[JeffP]

Here's my setup:

Toshiba 40H80

9A60 Transcoder

Duron 650 w/GeForce 2MX, Windows 2k


I've been through the definitive guide, and I've gotten some reasonable timing configurations (with absolutely hideous overscan) but whatever I do, I always get a color distorted bar that either scrolls or stays still, speed varying with the tweaked settings.


So I go back to ground zero: 640x480, no frills. Still same problem. Try Geforce 2Ti, same problem. Try my laptop w/Rage Mobility, and I get a perfect picture (still bad overscan, but PowerStrip doesn't work with my laptop). Also tried the MX in a different MB/CPU combo, and have the same problem.


Out of sheer frustration, I hook up the S-Video on the 2Ti to an S-Video in on the 40H80, and I discover that I'm getting a similar distorted bar - not a color distortion, but the picture is shifted to one side, still scrolling. (not a bad pictre at 800 x 600, considering it is s-video...)


The test with the laptop makes me think I don't have a cabling/transcoder problem, and the 40H80 seems to like a 480p signal when it is coming from the laptop. I have absolutely zero problem with 1080i coming from my SIRT-150 OTA STB. The cards work fine with 2 different monitors (Multisync FE950 & CTX 14").


I'm at my wits end...if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.


Thanks,

Jeff

 

[JeffP]

I'm not usually one to bump my own posts, but this post seems to have dropped off the forum altogether...I only found it by doing a search on my userID....odd...

 

[JeffP]

For the record, the problem is a ground loop. I discovered it when I hooked up the sound to my receiver and got a wicked hum.


It looks like the PC chassis is grounded to the ground plug of the PC power supply, and nothing else in the A/V rack even has a ground plug. My handy voltmeter is seeing a 0.1 volt difference between neutral and ground.


I hooked up the PC without a ground and the problems went away, however I'm not real pleased with this solution. I've found audio isolators, but the video isolators run $400...


Any suggestions?


Jeff