TV Out: ATI vs. NVidia

[cbuchach]

I have long been an ATI video card user for mainly their TV functionality and video functions but would like to have the option of going with NVidia in the future.

I currently have my TV connected to my ATI x800XT PE through S-Video. I record many TV shows and have my movie database on my computer and very frequently output the video to the TV using ATI's "Theater Mode" option. What this does is take any active video on the computer monitor and output full screen to the TV. The video is scaled and overscanned properly and in the right proportions whether it is 4:3 TV or 16:9 movies. The video can be minimized on the main computer monitor and sitll output to the TV. It is a very nice function and would be essential if I went to NVidia.

So does NVidia have similar functionality in their drivers? Is their TV out of good quality?

 

[T101]

I cant really say for TV Out, but as far as goes as Video In, I can not say that anything I ever owned from nVidia has been able to beat the offerings from ATI.
The ATI cards I have owned has just worked smoothly with no dropped frames, no hassle, and nearly no CPU usage at all to just watch tv on the PC. I can not say the same for nVidia, where it has been more than a struggle to get any decent performance out of the Video In (Picture quality is on par with ATI though).

 

[cbuchach]

Does anyone else have experience with NVidia TV Out, specifically with standard definition TV's???

 

[openwheelformula1]

I've used a MX420 in my old HTPC via S-video to a SDTV. No hassle at all.

I've used 6600 AGP and 7600GS on my HDTV via DVI. No problem.

Nvidia's current 6 and 7 series are generally the most recommended among HTPC users. Specifically the mid-range offerings. You can't go wrong with them. Features, performance and efficiency are simply better for the money. (as a whole package) Perhaps the X1700 series can out-do the 7600s, but we don't know yet.

 

[0roo0roo]

well searching the web for answers to my radeon 9000 pro tv troubles i've found some places that complain about ati not fixing issues in their drives and such. general neglect pissing off long time ati loyalists or something, so i guess nvidias caught up. my 6600gt came with component hd out i haven't tested it yet though.

as for theater mode, doesn't work for me, its greyed out for some reason. i just use overscan, and thats annoying since it won't let me adjust the screen after that so aspect ratio is off. then i gotta correct it through software player options. i cant just adjust without overscan since the adjustments aren't enough to totally fill the screen grr. i use svhs

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Worked fine on my 7800GT and works fine now with my 7900GT both with my old stand def box and my 1080p LCD HDTV . . .

 

[cbuchach]

But, does NVidia offer similar functionality to ATI's "Theater Mode" as described above with SDTVs?

 

[cbuchach]

Bump for a quick answer?

 

[cbuchach]

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[cbuchach]

Does anyone use and NVidia card and output to the TV? And does NVidia have comparable function to ATI's theater mode as described above in my first post??

 

[cbuchach]

Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[aka1nas]

Im not sure if you can do it natively through the drivers but if you use winamp to play back your video it can do what you ask just fine. I do that for TV0Out on my 6800 all the time and it looks perfect on my old crappy TV.