Please recommend a video card with composite TV-out.

[dthyer]

I'm looking for a good value in a new video card that supports VGA and TV-Out. I was looking at the $72 Radeon 8500LE from sappire. Here's the catch... I can't seem to find an inexpensive card where the TV-Out is composite as opposed to S-Video.

Thanks for your help!

 

[jjyiz28]

svideo is better than composite. im guessing you don't have an svideo connection on your tv no? well i have a albatron ti 4200p, it has some sort of connector(not svideo) that comes with a composite convertor. it cost around 150 when i bought it around 3 months ago though. maybe some 7500 cards have em too

 

[McCarthy]

hey dthyer, seems I missed welcoming you 4 posts ago. Ah well, welcome to AT Forums.

Typically most video cards these days have just an S-Video output. The cable that hooks up to that will then have a split giving you the option of S-Video or composite. Essentially the difference is that with S-Video chrominance and luminance information into two separate signals where with composite they're combine on the same wire. Which is good, cuz it gives you an easy and cheap option.

If your card comes without such a split adapter, simply go to Radio Shack and pick up an adapter. Costs $10 at my local store. Since the singals are similar it doesn't require a different video card, just an adapter to merge the wiring for you.

--Mc

 

[dthyer]

I'm a home theater buff, so I'm pretty well versed. Yes, this TV only has a composite input.

I thought that I could get a simple cable converter as well, but a guy I talked to said that I had to buy a more elaborate box converter that would recombine the Chom and Lum into the composite signal.


Here is the card that I was considering.

do you have another suggestion that would have the correct dangle?

Thanks.

 

[Pariah]

All you need is a simple cable adapter. All the ATi cards have 7 pin SVideo out, which means you only need the adapter, not a converter. Here's one for $10:

http://store.yahoo.com/realmagic-store/svideo.html

 

[McCarthy]

Box?

If I had to buy a box I'd just use the money to buy a new VCR with S-Video in and composite out.

But for $17 here you can get a 6' cable. Or a 24' for $25, though that's pretty long. Or build one if you're handy with a soldering iron.

I don't believe the claims of most boxes for some reason. Seems people have made a lot of money by hiding simple cables inside an expensive looking box.

S-Video to RCA isn't much trouble, going the other way is a lot more complicated. I'm betting the little yellow bullet converter included with the 9500 (third image) is just such a passive converter.

--Mc

 

[dthyer]

Thanks guys!

I thought there had to be a more simple solution

 

[jjyiz28]

hey guys i just found out my card is a svideo 7 pin. so svideo comes in 7 pin and 4 pin?? cuz my tv svideo is 4 pin, my card came with a 4 pin to 4 pin adapter, but the back of my card is a 7 pin. so whats the diff??

 

[BD2003]

Every ATI board I've bought came with the adapter in the box. Same with nvidia cards. Pretty much every single one. Its cheap too even if it doesnt.

 

[DannyBoy]

Get a card thats got an svideo connection, they all come as standard now (unless they are a crap stingy company) with a converter to a phono jack (the lil yellow one).

Im sure someone said this already but hey, what the heck, im tired and not in the mood for reading right now

Dan