nVidia 6600 display tips?

[GbrNole]

grasshopper - i have the same board and find the best performance with the most recent nforce2 drivers from the nvidia website.

do you have your onboard spdif hooked up BTW?

i ended up just altering some pinouts from an asus spdif adapter to get it working.

ps. others have mentioned better vmr9 performance with the 80.xx series beta drivers for the 6600gt coupled with the latest version of the nvidia dvd codec. (1.2 150)

overlay works fine for me right now for tv and i can still use vmr9 for dvd.

[Grasshopper]

I do have the onboard spdif working, with the Shuttle backplate spdif adapter. I had a heck of a time finding that thing, if I recall (it was a while ago).

As it happens, Overlay is working now. Not sure if it was the sacrifice of a newborn goat or the repeated oaths and threats to dropkick the pc across the room (which would've been a real mess, as it's water cooled). But at least it works. Today.

Sort of frustrating, though. I was doing Overlay through the onboard video of the mobo, until I read about how great the 6xxx series nVidia cards were and how spiffy VMR9 was. So I bought the card, installed it in the darn teeny (Antec Aria) case, plumbed it all (liquid cooled), and put it back in the entertainment center -- and now I'm watching Overlay. It might be better, I don't remember anymore.

[GbrNole]

overlay from the 6600gt is good but vmr9 with full screen exclusive is awesome.

i have to reload my pc soon so i'll be updating the nvidia codec and the 6600gt drivers so i'll let you know if it's worth tinkering.

[Kanati]

You think that one would be better, even though the nVidia website offers a more recent nForce2 driver package?

Not doubting you, just confirming.

I always try to use the drivers by the manufacturer of the hardware itself FIRST. Then I might install newer ones from a different source once I know the other once have done what I wanted them to do.

I can say that I had major problems when I got my 9800XT and was getting benchmarks FAR below what I was expecting on a clean install. I had forgotten to install my chipset drivers and it took me a couple of days of searching before I realized that. It made all the difference in the world. After that I downloaded the latest drivers from the VIA site and they worked fine. But I'd always go with the ones that were designed for THAT SPECIFIC motherboard first.

[Goodspike]

Anyone have any new thoughts on this issue?

[blade]

Some people like overlay better while others like VMR9. I think it mostly depends on individual taste and your display.

IMO your best bet for VMR9 is to run at 720p, if your TV supports it. For some reason the 6600 just can't handle 1080i, but has absolutely no problems with 720p.

The only way I could get smooth playback at 1080i was to use FSE with Dx9.0c, but then the ff/rw bug becomes a problem. Reverting back to the 9.0b dll breaks FSE so you're either stuck with stuttering or the ff/rw problem. If I was stuck running at 1080i I'd definetly be using overlay.

I run at 720p, FSE disabled, and use the Dx9.0b dll. I have no stuttering and don't have the nasty ff/rw bug.

Hopefully either DX will get fixed with the next release or Sage can find a way to get the 9.0b dll to work with FSE. BTW I'm running the latest official releases of the nvidia decoder, video drivers, and nforce2 drivers from the nvidia site.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by blade

Hopefully either DX will get fixed with the next release or Sage can find a way to get the 9.0b dll to work with FSE.

FWIW, I don't think there's any "getting it to work" I'm pretty sure FSE just plane requires DX9c, Theatertek requires it, and I think MCE requires it too.