TV-out via s-video to CRT TV, Nvidia 8800 GTS

[Prodigy^]

Hi,
This seems to be a heavily debated topic, but googling reveals nothing conclusive.

I'm using WinXP, have an 8800 GTS, and have it hooked up to my old regular CRT TV with an s-video cable. I have the latest Nvidia drivers.

The TV detects fine, but selecting any resolution on the TV just causes the image to briefly appear and flicker, then the TV turns black again. The biggest annoyance is the fact that even if I create a "custom resolution" in the Nvidia control panel, I cannot select it anywhere .

Has anyone had success doing this?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

So the TV doesn't have any component inputs on it?

s-video is only going to give you 480i, so if you set a custom resolution, it's just the videocard scaling that down to 480i to send.

Does sending 480i or 640x480 give you stable results? What custom resolutions are you trying?

 

[Prodigy^]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So the TV doesn't have any component inputs on it?

s-video is only going to give you 480i, so if you set a custom resolution, it's just the videocard scaling that down to 480i to send.

Does sending 480i or 640x480 give you stable results? What custom resolutions are you trying?

I think it does have composite, but I haven't tried it.

I can't even select the custom resolution I've created in the Nvidia Control Panel. It does not appear neither in the Display Options (which doesn't recognize the TV anyway) nor in the Nvidia CP.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Prodigy^

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So the TV doesn't have any component inputs on it?

s-video is only going to give you 480i, so if you set a custom resolution, it's just the videocard scaling that down to 480i to send.

Does sending 480i or 640x480 give you stable results? What custom resolutions are you trying?

I think it does have composite, but I haven't tried it.

I can't even select the custom resolution I've created in the Nvidia Control Panel. It does not appear neither in the Display Options (which doesn't recognize the TV anyway) nor in the Nvidia CP.

S-video would be much better than composite, so don't bother with that unless the problem you're experiencing is limited to just the s-video for some reason.

Does 480i or 640x480 work for you without the screen going blank?

 

[Prodigy^]

The lowest resolution I can pick is 800x600

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Prodigy^
The lowest resolution I can pick is 800x600

And that doesn't work?

It's been a while since I've had to set up tv-out settings from a videocard so I'm not sure what to tell you exactly for the newest nvidia drivers.

 

[Prodigy^]

Nope, as said, the TV just flashes the image briefly and then goes black again.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Before it goes blank, does it look normal, or is it all messed up like you sent it the wrong resolution?

 

[Prodigy^]

It actually looks alright, I can clearly recognize my desktop background and some explorer windows.

 

[Prodigy^]

Uhhh, ok, now I've got a good image (but in 800x600), although it's black and white. Sigh.

Edit: The black/white problem was because of 0 saturation. Now I'm back to not even being able to get the steady 800x600 image, and it still should be 640x480, dammit.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Prodigy^
Uhhh, ok, now I've got a good image (but in 800x600), although it's black and white. Sigh.

Do you have the output settings set for the right region? (I don't know what Denmark uses, I didn't think to check if you were in the US at first... do you use PAL over there?)

Also, recheck the connections and wiggle them a little to make sure it's not a connection problem.

 

[Prodigy^]

Tried both PAL-B (supposed to be the correct one) and PAL-G, no luck.

The connections are firmly in.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I thought that was going to be it

Have you tried composite yet to just see if that works at all?

 

[Prodigy^]

I'm giving up and getting a HD3870 instead, also because of problems with older games and the Nvidia card. Hope it works..

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Prodigy^
I'm giving up and getting a HD3870 instead, also because of problems with older games and the Nvidia card. Hope it works..

good luck