looking for good TV-OUT

[Damien]

Is there such a thing as good TV-OUT. I mean one where you can read the text on the TV Screen. Is there a difference in quality between PAL & NTSC? I do not want to use the TV to surf or any thing like that. I just want to be able watch some movies and use the computer as my Jukebox for all my music and it would help if I could navigate around the computer without having to have the font size at 150%. Does the problem lie with the TV or the TV out from the graphic card.

Damien.

[Hulk]

I have used ATI AIW products and I Matrox products for TV tuners and TV out.

The Matrox solutions are better for TV out, no doubt about, it only for the DVDmax feature and the fact that they overscan (no black border around the image). But, as far as quality goes, although the Matrox is better, it is not a huge improvement. The problem you are having is more related to the poor resolution of TV's than the TV out itself. You get what you get unless you get a HD tv. I would just make the fonts larger and deal with it, it's not a fight that you'll win at this point without spending A LOT of money!

For the record, I found the ATI tuner to be a bit sharper than the Matrox g450TV tuner, and the comb filtering better as well. But, the g450 is just do darn reliable I can't seem to part with it. I guess I'll let it go when I need a DVI output.

[mmp121]

The screen resolution of most if not all TV's is something along the lines of 525 lines (some one correct me if I'm wrong on this) interlaced. So individually its 352 lines of resolution or something.

I think that translates close to 320 pixels. SO, short of making your desktop 320x240 (so that you can read your text clearly). The best way to make text from your PC legible is probably to drop your desktop resolution down to say 800x600 or lower if you can handle it, and then increase your font size if needed.

As for Video output to TV. Matrox Cards using DVDMax are pretty darn good at scaling and adjusting the video feed to your TV. The output will be of very good quality, but again dependent on the quality of the video your playing.

A good place to get a better idea is http://www.vcdhelp.com/glossary This SHOULD give you a better understanding of how video works. Good luck!

[Damien]

Thanks for the reply.
Can any one tell me why is it that when I boot my computer I can read the info that my boot loader shows (on my TV). But when the logon screen appears it looks all fuzzy and hard to read. Is their a setting that can be hacked so the resolution can be changed. I have a Radeon AIW 7500.

Thank you.
Damien.

[LvR]

Your computer monitor has a screen res of about 96dpi, while your TV screen has a res of most likely 96dpfeet on a really nice sized monitor .......no settings to change - the TV spec has been fixed for about 80 years.

The boot loader is done at a much lower res - once the Windows drivers kick-in res goes up and the TV cant cope.

[Damien]

Sorry, I did not make myself to clear.
Is their any way to change the resolution on the graphics card. Right now I am stuck with 800 X 600 for TV out. Would it make any difference if I could lower the resolution for TV out.

Damien.

[LvR]

Whatever you do, TV output will be 800x600 - its dictated by the TV specs.

You are however able to change the res of the material you want to send to the TV out using whatever means you want, but once you ask TVout to be used, the card will scale it up again with a resulting loss in quality

[mmp121]

Originally posted by Damien
Sorry, I did not make myself to clear.
Is their any way to change the resolution on the graphics card. Right now I am stuck with 800 X 600 for TV out. Would it make any difference if I could lower the resolution for TV out.

Damien.

I am assuming that you are running WindowsXP and therefore cannot drop your screen resolution any lower than 800 x 600. The only other option you may have is going to windows 2000 or 9X and running at 640x480. I don't think its a practical option, but it is an option none the less. This will not make your TV-OUT experience noticably better, but it might help. I can not say more as I do not have a Radeon 7500 AIW. I hope we have been of some help to you.

[Damien]

Thank´s to all who replied. I guess I will have to live with it untill I get an HDTV.