade your graphics card, you either have to go buy another AIW card, or go pick up a separate tuner at that point. With separate cards, you can upgrade one and keep the other.

Many people are very happy with AIW-type cards, though.

 

[cesto]

good points Matthias99. i also noticed that the AIW X8xx cards do not have the coaxial connections. i would need this as an input and svideo out for the projector (unless of course i could send the tv signal from the coax to the projector via VGA...i'm not sure of the restrictions on these cards and the signal conversions which cause quality loss).

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: cesto
good points Matthias99. i also noticed that the AIW X8xx cards do not have the coaxial connections.

Um... this one does. All the ones I've seen have an RF tuner. Do you have a link to one that doesn't have a tuner?

i would need this as an input and svideo out for the projector (unless of course i could send the tv signal from the coax to the projector via VGA...i'm not sure of the restrictions on these cards and the signal conversions which cause quality loss).

Once the signal is in the PC, you can output it on whichever display you would like, or save it to a file and play it back later. You can use a PC essentially like a video scaler/switcher if you have it set up properly.

If you can use VGA to connect to the projector (rather than S-Video), it will look better, since you can scale up to the native resolution and send it digitally rather than going through two more A/D conversions.

 

[xtknight]

Yes they do have coax connections. It stems out from the proprietary connector. See the other cable bundled with the product under Images? You hook that up to the proprietary connector then that has coax on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102492

 

[cesto]

i see.. i was getting confused with the propriety connector (i thought that was the svideo).

hmm i'm sorta torn here. i most likely won't upgrade the graphics card in the future (but rather the whole system). i like the feature of watching tv and will record once in a while..this isn't my main objective. on the other hand i don't want to sacrific picture quality or other major features, just to have the built in tuner.