PC-to-TV options

[trinibwoy]

Out of curiousity I started doing some research on wireless HD video transmitters. The results weren't promising - didn't really find any quality products in this space (but please point me to any I may have missed!).

But I'd still like to know what options are out there for getting the best image quality on an analog SDTV (S-video, component, composite) from a computer source (DVI/VGA/S-video).

I've tried S-video in the past (9800 pro and 6800 gt) but wasn't really thrilled with the results.

Would something like DVI -> AVR -> component look better? Should the source aspect ratio match the TV's (4:3) ? Would a stand-alone scan converter be a good choice?

Would appreciate any input on this...TIA

 

[hey69]

i'v managed to have some nice quality trough svideo cable with the use of TVTOOL .
a litle program that helps to adjust lots of settings of your videocard

 

[Blazkowicz]

It's possible to build a cable going from VGA output to RGB input (with a few resistors and stuff) and then the vid card has to output the right resolution (640x480, 31KHz horizontal freq I think). But RGB inputs are a european thing it seems

in your case : if you're going to get some hardware, why not a recent vid card with component output?

 

[BRiT]

ATI still sells a Component Video Adapter for the 9800 series for $30. That would be your best option, if you're still using the 9800. The newer series usually include HDTV (component) output cable in the bundle.

 

[_xxx_]

I tried them all with my TV (32" TFT) and so far, component looks best (but not pixel perfect due to overscan), followed by DVI (no font-AA, some stuff gets unreadable from a distance bigger than 1m or so). Don't even bother with RGB/S-Video, looks terrible in comparison.

 

[Sxotty]

It is an SDTV it will always look bad.

 

[trinibwoy]

in your case : if you're going to get some hardware, why not a recent vid card with component output?

Damn!! I didn't even think to check for that. I think my X1900XT came with one but I didn't look in the Dell box to see if one came with my XPS (that's the machine I'm trying to hook up). Thanks man, that might be just the answer I'm looking for - I'll check when I get home.

It is an SDTV it will always look bad.

Well it's only for gaming (Madden and Winning Eleven in particular) not desktop stuff. It actually looks fine right now via S-video (certainly better than my PS2) apart from some interference every now and then.

Appreciate all the input!