[zxlr8]

I am trying to decide whether or not I want to purchase the dvi to component dongle for the radeon 9800 pro I am going to have today. I have an RCA transcoder presently and I have heard trying to get that to work on everyhing is rather labor intensive. I have a Panny 56" HDTV and I was hoping to get 1080i in most apps-including dvds using dvd idle. I have also heard you still might need powerstrip to change res based on the app you are running.(with the dongle) I have an air-cooled athlon runnning at 3500+ speeds wothout too much noise and great stability with an nf7-s motherboard. I have pc4000 ram and I have a raid 0 config with sata 150 drives that is 160 gigs. I want an ultimate game performer that I can also leave on as a server for my other 2 pcs on the wireless lan. I was done buliding it until my 9800 puked. I will have a new one today, so I want the easiest way of using it on my big screen. Which way is the easiest?

 

[zxlr8]

Not a single person knows, come on now..........

 

[Karnis]

The easiest will be the ATi HDTV adapter. The RCA transcoder will require you use Powerstrip to set the HDTV compatible timings on your video card, which can be tricky if you are not used to it.

Not to mention the adapter will be far superior in video quality the the RCA transcoder, which has very poor PQ IMHO, and I've used all 3 popular ones, KD, AA & RCA (distant third).

Check the custom rez guide stuck at the top of the page for more detailed info.

 

[zxlr8]

ok thanks Karnis, you are always a big help.

 

[boykster]

and not to mention that the AA transcoder doesn't work and play well with Panasonic HDTV's.


Rich

 

[jaht]

Will the KD transcoder compare in Video quality to the ATI Dongle?

I have a Panasonic HDTV model CT-34WX50, only component, composite and S-Video inputs (no VGA or DVI)


I am building a HTPC and don't have a video card yet but would like to know which one will be the card to buy to use with my TV for 1080i. Money is not a problem but since I live in Venezuela and have to buy the card in the US I don't want to be testing cards, I rather rely in your experiences.


Thanks for your help


JAH

 

[Chewbacco]

I'd like to know if there is a difference PQ between the KD transcoder and the ATI HDTV adaptor too. There is a huge price difference between the two. I know the transcoder offers more flexiblity in resolutions, but the PQ is most important.

 

[zxlr8]

I would assume they are nearly equal. Any custom resolutions, can still be done with powerstrip on the dongle. I have not seen both though, I don't know.

 

[Chewbacco]

The only comparison information I found was by Karnis on pg.18 of the Custom resolution guide. Sorry I don't know how to do links, or quotes yet.

 

[grot]

I have the KD and love it. Can't compare though.

 

[azethoth]

I have both the Key Digital transcoder and the dongle. I started out with the KD and switched to the dongle but I was not pleased with the dongle PQ. The colors were washed out and the picture was much too grainy, even with my usual ffdshow denoise. It's very possible that I did something wrong though so I'm keeping the dongle to try again later when I have more time. But for now I am back on the KD transcoder which has a much better picture for me.

 

[captain insano]

jaht,


i have a 36" Panasonic, I think the sam e model as you. I am using the KD transcoder. I was thinking about using the dongle, but i had already bought my video card (Radeon 9200) and i found out after teh fact that the dongle would not work with this model (or at least not supported).


Even though the transcoder is more expensive (i found an 02 model at a local store for $125) the dongle is $45 incl shipping from ATI, but you need a more expensive graphic card.


I still cannot get rid of all the overscan on my set. For dvd's it is fine cause i can zoom in and out in zoomplayer, but for my PVR it can get a little annoying sometimes.


The KD has a 'panasonic' setting, but i have no idea what it does as i have not seen any real difference in either setting.

 

[zxlr8]

If you want to sell your purple adapter, I will buy it. PM me