[Nedder]

I'm setting up a HTPC and would like to know if I can get a VGA to s-video adaptor to connect to my 27" interlaced 4:3 tv. I have a TNT2 with s-video output but saturated colors show some "honeycombing" artifacts not present in the original signal. As well, with it being connected to a tv there are the problems of it being in "monitor" mode when booting up and I can't tell what's going on.


Can the TNT2 be setup for the resolutions and timing required for a regular tv? I have registered Powerstrip 3 if anyone has a recommended setting.


I will mainly be using the HTPC for DVD and DivX/vcd/svcd playback.


TIA.

 

[mikef]

It would be much cheaper to simply buy a video card with better S-Video output. Perhaps something from ATI.

 

[kejar31]

I agree it would be much easier to just buy an ati card. You can see the boot from the svid on the ati cards and even access the bios if needed.

 

[Gary McCoy]

The best TV output video boards are still the Matrox dualheads. They are really excellant 2D boards as well - not very competitive in 3D performance, admittedly. But you can get an OEM Matrox 550 dualhead board for less than $100.


Another option for you to consider is the SigmaDesigns Hollywood+. This is (three years later) still the BEST S-video DVD output from a PC. This card will work fine with your current TNT video, and cost $50. Or you could buy it with a remote control for $70 or you could get the new X-card for $100, and that one does DivX and MPEG4 and other file formats.


Gary

 

[mikef]

Agreed. All of these options are far better and cheaper than using an adapter to convert VGA to S-Video.

 

[Nedder]

How about the ATI 7000 with 32mb of sdram? I can get that for about ~$40 and it has s-video and no noisy fan. I wasn't aware that ATI sent video out while booting. That's quite a bit better than Nvidia's setup.

 

[newman]

Try to see if the software from this page: http://tvtool.info/ can do something for your TNT S-video output.


A few years ago I had a TNT with Tv output, that would boot in TV mode if a composite or s-video cable was inserted in the sockets, it's strange that your card does the opposite.


My actual video card is a Matrox 450 DH, I use the 2nd head connected via RGB to watch Divx and I also have a H+ (RGB modded) to watch Mpeg1/2 video. If your TV supports RGB inputs use them instead of the S-video!

 

[Esben]

Quote:

Originally posted by newman My actual video card is a Matrox 450 DH, I use the 2nd head connected via RGB to watch Divx and I also have a H+ (RGB modded) to watch Mpeg1/2 video. If your TV supports RGB inputs use them instead of the S-video!

newman,


How is the difference on your setup with RGB compared to S-VHS?

It's always interested me that it was possible to run RGB from the G4xx cards, but never really found out how it should be done.

Do you have more details about it?

 

[newman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Esben newman, How is the difference on your setup with RGB compared to S-VHS? It's always interested me that it was possible to run RGB from the G4xx cards, but never really found out how it should be done. Do you have more details about it?

To tell you the truth I don't know

I've never bothered using the S-video to output to TV, I only used it a couple of times to connect the Matrox to a SVHS VCR.


If you are interested there are schematics for the RGB output on the Matrox website, for example here's the G450:
http://forum.matrox.com/mgaforum/For...ML/000004.html