Geforce 6600 & HD Monitor

[Jynx]

Ok so I upgraded alot of system components this week and now I'm trying to the most out of them. My eyes are burning with all the reading and researching I've been doing yet I seem to have developed more questions then answers. I've posted on the Nvidia & Guru3d forums yet everyone just seems to view the post and never respond...so here goes.

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So right now I am connected to my monitor via the DVI cable.
I can then connect the HD adapter that came with the 6600 to the monitors HD input.

So with that setup, I have a few question...

1.) Do I have to switch back and forth between the too using TV out even though its the same monitor?
2.) Can I just use the switch input button on my monitor to go between the 2, assuming both outputs (DVI/HDTV) can be active.
3.) Can you drop the DVI all together and simply keep your connection to the monitor/PC the HD cables only? If so what problems can be forseen?

So, assuming all those 3 questions get answeres..let me then ask this...

1.) Do the vidoes you play via the HD outputs have to have been encoded for HDTV?
2.) Can any video be displayed in high definition that is played through the HD output to your monitors HD input?


Thanks guys, I'm realy looking forward to all your explinations and advice.

 

[breez]

You could simply drop the "HD cables" altogether (btw, can you elaborate what you mean by them, component or HDMI?). DVI can handle HD-resolutions and it is digital.

Videos do not have to be encoded for HDTV when using any of the outputs. By displaying any video in HD I assume you mean upscaled to HD resolution, yes that can be done with right software.

 

[Rys]

1.) Do I have to switch back and forth between the too using TV out even though its the same monitor?

Nope, you can keep both DVI and HD TV outputs enabled simultaneously.

2.) Can I just use the switch input button on my monitor to go between the 2, assuming both outputs (DVI/HDTV) can be active.

Yes

3.) Can you drop the DVI all together and simply keep your connection to the monitor/PC the HD cables only? If so what problems can be forseen?

Yes, if you just want to use the component input you can do that. No problems that I can forsee, other than slight image quality differences between the two.

So, assuming all those 3 questions get answeres..let me then ask this...

1.) Do the vidoes you play via the HD outputs have to have been encoded for HDTV?

No, you can play SD video too.

2.) Can any video be displayed in high definition that is played through the HD output to your monitors HD input?

If the video is SD natively, it'll need upscaled for HD. Providing that happens, yes

 

[Jynx]

(btw, can you elaborate what you mean by them, component or HDMI?). DVI can handle HD-resolutions and it is digital.
QUOTE]

Yes, this I know however I've read on Nvidia's forums that the card only sends the HTDV signal through the HDTV port on the card, not through the cards DVI port.

So Rys

What are people mostly using the HDTV outputs for on the cards? I can't imagine people already having that much HD encoded things on there PC to need to send them out in an HD format to an HD Monitor/TV...??

Just trying to understand a little better.

And by the way, the quick reponses...AWESOME!

 

[Rys]

What are people mostly using the HDTV outputs for on the cards? I can't imagine people already having that much HD encoded things on there PC to need to send them out in an HD format to an HD Monitor/TV...??

There's a growing mass of HD content out there now, so there's plenty to be playing. TV is broadcast in HD, HD videos can be downloaded, games can be played at HD resolutions....

 

[Jynx]

There's a growing mass of HD content out there now, so there's plenty to be playing. TV is broadcast in HD, HD videos can be downloaded, games can be played at HD resolutions....

Ok so lets says I have a movie on my HD, divx, xvid, mpg..etc.
If I play that through HDTV amd I actually seeing that movie in high deff since it wasnt encoded in high def from source??

And I am correct in saying that the 6600's breakout pod is the only port on the 6600 to send in HD format correct?

 

[Tahir2]

Jynx I have a similar setup to yours. I use my PC at times to play DivX encoded files on my CRT TV that has component in for 1080i resolution via the PC. I have a 6600GT.

What are the benefits? It is known that Purevideo is a better playback solution than most low-end and some mid-end DVD players so you get better quality images there. I can also play at either 576p or 1080i (my TV will not do 720p) which only increases the resolution of the display but does not add further detail. However it does look very nice and better than playing anything through my Sony DVD player.

I hope that answers one of your questions.

 

[Jynx]

So any movie played via the HDTV input is going to look better regardless then?

If however you say download a TV show on the net that was recorded from an HDTV feed then encoded into a Divx..if you watch it via the HDTV output, is that then in true HD format?

Honestly I just want to see what HD really looks like I guess if I download some of the Microsoft WMV-HD Samples then connect the Geforce HD Breakout pod I am then watvhing it in true HD because I can play the HD Samples throuh the current DVI connection but the Geforce 6600 does not send that HD signal through the DVI cable although my monitor does accept HD res via the DVI cable.

And like I asked before, if I connect the HDTV part of the card to the monitor, Rys you said I could then just switch back in forth using the input button on my monitor. How however do I keep both the HDTV Breakout pod and the DVI output on the card active? I thought u had to go into the settings and tell it to use the HDTV output instead of the DVI output?

 

[Tahir2]

I dont understand your question to Rys so I will skip that.

As to the content of HD material and DivX movies - there is a HD DivX standard, these movies are encoded at a higher resolution and I assume using higher definition source material. You can get demo's from www.divx.com if you have a look for it. It is a temporary standard just like WMV-HD until H.264 and the HD-DVD/Bluray stuff comes in.

If you download a movie that is encoded at a higher resolution (e.g. 1208*720) you will want to play it back at a HD resolution - this is true HD just as the WMV-HD demo's are true HD.

Downloading a hi-def movie that is encoded at low resolutions (e.g. 720*576/480 or lower) is not hi-def even if you are upscaling because the source was not encoded at hi-def.

 

[breez]

What monitor are you using and what is the native resolution of it? There should be no problem with using DVI and HD-resolutions. It will probably look better than the analog component output (the HD outputs you are talking about).

 

[mrcorbo]

Honestly I just want to see what HD really looks like I guess if I download some of the Microsoft WMV-HD Samples then connect the Geforce HD Breakout pod I am then watvhing it in true HD because I can play the HD Samples throuh the current DVI connection but the Geforce 6600 does not send that HD signal through the DVI cable although my monitor does accept HD res via the DVI cable.

If you have your monitor connected via DVI, what resolution does it allow you to set your desktop to?

There should be no reason to have multiple inputs coming from the same graphics card. By connecting via component, you are GUARANTEEING an inferior signal. The reason being that you are taking a digital signal, converting it to analog on the video card, running it along a length of cable which introduces noise (minimal if you use a good quality cable) and finally converting it again at the monitor back to digital. A DVI connection would avoid all this. So I think what you may really want to do is figure out how to get the DVI connection working properly and forget about the component connection. It is really there for people who don't have a way to connect their display digitally (like me ).

 

[Jynx]

I am using the 21" Gateway FPD2185W and am currently running at 1680 x 1050.

When I talking about DVI and Component this is why...

My monitors HDTV input and DVI Input both accept the HDTV resolutions.
However, I've read that only HDTV Breakout POD for the 6600 sends out the HDTV res/signal.
The DVI outport of the 6600 doesn't send HDTV signals does it? Or what would be the point of the HDTV Component breakout pod that comes with the 6600??

 

[Tahir2]

Component is for TV-Out and there are some TV's that do not have DVI-in.
Component out (which you call HDTV Out) is not specifically for HDTV, in fact quite the opposite, it is an old standard that has been modified to take 720P or 1080i signals as well as normal TV resolution.

 

[Jynx]

Ok but the 6600 doesn't send the HDTV signal out the DVI port does it?
My monitor has both DVI input and HDTV Composite Input.

Which connection from Video card to LCD would I need to be in to watch a High Deffinition video??

 

[Tahir2]

Your video card should be able to send a video signal from both from the DVI port and the Component Out port.

To watch high definition video (non-HDCP) you can use either port.

 

[Jynx]

OK so now when connected via DVI and I play one of the WMV-HD Samples, I am watching that in High Def? Doesnt the resolution on the monitor need to be the 1080i or something if that is the version of the sample I got? Because the port for the break out pod on the card specificaly says HDTV OUT. I thought that port has to send the 1080i signal...

 

[Tahir2]

What is the make and model of the TV you have? This will help in getting you the best setup for what you want to do.

 

[Jynx]

I am not connecting it to an actual TV.

I went out last week and bought the Gateway FPD2185W
http://gateway.com/programs/lcd/specs.shtml?cmpid=index*HDLCD21W_overview*tab

That will give you the full specs.

I am currently in the higest the monitor offers of Resolutions of 1680 x 1050.

• Digital (DVI-D): 24-pin DVD-D (supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i). Includes HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)

• Component Y Pb Pr (supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i)

So when I play an HD sample, how do I play it in say 1080i?
The Geforce 6600 says the HDTV out displays in 1080i...
So what do I need to do to watch WMV-HD Sample in true 1080i so I can see an actual High Deffinition videon on my HD Monitor?

 

[Tahir2]

OK.. well the absolute best resolution for that display is going to be... 1680*1050 which is close to 1080p (the vertical resolution is more important than the horizontal).

For the best display of HD material on that screen I would set Windows resolution to 1680*1050, and play your HD material using Videolan or some other video playback software (PowerDVD or WMP). Allow the playback software to run at fullscreen mode and your computer will rescale the picture to 1680*1050 for you giving you the best display possible. You do not need to worry about 720p, 1080i as your setup goes beyond that.

Now you are using a 6600 so 1080p content is probably not going to be optimal as you might get dropped frames during playback so I would download 720p material. This also depends on how powerful your processor is.

When connecting do not use Component Out (the Red Green Blue breakout box labelled HDTV) as this is not the best output for your setup.

You will not be able to play HDCP material until NVIDIA support this feature in their graphics card but this is not important to you at this stage as we do not have HDCP content at this time I believe. NVIDIA may not support HDCP in the 6600 at all either but we dont know yet.

To summarise:

1. use DVI to connect to your monitor
2. download and playback your video material using a 3rd party player like Videolan or PowerDVD or WMP making sure HW acceleration is ticked in the right place
3. acquiring High Definition material (HD movies etc) is more important in your setup
4. that's it.. you have everything ready, remember HDTV is a conglomerate of different technologies and you have most of the pieces of the puzzle so enjoy

 

[Jynx]

So what really is the point of the component out on the vid card and the component in on the monitor then?

The WMV-HD samples play fine within WMP at both 720 and 1080.
Why does the Video card specificaly lable the HDTV and output for 720,1080...etc and not list those outputs for the DVI out?

2 more question.. When I run a widescreen DVD..in this case gone in 60 seconds, using WMP the Nvidia PureDVD icon shows but the movie WILL NOT play in widescreen..why?

Last one.. When I got in the WMP settings, the dot is in software and not hardware...yet this field is grayed out, I cannot edit it!