TV-Out Quality Sucks

[papermastermind]

So I've got a 9600XT AIW. The two VGA plugs on the output adapter are shot so I'm using the TV-Out one (6600gt on the way). Unfortunately the quality on the TV-Out isn't great and I can't read any smaller fonts (using magnifier). I've tried my average 24-26" TV and a big screen, but everything is still compressed and crappy.

I realized that TVs aren't exactly made for precision like this, but is there any way to make it so the quality isn't so bad and make it possible to use my computer normally? Lowest resolution I can go is 800x600, which helps somewhat, but I still can't read most text.

Thanks.

 

[MDE]

Increase the font size in Windows (right click Desktop > Properties > Appearance tab) is all I can say. It's pretty much unreadable on my 27" TV even after doing that but it's better than nothing.

 

[Peter]

Welcome to the reality of TV signal quality. This is a low-bandwidth signal invented more than 50 years ago. Horizontal bandwidth is good for about 360 pixels, and you get 480 visible lines on NTSC, interlaced, which means readable text shouldn't render to single-line horizontals. In effect, 320x240 is a realistic resolution for readable, flicker free text.
Normally, computers run an NTSC TV-out on 640x480 pixels, which means you need to use BIG fonts for readability.

 

[eplebnista]

Originally posted by: Peter
Welcome to the reality of TV signal quality. This is a low-bandwidth signal invented more than 50 years ago. Horizontal bandwidth is good for about 360 pixels, and you get 480 visible lines on NTSC, interlaced, which means readable text shouldn't render to single-line horizontals. In effect, 320x240 is a realistic resolution for readable, flicker free text.
Normally, computers run an NTSC TV-out on 640x480 pixels, which means you need to use BIG fonts for readability.

😎 info

 

[papermastermind]

Well I figured it was helpless.. Hopefully Newegg will come through as usual and have my video card here tomorrow 🙂