Standard TV Resolution from my video card

[AWS]

Since I can't for the life of me get my 8800GTS to display 720X480 on my SDTV I have to resort to 800X600, 960X600, or 1024X768. What resolution would be the better compromise? Doesn't the TV convert the signal anyway to something it can use?

Monitor 1: Small LCD, primary monitor, 1024X768, D-SUB
Monitor 2: SDTV, secondary monitor, 800X600, S-Video
Each Monitor configured independently of each other (Dual view)

Thanks,
AWS

[mayamaniac]

800x600 is the best. There was an old ATI radeon card that I read about that can output proper SD resolution, but I'm sure it'll be hard to find.

My suggestion is to get the MVP for your SDTV, you can't get better SD picture quality than that. People have been getting good deals for the MVP on ebay under the Helios or something brand.

[AWS]

I really wish the drivers still supported 720X480. I know I was able to back when the 16X series were still "new". I think somewhere in the late 16X or maybe even the 17X series is when nVidia took anything less than 8X6 out of the INF files.

I've tried a few times to modify the INF files that come packaged with the drivers but with no luck. Oh well.

The idea of the MVP is good; hadn't thought of that before. Thanks.

AWS

[AWS]

So how do I watch a DVD (actual media not ripped) with the MVP? They don't have DVD drives built into them. Would I have to put it in the SageTV server and stream it across? I wish the MVPs had a DVD player in them.

What do people do with a multi-room setup and more than one DVD wants to be watched at a time?

[paulbeers]

Here's where the HTPC hobby gets expensive...Most of us have fairly large RAID arrays that we just rip all DVD's to. Mine is not large by any means (it was fairly large when I built it a year and a half ago). This allows for my entire DVD collection to be available to all televisions at a push of a button. My wife loves that feature. All of her favorites are availble at anytime. This is how I do it with all of my extenders (I also have DVD players at each television just in case we want to rent a movie or someone brings one over).

[AWS]

Yeah, I do all of that now and really enjoy having the DVD available to me when I click the button...

I will still be able to use the DVD player of the server, right? I just have to put the DVD in the server, walk to the room with the MVP, select "Watch DVD" or whatever the menu item is and whalla I'm in business. No?

Thanks,
AWS

[mayamaniac]

No, you can't play DVD on the drive of the server from the MVP. I think on the MVP, the Play DVD option is removed, just like on the Playshifter. I think what you can do is add the DVD's Video_TS folder to your media sources, and then you'll see it in Videos section as a DVD. You just have to refresh the imported directories everytime you put in a new DVD, and then wait for it to refresh.

[CollinR]

Agreed on the hardware extender, no doubt better quality.

Do some googling, anydvd, dvd42 and the like.

I also connected a DVD changer to mine, no ripping, no backup strategy, no power consumption unless in use. Paid $150 for it but I wish I had held out for one with rs232 control, eventually I will upgrade.

[Striker:WG]

Originally Posted by CollinR

Agreed on the hardware extender, no doubt better quality.

Do some googling, anydvd, dvd42 and the like.

I also connected a DVD changer to mine, no ripping, no backup strategy, no power consumption unless in use. Paid $150 for it but I wish I had held out for one with rs232 control, eventually I will upgrade.

Collin,

Can you give some more details on how your DVD changer solution works? I would be interested in setting up something similar depending on how the whole setup works...

-Striker-

[CollinR]

AV path is simple:
Changer>PVR500 Svideo input

Control path not so easy:
multitunerplugin.exe > Eventghost > USBUIRT > Changer


In SageTV you configure a new source using the mutitunerplugin as the channel changing. This will sent the channel change requests to EventGhost via it's commandline interface. EventGhost controls the changer with IR via a USBUIRT2. You map your disks as channels in the program guide in my case channels 1400 through 1800 are disk slots in the changer.


What I haven't figured out how to do is inject the program guide data so that my disk titles show up in the program guide. Once thats done I'm all set.

[Striker:WG]

Originally Posted by CollinR

AV path is simple:
Changer>PVR500 Svideo input

Control path not so easy:
multitunerplugin.exe > Eventghost > USBUIRT > Changer


In SageTV you configure a new source using the mutitunerplugin as the channel changing. This will sent the channel change requests to EventGhost via it's commandline interface. EventGhost controls the changer with IR via a USBUIRT2. You map your disks as channels in the program guide in my case channels 1400 through 1800 are disk slots in the changer.


What I haven't figured out how to do is inject the program guide data so that my disk titles show up in the program guide. Once thats done I'm all set.

Ahh, that's an interesting solution. I was assuming it was going to be firewire based. Aren't you loosing out on picture quality by going over S-Video though? Wouldn't it be better using Component and an HD-PVR?

-Striker-

[CollinR]

480p>480i isn't the biggest deal but sure you could use an HDPVR if you wanted. Since most of my clients are still 480i SD with MVPs it's no real loss as if any DVD player were directly connected it would still be only S Video.

Just take a regular player and connect it and see the quality difference for yourself. IMHO the HDPVR would be nice in that no video processing is needed on the h.264 and I guess the thing can capture 480p (???). But it's also a waste as it's only 480p on a device capable of 1080i and really a waste and probably not functional if you want it played back on an MVP or any other SDTV.

The nice part about the PVR500 HVR2250 is the video headers allowing you to use a tuner part time. I don't think the HDPVR has this capability, pretty sure it's only one set of component inputs.