HDTV out on a videocard?

[Staz]

I have never hooked up a videocard to a TV before, but am thinking about it now. Could someone explain how it works, what type of resolutions you can get, and how the HDTV feature on some cards works? Thanks.

 

[Matthias99]

Please use the search function. This gets asked a lot.

On compatible cards, you can get an HD component output at any resolution you want (although most HDTVs will only accept 480p, 720p, and 1080i).

If you have an HDTV with DVI or HDMI in, you can hook it up (theoretically) to any video card with a DVI out (you can get DVI->HDMI converters; they use the same video standard). ATI and NVIDIA cards should be able to drive your DVI at standard HD resolutions.

 

[Staz]

I know standard monitor resolutions, ie 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc. However, when you talk about HD resolutions of 480p, 720p, and 1080i, I don't understand those. What would be their equiv monitor resolutions in the AxB format?

Basically, I am building a HTPC that will connect to my main projection HDTV and act as a TIVO box, a DVD player, and a regular computer that outputs to the TV. I am thinking about getting a 6200 videocard to run it as I wont need any hard core gaming power, but a little would be nice.

And I did check previous posts, but only picked up bits of info here and there, so figured I would ask myself.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Staz
I know standard monitor resolutions, ie 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc. However, when you talk about HD resolutions of 480p, 720p, and 1080i, I don't understand those. What would be their equiv monitor resolutions in the AxB format?

480p = 640x480
720 = 1280x720
1080i = 1920x1080, interlaced.

Note that 720p and 1080i (the only resolution that are actually 'HDTV') are 16:9 widescreen.

Seriously, though, three seconds on Google would have given you this information.

Basically, I am building a HTPC that will connect to my main projection HDTV and act as a TIVO box, a DVD player, and a regular computer that outputs to the TV. I am thinking about getting a 6200 videocard to run it as I wont need any hard core gaming power, but a little would be nice.

You might try the HTPC forums over at AVSForum.com. They're much more focused on this sort of thing.

And I did check previous posts, but only picked up bits of info here and there, so figured I would ask myself.

Okay, but in that case please try to ask more specific questions (or at least indicate this in your post, so people won't just bitch at you about searching or ignore you ). Questions like "Explain how HDTV works and how to hook one up to a computer" are really vague, and tend to indicate you haven't done any research.

 

[HDTVdesignteam]

Good choice, AVSForum is a better place to ask.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26
Cards like the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX based graphics with DVI out are good for what you want. I tend to use Matrox Parhelia for HD playback and editing.
GT

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Staz
I know standard monitor resolutions, ie 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc. However, when you talk about HD resolutions of 480p, 720p, and 1080i, I don't understand those. What would be their equiv monitor resolutions in the AxB format?

480p = 640x480
720 = 1280x720
1080i = 1920x1080, interlaced.

Note that 720p and 1080i (the only resolution that are actually 'HDTV') are 16:9 widescreen.

Seriously, though, three seconds on Google would have given you this information.

Basically, I am building a HTPC that will connect to my main projection HDTV and act as a TIVO box, a DVD player, and a regular computer that outputs to the TV. I am thinking about getting a 6200 videocard to run it as I wont need any hard core gaming power, but a little would be nice.

You might try the HTPC forums over at AVSForum.com. They're much more focused on this sort of thing.

And I did check previous posts, but only picked up bits of info here and there, so figured I would ask myself.

Okay, but in that case please try to ask more specific questions (or at least indicate this in your post, so people won't just bitch at you about searching or ignore you ). Questions like "Explain how HDTV works and how to hook one up to a computer" are really vague, and tend to indicate you haven't done any research.

480p = 854x480 and is widescreen too.

 

[Matthias99]

I am thinking about getting a 6200 videocard to run it as I wont need any hard core gaming power

Cards like the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX based graphics with DVI out are good for what you want.

...if what you want is to pay about $500 more than you need to.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
480p = 854x480 and is widescreen too.

Well, if you want to get technical...

"480i" and "480p" only *really* specify the number of vertical lines in the signal (480), and whether it is interlaced or progressive. 480i, in particular, is an analog signal, so the number of horizontal elements in the signal can vary somewhat.

Normal NTSC SDTV signals (in the US) have an effective resolution of ~600x480. DVD video is generally recorded as 720x480 MPEG2 (even if it's not widescreen), but if it's 4:3, the image is 'squished' horizontally to fit into a 4:3 frame. If you use a component output to get 480p, it is normally scaled to 640x480.

A "480i" or "480p" signal has a 4:3 aspect ratio, regardless of the actual resolution of it is at. If you are going to produce a digital signal with 480 lines and a 4:3 aspect ratio... it's going to be 640x480. Anything else is going to get scaled appropriately upon display.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
480p = 854x480 and is widescreen too.

Well, if you want to get technical...

"480i" and "480p" only *really* specify the number of vertical lines in the signal (480), and whether it is interlaced or progressive. 480i, in particular, is an analog signal, so the number of horizontal elements in the signal can vary somewhat.

Normal NTSC SDTV signals (in the US) have an effective resolution of ~600x480. DVD video is generally recorded as 720x480 MPEG2 (even if it's not widescreen), but if it's 4:3, the image is 'squished' horizontally to fit into a 4:3 frame. If you use a component output to get 480p, it is normally scaled to 640x480.

A "480i" or "480p" signal has a 4:3 aspect ratio, regardless of the actual resolution of it is at. If you are going to produce a digital signal with 480 lines and a 4:3 aspect ratio... it's going to be 640x480. Anything else is going to get scaled appropriately upon display.

Hmmm... I guess that would be why I had trouble figureing if 480p was 720x480 or the native res of my EDTV projector.

I guess my point was just that 480p will work well in widescreen too if you have a widescreen tv.

The EDTV "480p" resolution output by my videocard certainly doesn't produce the same output as 640x480 on my projector.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Hmmm... I guess that would be why I had trouble figureing if 480p was 720x480 or the native res of my EDTV projector.

I guess my point was just that 480p will work well in widescreen too if you have a widescreen tv.

The EDTV "480p" resolution output by my videocard certainly doesn't produce the same output as 640x480 on my projector.

That's... really weird (unless it's doing some sort of over/underscan adjustment automatically). Which card and drivers? DVI, VGA, or YPbPr?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Hmmm... I guess that would be why I had trouble figureing if 480p was 720x480 or the native res of my EDTV projector.

I guess my point was just that 480p will work well in widescreen too if you have a widescreen tv.

The EDTV "480p" resolution output by my videocard certainly doesn't produce the same output as 640x480 on my projector.

That's... really weird (unless it's doing some sort of over/underscan adjustment automatically). Which card and drivers? DVI, VGA, or YPbPr?

6600gt

I output EDTV via component to my Infocus 4805.