Cheapest Video-out card

[tallest1]

What is the cheapest Video-out card I can possibly get.... that doesn't use S-video?

I want to use one computer as a divx beast but my TV is RF only

 

[tallest1]

^^

 

[Peter]

If the TV-out is RF-only, then no card will help you. VGA card TV output is either S-Video or composite video, but never modulated RF.

regards, Peter

 

[Dragon365]

Step 1: Get a VCR. C'mon, I know ya have one.
Step 2: Radeon 7000 ddr 32mb with TV-out, $36 from newegg
Step 3: Plug Composite video cable from video card into video-in on VCR
Step 4: Plug an RF cable into your TV, going from the RF out on your VCR
Step 5: Configure everything correctly
Step 6: Enjoy

I had to do this for a while with my TV until I got my new one, and it works fine except macrovision kicks in when watching DVD movies.

 

[SickBeast]

yah or you could get a new radeon 9000 card for $99 that would DESTROY the 7000 card.

 

[tallest1]

Grrr... I got a Radeon 7000 SDR w/o TV-out :disgust:

Thanks

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

i got the sdr radeon pci for 50 bucks. Great IQ too bad my sony tv has some crappy ass geometry problems.

 

[TheCorm]

I have just hooked up my Geforce4 MX440 TV-Out with my Scart socket on my tv. Is there any tweaks and stuff you can do to get a better picture, when playing vids it's create but I was wondering if I can make it a bit clearer for text and stuff....i'm not expecting it to be monitor standard of course.

Cheers,

Corm

 

[Peter]

Welcome to reality. Signal bandwidth of TV sets is around 5 to 10 MHz, their CRT dot pitch is huge, and the resolution is 640x480 at 60 Hz interlaced (NTSC) or 768x576 50 Hz interlaced (PAL). Still got questions about why the display quality is so poor?

regards, Peter

 

[Dragon365]

Originally posted by: Peter
Welcome to reality. Signal bandwidth of TV sets is around 5 to 10 MHz, their CRT dot pitch is huge, and the resolution is 640x480 at 60 Hz interlaced (NTSC) or 768x576 50 Hz interlaced (PAL). Still got questions about why the display quality is so poor?

regards, Peter

I believe NTSC is 720x480. And yeah, TV-out quality will be pretty bad without an HDTV + a component video adaptor.

 

[Peter]

If you want square pixels, it'll be 640x480 since you have to stick with standard CRT's 4:3 aspect ratio.

 

[TheCorm]

What do you mean "welcome to reality" I never expected it to be even near CRT quality...I was just wondering if there were any good tweaks to make slight improvements.

 

[Peter]

What I was trying to say is that given the inherent limitations of the signal format and the technology inside the TV set, what you see right now is all you get.

To improve text display, all you can do is choose a font and pitch combination that does not produce any structures that are one pixel high and thus susceptible to interlace flickering. Or use a "flicker free" TV set that buffers the incoming signal to double the refresh rate back up.

regards, Peter

 

[aswedc]

I believe NTSC is 720x480. And yeah, TV-out quality will be pretty bad without an HDTV + a component video adaptor.

Nope, 720x480 is DVD resolution. NTSC is even worse, 525 horizontal lines I think.

 

[TheCorm]

Will try those font tweaks.

Hey....I just had a thought....how much better would text be on a 100hz TV?....would it readable?

Cheers,

Jamie

 

[Peter]

"100 Hz" TV sets do what I said above - buffer the image and then display it with twice the refresh rate. That reduces the flicker, but doesn't do anything against the constraints of the ancient technology of the TV signal itself and the low quality of the CRTs used in TV sets.

regards, Peter

 

[TheCorm]

Ah.....oh well, it seems to be adequate for now....<idea> time to start saving for a 42" Plasma screen.....HOW MUCH?!!! </end of idea>

Corm

 

[Peter]

"100 Hz" TV sets do what I said above - buffer the image and then display it with twice the refresh rate. That reduces the flicker, but doesn't do anything against the constraints of the ancient technology of the TV signal itself and the low quality of the CRTs used in TV sets.

regards, Peter

 

[Peter]

(dp)