No one uses Matrox anymore?

Thanks for such a useful response.


FYI, I am currently and have been working in IT for the past 15 years. I am a storage and systems architect and work with very high-end storage systems and server clusters. I am pretty sure I keep more update than you do concerning advanced technology.


If you would read the post carefully you would see that I am trying to make a specific distinction. I am asking if there are high-end, video enthusiast (videophile) graphic cards specifically catered towards HD viewing or only the mass-market ATI and Nvidia cards. Matrox cards are designed for true professional video applications that need extreme amount of detail such as medical imaging and CAD designs. In the past, Matrox had much better 2D (NOT 3D) PQ. Go ahead and see if there is a medical imaging system that uses an ATI 2600xt card.


So, instead of acting like a pompous ass perhaps you can do some research and actually post something meaningful?

Back in the day, which was +-10 years ago, I really liked my Matrox cards: Millennium, Millennium II, G200, and G400, and maybe even a G450 or was it a G400 Max? -- heck, my memory is getting a bit blurry. They had great 2D performance and RAMDACs and a crisp picture, but they couldn't keep up with the 3D race.


But today, when you can use a digital connection like a DVI or a DVI-to-HDMI cable and get that to your monitor or TV, the quality of the analog output doesn't matter near as much as it used to.


Cyberlink and/or Microsoft are doing an excellent job of making the standalone Blu-ray and HD DVD players a better experience than what you can get on a PC. Well, I guess I shouldn't give them all the credit, because we are still waiting on discrete HDMI sound cards, or sound cards integrated into a HDMI video card with full support for the next gen audio formats.


I do have a LG dual format drive for my htpc and powerdvd ultra 7.3 to play back, but in general, I still use my standalone players for BD or HD DVD. Full support for HDMI audio is the missing piece of this HTPC puzzle. And even if you have an HDMI sound card, powerdvd downsamples the audio to no more than 16 bit 48kHz.

I would focus on the the Nvidia 8800GT's (the new ones with the all the HD support candy) or the ATI 3870's with HDMI support


Pay attention to the current issue of HDMI based sound


there is no current PC solution to get full bitstream out on an HDMI to a supporting receiver that does the new HD audio codecs


To do this today is the analog outputs


there are several threads on this cards and audio issues


I have variety nvidia 8600's and an ATI 3870 -- the 3870 does a slightly better job in driver my HDTV's


I have not yet tried the new 8800GT

Quote:
Originally Posted by maobacks /forum/post/12880917


It seems that the only cards mentioned anymore are ATI and Nvidia.


Several years ago, I was biased against both of these companies because I felt that they were suited for gamers and not serious graphic professionals. Although Matrox did poorly in 3D gaming, they had the best 2D cards (sharpest text, etc.)


Now that I'm ready to put together a HTPC I do not see Matrox mentioned at all . This computer will be used SOLELY for video viewing, not gaming. So, basically blu-ray, hd-dvd, and downloaded HD content (1080p h.264, VC-1).


I'm more of an audiophile than a video buff. In the audio world, I know which computer parts are considered "audiophile grade" (such as Wavelength USB DACs, Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe, etc.). Is there such thing as a high-end, videophile graphics card? Are the mainstream cards already up to snuff? I know there are workstation class cards (e.g. those capable of working with 9 MP monitors), would those actually make any difference in PQ for watching HD content?


I will be buying a Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma soon and this will be part of the setup.


Thanks!

Click to expand...



Quote:
Originally Posted by jimwhite /forum/post/13021284


You know, you've been appearing in a lot of threads lately, and you sure don't come across as a pleasent person!

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You mean me? I don't?


I didn't really mean to be unpleasant :shrug:


I mean in this case what I said was just my honest take on this. Someone asks why aren't other people using Matrox cards and then they themselves points out Matrox doesn't sell products in this market any longer!


So again, the question is, if they don't make products for this market how are people supposed to use them?


I don't see what's so unpleasant about saying that I mean should I ask why more people aren't using cards from 3dfx, a company that long ago went under? Perhaps if I didn't know they went under that would be one thing, but to say "hey they don't make video cards anymore but why aren't people using them?"--I mean c'mon now...



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevetoney /forum/post/12882453


I would focus on the the Nvidia 8800GT's (the new ones with the all the HD support candy) or the ATI 3870's with HDMI support


Pay attention to the current issue of HDMI based sound


there is no current PC solution to get full bitstream out on an HDMI to a supporting receiver that does the new HD audio codecs


To do this today is the analog outputs


there are several threads on this cards and audio issues


I have variety nvidia 8600's and an ATI 3870 -- the 3870 does a slightly better job in driver my HDTV's


I have not yet tried the new 8800GT

Click to expand...

The 8800GT or the 3870 would be overkill for HTPC. they are primarily designed for gamers and offer no advantage for HTPC use.


You would be much better off with either a 2600/3600 series from ATI or the 8500/8600 from nVidia as these would provide the same video decoding capabilities. More importanty, these lower end cards run cooler, draw less power and of course can be completely silent with passive cooling.


You many even want to look at the 3400 (ATI) or the 8400 (nVidia) series...


Hope that helps.


Fuz.



Quote:
Originally Posted by jimwhite /forum/post/13021284


You know, you've been appearing in a lot of threads lately, and you sure don't come across as a pleasent person!

Click to expand...

Meh, in his defense, the OP did come off a bit pedantic in his original post, and followed it up with a "I am very smart so don't sass me, just answer my question" retort for his second post.


Not saying two wrongs make a right, but it is very annoying to listen to a person post a question, while the whole time they make excuses for why they don't know the answer, and try to impress that they really would know it if they weren't so busy knowing so many other things. Know what I mean?


I don't think anyone here cares what level of expertice a person has while asking a question. The main requirement is being sincere and not making people feel like you are asking them to solve your problem because you are too lazy to figure it out yourself (not saying that the OP did this). Also, you get a lot further being able to take a bit of ribbing than lashing back with a holy-than-thou response, especially when you are asking for the help.


-Suntan



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevetoney /forum/post/12882453



Pay attention to the current issue of HDMI based sound


there is no current PC solution to get full bitstream out on an HDMI to a supporting receiver that does the new HD audio codecs


To do this today is the analog outputs


there are several threads on this cards and audio issues

Click to expand...

Hi,

I have a newby-ish question on above.


If I understand correctly, in theory the audio can be 'decoded' at the player (i.e., htpc) or sent as bitstream to the receiver for decoding (assuming receiver has suitable decoder). If decoded by the player, then it can either be converted to analog and sent to receiver in that form, or it can be sent as PCM over an HDMI connection for processing and digital-to-analog conversion by the receiver.


From post above there's currently no solution for sending undecoded full bitstream (i.e., TruHD) over the HDMI so one would decode at the player and send out as analog. My question is if there's any option/support in HTPC implementation for decoding in the software player and then sending the decoded audio out as PCM over the HDMI - do the graphic cards with HDMI support this? Or do they still only support DD/DTS over HDMI (i.e., same as if using S/PDIF)?


I apologise for this, I'm sure its been covered alot but I searched and managed to confuse myself thoroughly!