TV Out

[movinslow]

I like to use TV Out. My current vid card doesn't have that feature. Do I need to get a vid card with that feature? I only need it for the TV Out.

What card would be good for TV Out. Low price if possible...8500LE any good?

Thanks

 

[JeremiahTheGreat]

The Radeon (any radeon) has very very very good TV-out (at least when compared to my GF2)..

yes, you need a video card with tv-out (its the cheapest option) unless u want to fork out for one of those adapter things that converts the signal..

Radeon 8500 gets my vote.

 

[RobsTV]

The adaptor thing is by far the best solution.

#1 it allows you to keep the video card you currently have.

#2 it allows you to get future video cards, without the need to pay extra for TV out. A one time investment.
To keep up with modern games, you should upgrade video card often. I usually upgrade twice a year.
Onboard TV out is something that can be ignored when upgrading.

#3 the adaptor, or more correctly called a scan convertor, is designed for one thing. TV out.
That means it does TV out better than any other methods, especially when compared to video cards with TV out.
Normally it will also be much more feature rich, and include things like a remote with zoom and highliting, etc.
No drivers or software are needed. All needed software is coded into the convertor. However, it does include
special font software that you can install if desired. This special font software enables text on the TV to look
much better for things like web browsing. I never use additional software, and even web browsing looks no worse
than those TV top WebTV boxes. Not great for web, but usable. Your TV's quality has a lot to do with results.

#4 Since adaptor is made to be connected to a TV, and does not care what PC is used, it's great for those times
when a friend brings over a PC for multiplayer gaming. You can use your monitor, while friend uses TV.
You can even plug it into a laptop for some quick and simple TV gaming action, or internet browsing.

#5 Resolution with scan convertor is MUCH higher than any video card with TV out.
Ability to run 1600x1280 @ 152 refresh rate is fairly normal.
That allows you to use both your monitor and TV at same time, and the monitor can stay
at the gaming resolution you normally use.

Of course all of this comes at a price.
Focus TView Gold works great and does all of the above, plus more, and can be found on places like ebay for about $100.
Here is an example of a recently completed auction:
TVIEW GOLD VIDEO CONVERTER-NEW IN BOX (sold for $81.00)
(I don't sell these, and won't sell mine. Just a happy customer that fought with TV out on video cards for years, until I found the scan convertor permanent solution.)

 

[movinslow]

Awesome. Thanks for your help!

I'm gonna look into that adapter.

 

[jungerer]

Lemme ask you, with your scan line converter how does text look on the tv? I bought one about a year ago. Different brand then the one you mentioned, mines from avermedia. But the quality is horrible when in windows. I try to browse folders, etc and the text is so fuzzy I can't read a thing. And unfortunatly thats set at 640x480, if I go higher res it gets even worse. Now video looks good. I can play divx movies, or stream media etc and all that is fine.

 

[RobsTV]

The text quality has a lot to do with your TV's quality and age.
But, even with the best, it is not really acceptable for general Windows use.
Text is the best I've seen, and better than any video card built-in TV out. Still sucks though.
Using svideo helps a lot. You can change font size to help as well.
The best you can do is internet browsing, and adjust text to be somewhat acceptable.
Good comparison is WebTV.
It is a little better than that, and since many use WebTV, you could say it will work for browsing.
Graphics and video are excellent, and some text types with just the right fonts looks O.K. too.
I normally use 1024x768 at 85Hz with TView Gold, and all Windows desktop icons are readable on 53" Sony TV.

 

[jungerer]

I'll have to play around with mine. It looks bad enough that shortcuts arn't readable, and not that I want to work on it, but being able to browse to a file and know what it says would be nice. The tv is new...27in. But i'll try some of the things you mentioned and see if I can get it looking any better. Thanks.