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Hardware for HTPC w/ Analog TV questions

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  smilejack1 
#1 ·
I am building a HTPC (Win 7 Home x64, Gigabyte A75M-D2H mb w/ integrated video, AMD A6-3500 2.1Ghz CPU, 2 Ghz DDR which I will probably upgrade to 4) to use with an analog TV which supports Coax, Composite, S-Video, and Component (YPbPr) video.


I am currently outputting component video via the VGA port and a KWorld PCTV1600 PC to TV Converter (1600 x 1200) with HDTV Support & Remote (haven't been a forum member long enough to post a link) and the picture is unsatisfactory. The overall quality is acceptable, but periodically, something I would describe as a wrinkle or a wave - that is, a horizontal line above and below which the picture is not aligned - moves from top to bottom on the screen. It does this regardless of the video source, including live and recorded TV (OTA broadcast, thru WMC via a Haupage tuner), Netflix in WMC, and Hulu Desktop.


I saw the same phenomenon when experimenting with the PC to TV device and my primary computer, which is considerably more powerful (3.1 Ghz Intel Core i5, Asus P8P67 mb, 8 Ghz DDR) so I suspect that this is caused by the PC to TV device, but I don't know this. Can anyone help me either troubleshoot my current setup or recommend different hardware to achieve better results? The Gigabyte mb supports DVI & HDMI as well as VGA, so these are options if a different converter is the answer. All input is greatly appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
Try installing a video card that supports native component video out so you aren't using that funky KWorld thing. Most of the newer video cards actually dropped the component video out and replaced it with HDMI. But you should be able to find a used card easily.


Do you know the supported maximum resolution of the component video input to your analog TV? In my experience you won't see any improvement in picture quality above 720p on a CRT. But you need to verify what your TV can handle. If you exceed the resolutiuon to the input you'll just get a blank or scrambled screen.
 
#3 ·
I second the advice of finding a video card with component video out.


My favorite PCI Express card for a low profile PC is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127368


Although no longer sold at Newegg it may be still sold at Amazon by third party sellers. Fortunately, it's not the HDMI-only GT218 chip that they sell under the 8400GS name now, it's the G98GS chip. Which runs cooler/faster than the original 8400GS chip.


I use the 195.62 driver release, right before Nvidia stopped "supporting" the old Control Panel (with a regedit hack, that is).
 
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