Best solution for TV-Out res 1024x768.

[TheWhoDat]

I am looking for a video card to output to my 36" TV.

I would like 1024x768 resolution, unless people have good reason why that res. is too high.

What video card would be the best solution with TV-out. Mostly I will be using this for games and Web Browsing.

Thanks!

WhoDat

 

[Workin']

The "best" solution would be to use a high-quality external scan converter like the Focus TView Gold. Next best would be an ATI Radeon, whatever model fits your budget and also supports 1024x768 TV-out (not all do).

But don't expect miracles in either case. Standard-definition TV has an approximate resolution of 640x480, and it's interlaced as well. All ANY TV-out solution provides is a standard NTSC video signal, of that resolution. So your 1024x768 graphics display is output with an effective resolution of 640x480, and the picture elements are rescaled accordingly, leading to mild to significant blurring of the image.

 

[sep]

Workin' is correct. Also, I used 800x600 with RCA/SVideo out. Text wasn't readable on my 32" TV. I was going to get a card that can handle the 1024x768 Svideo out, but would still suffer the same problem. This would be corrected with a Flat Panel or HD TV. Crisp Image or pictures.

-JC

 

[rbV5]

It aint going to cut it for web browsing, but for gaming(not text based games, or complex menu games) 1024X768 works out real well, and the blurring that workin' describes gives it a FSAA like quality, so even lower resolution 800X600 is plenty acceptable. The colors are a bit washed out compared to the monitor, but you can make up for it a bit with the overlay controls. My set up is Radeon>S-video>Sanyo 32".

 

[Peter]

Well since the TV standard's vertical resolution (read: line count) is cast in iron at 480 lines (NTSC) to 576 (PAL), there's really no point in going beyond 800x600. No matter how big the TV set.

 

[Workin']

Originally posted by: Peter
Well since the TV standard's vertical resolution (read: line count) is cast in iron at 480 lines (NTSC) to 576 (PAL), there's really no point in going beyond 800x600. No matter how big the TV set.

To put a finer point on it, the NTSC video standard is 525 lines of resolution, but 43 are used to carry other junk like closed-captioning and control signals, leaving 482 horizontal lines available for the picture, assuming 0% overscan. Click here for a lucid explanation of resolution as it pertains to video.

The only point in using a higher resolution would be if you need to see more picture elements, for example a wider field of view in a game or something like that. However it will be increasingly blurry as you go past 640x480. The '480' in '640x480' is the '480' (really 482) that Peter mentions in the NTSC spec, i.e., 480 max scan lines top to bottom (or bottom to top 😉).

 

[rbV5]

Peter and workin' are correct when viewing video files via TV-out, but miss the mark a little bit concerning gaming. The 1024X768 definately does make a difference gaming, every bit as much difference as gaming resolution on your monitor between playing at 800X600 and 1024X768.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: rbV5
Peter and workin' are correct when viewing video files via TV-out, but miss the mark a little bit concerning gaming. The 1024X768 definately does make a difference gaming, every bit as much difference as gaming resolution on your monitor between playing at 800X600 and 1024X768.

Hmm, because it's a cheesy form of antialiasing? I'd expect 640x480 with video-card FSAA to look better than 1024x768 with side-effect-of-rescaling antialiasing but that's logic not real-world empirical testing 🙂

Edit: I can see higher res helping a little by shrinking any HUD / status areas down, even though they're then only semi-legible.

 

[rbV5]

I'd expect 640x480 with video-card FSAA to look better than 1024x768 with side-effect-of-rescaling antialiasing

Without a doubt it does...on your monitor, but FSAA is somewhat unnecissary(and too much a FPS hit with my card) due to the blurring of the NTSC conversion, so for me crank the resolution to the max and live with the blurred edges you get with TV-out. Its in no way comparable to gaming on my monitor, but it is fun to game via TV-out, and the boys (I have 3 teenage boys at home) spectate on the TV-out while they take turns on the comp quite a bit as well. My 64 VIVO supported up to 800X600 via TV-out which was fine, but my AIW7500 supports 1024X768, and its definately better.

 

[jiffylube1024]

All ATI radeon's are not created equal, and the Radeon 7500 (including the AIW 7500) has the best tv-out on any recent video card. It's output is better than the Radeon 8500, as well as all nVidia cards. It also supports 1024X768, unlike many others.

 

[DukeN]

Jiffy

would you know if the sapphiretech OEM ATi's support the same resolution as the ATI made retail 7500 radeons?

Thanx.