TV Out problems on video card

[benwood]

I just installed a HIS IceQ3 Turbo X1950 256 mb AGP video card in my HTPC and I'm having trouble getting it to output a TV signal. Previously I had a Gigabyte 128mb 9600 Pro card and had no trouble outputting a TV signal. I replaced the 9600 Pro with the X1950 and hooked it up to my VGA monitor with the DVI to VGA adaptor included with the card and got a display without any problems. I then shut off my HTPC and plugged the included SVideo to Composite adaptor into the TV Out port of the video card and attached a Composite video cable to the adaptor and then to my TV. When I booted the HTPC I saw a few flickers on the TV but no picture while my VGA monitor produced a normal display.

I went into Catalyst Control Center (CCC) and saw that it wasn't detecting my TV. So I went to the Advanced Options and activated the Force TV option and still didnt get a display. I rebooted and again got only a few flickers on the TV when booting. Again I checked the CCC and my TV wasn't detected and the Force TV option was on. I unplugged and replugged the SVideo to Composite adaptor into the video card and did the same with the composite cable with no TV display other than the few flickers when booting. I switched to the composite video cable I was using on my 9600 Pro which has a SVideo to Composite adaptor built in with no change in the display.

I've tried various video drivers (CCC 6.12, 7.1, 7.2) with the same results. I don't think the TV Out of the card is broken because if I switch to the TV as my main display in CCC's Basic section I do get a display of the Windows desktop on my TV. But I lose the display on my VGA monitor when I do that. I have no idea as to the source of the problem. My TV only has a Composite video in jack so I can't try a SVideo to SVideo connection.

My systems specs are :
Intel 865PERL motherboard with 1 gb Mushkin PC3200 ram
3.2 ghz Northwood P4 CPU
HIS IceQ3 Turbo 256 mg AGP video card
Seasonic S12 600 watt PSU with a total of 36 amps on the 12v rails
MadDog Entertainer 7.1 sound card
Three Hauppauge PVR-250 capture cards
Windows XP Home SP2
Silverstone LC-10M HTPC case

 

[olmer]

Manual tv detection is on in ccc by default. You did not say you clicked ?detect? ? just that you?ve restarted. It will not detect/output automatically.

Getting some sort of flicker on your TV is a sign that is works. Another chance is that you are feeding out of range signal.

 

[benwood]

Originally posted by: olmer
Manual tv detection is on in ccc by default. You did not say you clicked ?detect? ? just that you?ve restarted. It will not detect/output automatically.

Getting some sort of flicker on your TV is a sign that is works. Another chance is that you are feeding out of range signal.

Thanks for your help, olmer. I forgot to mention that I did click the "Detect Displays" button in CCC. When I did the picture briefly flickered on my VGA monitor but nothing flickered on my TV. As for the possibility of the TV being fed a out of range signal I don't know. With my previous 9600 Pro video card and the 9800 Pro video card I had before the 9600, I'd see the BIOS screen and the Windows boot screen display on the TV when I first started the computer before Windows was loaded. With this X1950 Pro I don't see those screens on the TV just on the VGA monitor. How can I set the video card to the proper frequencies before Windows and drivers are even loaded?

 

[olmer]

Well, your card is fine since you get the flicker. TV is fine since you can get it displaying with no monitor. It is known for some ATI cards to have this problem. Normally using DVI to VGA for your main display solves it. I can only advice you to try another DVI socket and if that fails ? get DVI/VGA to composite cable and use it instead of 7 pin. I also heard that this is due to some interference and direct connection would normally work ? you can try it if you want - 7 pin to composite ? top middle ? signal (to middle composite), bottom middle right ? ground.

 

[benwood]

Originally posted by: olmer
Well, your card is fine since you get the flicker. TV is fine since you can get it displaying with no monitor. It is known for some ATI cards to have this problem. Normally using DVI to VGA for your main display solves it. I can only advice you to try another DVI socket and if that fails ? get DVI/VGA to composite cable and use it instead of 7 pin. I also heard that this is due to some interference and direct connection would normally work ? you can try it if you want - 7 pin to composite ? top middle ? signal (to middle composite), bottom middle right ? ground.

Olmer, you found the solution to my problem. Switching the DVI to VGA adaptor from the upper DVI jack to the lower DVI jack did the trick. I'm now getting a composite signal out of the card and seeing a image on my TV instead of flickers. Why ATI or HISDigital didn't put this info in the users manual is beyond me. I was completely in the dark about this problem. Again, my thanks for your help.