ATI AIW 9700 Pro +WinXP fuzziness/blurry

[dsprenzel]

I?ve got the ATI All-In-Wonder 9700Pro video card setup in my box (WinXP, PIII 1000ghz, 512mb RAM) , and can get the cable signal throughput to my TV with no problems, and the picture is acceptable (I still need to fine tune). Playing DivX, MPG movies, any type of video or audio file works fine, crisp & clear.

The problem is with viewing Windows XP on the TV itself. I?ve got my TV & monitor side-by-side. While everything else (DivX, Mpg?s, etc.) looks fine, Windows XP itself is quite blurred/fuzzy looking on the TV, but on my PC monitor the image is crisp and clear. Fonts are barely readable, and it?s basically unacceptable to use explorer or browse the web through my TV.

I suspect it has to do with refresh rate, but maybe I?m missing something else?any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[rbV5]

I suspect it has to do with refresh rate, but maybe I?m missing something else?any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I suspect it is the resolution myself. What connection are you using for your TV? If it is an analog TV using composite (RCA) or S-video connection...you're looking at 480i NTSC, and the results sound typical for analog TV-output, good for video and non-text based games...poor for text reproduction, windows desktop.
However, if you have a digital TV display and you're using the native component output, you've likely got poor cabling or something configured wrong. My desktop is nice and crsip using component output. Definately not as sharp as my CRT monitor, but stunningly sharp for a 55" Widescreen display.
How do you have your TV connected to the AIW?

 

[dsprenzel]

I'm using the native (out-of-the-box) RCA (yellow) cable to connect my PC to the TV. I haven't tried any games yet, although i am somewhat into the higher-end games out there.

So, if this is the normal output for these cards, how does anyone control the onscreen GUI interface while watching on their TV?

 

[rbV5]

So, if this is the normal output for these cards, how does anyone control the onscreen GUI interface while watching on their TV?

That would be the low-end composite connector. It will give you the worst output that card is capable of, however you bring up an excellent point...and a major weakness in using a Radeon (or any other card for that matter) in a HTPC environment...the interface. ATI is about to release MMC 8.5 which includes the new EAZYLOOK interface, which will be a big step up...however, the GuidePlus+ program guide (third party) bundled by ATI will not be getting the new interface initially

Here's a LINK I posted to screenies from EAZYLOOK (which didn't elicit a single reply!) Exciting stuff for me though.

Edit: to actually answer your specific question though(forgot that part) they control it on their monitor, not the TV display.

 

[dsprenzel]

Excellent! Thanks so much for the help. I'm in the middle of moving to a new house, and i bought this card in anticipation of setting it all up at once. My setup is going to be in my rec room, so i guess i'll just have to keep my monitor within view after all.

Any idea when the new MMC will be released? How can i tell what version MMC i have (straight out of the box, i suppose)?

Would using S-Video really make a difference? My TV does not have the S-Video input, so it's really a moot point...thanks again!

 

[rbV5]

My setup is going to be in my rec room, so i guess i'll just have to keep my monitor within view after all.

Probably want a monitor handy anyway, you'll need one if an application or game changes your Refresh/resolution to something not supported by your TV (Most), you'll need the monitor to reset the refresh/resolution back. Please tell me your using that AIW for more than just analog TV output

Any idea when the new MMC will be released? How can i tell what version MMC i have (straight out of the box, i suppose)?

MMC 8.0 ships with the AIW 9700pro, I suspect MMC 8.5 will be available for download from ATI shortly after AIW 9800pro is released next month.

Would using S-Video really make a difference? My TV does not have the S-Video input, so it's really a moot point

True that <moot point>, however if it had the s-video connector, it certainly makes a difference. S-video seperates color information (Chrominance) from the brightness
(Luminance), which helps prevent color bleeding and dot crawl. My previous 32" analog TV display I used for my HTPC was greatly improved picture with s-video, but still unacceptable really for any text rendering. High bandwidth connections like RGB, component or DVI that support progressive or high resolution interlaced resolutions are the only real answer IMHO, but, if you're talking video output or games like FPS, I enjoyed my analog NTSC TV quite a bit for that stuff.