VGA to TV questions. Scan Converter quality?

[Nu2PC]

I know that some info has been posted in the past on this topic, but I couldn't really answer the specific questions I have.

1. Which model of VGA to TV converter works best?
2. How legible is text?
3. How do games look?

I have heard that the TV out on video cards is mediocre and that text is blurry, so I have opted not to purchase a card with TV-out. I definitely do not have the cash to buy a TV with VGA in or a HDTV. I have heard you can view @1024x768 75 hz with these converters. Thanks for any advice or experiences.

I have done some more searching. Funny enough every post says that there has been hundreds of posts on this topic, but I can't find more than a dozen. Some say TV out via the video card is better. Some argue that the scan converter is better.

Basically I was thinking that if I put my computer by my TV and hooked it up I could play games, use it to output MP3's to my nearby stereo and surf the web during TV commercials with picture in picture.

 

[RobsTV]

<< Basically I was thinking that if I put my computer by my TV and hooked it up I could play games, use it to output MP3's to my nearby stereo and surf the web during TV commercials with picture in picture. >>



What you want is what the future holds, but not today. Text is poor with any solution. However, image quality between scan convertors and video cards with good Built-in TV out put is about the same. Usually, the scan convertor will give you a higher resolution, such as 1600x1200 at 85Hz, and more screen size controls. But the main reason to choose a scan convertor is that it is a permanent solution, unlike the video card method, which requires you to get TV out on every video card upgrade. My past 3 video cards had good TV output, but my new video card without TV out, and my scna convertor, is MUCH better.

Don't know which scan convertor works best. TView Gold works great here.
Small text is piss poor. Forget about it in a PIP window.
Web browsing with large text is similiar to Web TV boxes, and can be done.
Games look and play GREAT.
DVD's look and play great. I also have a normal TV top DVD player for comparison.
e8ay, or online stores that accept coupons should have best prices.

 

[Workin']

First off, I'll say that RobsTV has it right. Here's a little more detail for you.....

Just remember that no matter what you use for TV-out, the resolution of the TV is the limiting factor. That's why text always looks crappy. A regular analog TV (NTSC or PAL standard) is limited to about 500 lines of vertical resolution - loosely analagous to slightly better than standard VGA (640x480) on your computer. So the problem is you are dealing with very large, widely spaced pixels, in comparison to what you see on your PC. So if you use TV-out to output a 1280x1024 display to your TV, the TV can still only display (roughly) 640x480, resulting in a blurry image.

However, images and movies (from DVD or tape or broadcast, etc.) already are slightly blurred frame-to-frame, so any blurring caused by resolution mismatch is not apparent. That's why text looks so awful but video and games look so good.

 

[Nu2PC]

Thanks for all of your insight. I think I agree that it would be easier to have a scan converter than paying the premium with every video card upgrade. Other forums have mentioned a difference in quality between converters, but there just weren't enough posts to gather some kind of trend.