Best TV out video card

[Shader]

What kind of videocards do those MCE computers use.
They sometimes seem to have a scart connection at the back.
And the video output is great. Is it somekind of dedicated card ?

[gEd]

What kind of videocards do those MCE computers use.

I have seen ATI x300 and Intel GMA 900 chipsets listed in mce specs. they are just pc's inside.

They sometimes seem to have a scart connection at the back.

usefull but it is only a connector. It will still be a composite or svideo signal going to/from the tv capture card.

And the video output is great. Is it somekind of dedicated card ?

Not to the best of my knowledge (which is limited). Just lots of time spent optimisting drivers and settings I guess.

[nitrogen_widget]

I may go to a hdtv tuner card as a secondary just for experimentation purposes & because even though I only have an SDTV I like the widescreen HDTV will give me even though it'll just be OTA.

I've got a 2.56 ghz celeron on the 478 socket & was wondering if a radeon 9550 will be sufficient to scale the HDTV image to SDTV without jaggies or excessive cpu usage.

I will probably be stuck with AGP as I don't think there are 478 boards out there with PCI Express.

I'd like to stick with ATI.
I've got an Nvidia 5200 And it's ok but I prefer the way ATI handles TV out in the drivers & hardware on my 9550.

[jksmurf]

You need hardware deinterlacing to get a sharp picture.
Cards with hardware deinterlacing:
ATI 9550 and upwards
Nvidia 6200 and upwards (6100 if onboard).

I currently have a Nvidia FX5200 based video card and am looking at getting the minimum (Nvidia) Video card that supports hardware deinterlacing, (which sounds the business for clear, non stuttery picture) which appears to be the 6200. However several google searches and a bit of shopping for such a card reveals a confusing array of options, like 64 bit, 128 bit, DDR Ram, DDR2 RAM etc.

My Q's
1. I have a pretty low spec PC (PIII-1200 Celeron, 512MB RAM), will I notice much difference from FX5200 to i.e. is it worth getting the 6200, will the card take over so much of the Video Operations?

2. WIll a 64 bit card be poorer than an 128 bit one, speed and picture-quality-wise, for a HTPC applications?

3. Presumably if it says DDR it is better than no DDR and DDR2 is better again?

4. I know I need AGP but I have a pretty old machine so its only 4X. I found a review of an MSI NX6200AX which is what on user (ubu?) is using but the reviewer said he it blew up as it was really only an 8X card not a 4X/8X. My PC is 2X/4X AGP. If it says 4X/8X, it "should" work on a 4X AGP right?

5. If there is a low-cost 6600, like a LE version, rather than the souped-up 6600GT, will this be better than a 6200? Much better? I hate going out buying something only to find a few dollars more might have done the trick.

Thanks for any insights on this.

k.

[csy]

Hi jksmurf

1. I have a pretty low spec PC (PIII-1200 Celeron, 512MB RAM), will I notice much difference from FX5200 to i.e. is it worth getting the 6200, will the card take over so much of the Video Operations?

CPU load will not change because I expect your FX card is already using DXVA acceleration. Providing your CPU peak-load is less than 90% (using the FX card) then generally speaking your CPU should not affect video quality. 512MB RAM should also be sufficient (my peak physical memory utilisation is 400MB). The 6200 is capable of producing a very sharp/clear picture due to the Purevideo de-interlacing, but is dependant on the video interface type going to your display/TV and the display/TV itself. As a general rule, the quality should match your normal TV if using component-video, and almost match if using S-video. So in answer to your question, you should notice much sharper picture quality.

2. WIll a 64 bit card be poorer than an 128 bit one, speed and picture-quality-wise, for a HTPC applications?

I think 64bit memory interface is marginal ok, providing your using standard definition video and screen resolutions (max 720x575). My 9550SE has 64bit memory interface and it works ok at 720x576 but suffers from very jumpy video @1280x720 which I suspect is due to the 64bit bottleneck on the memory interface.

3. Presumably if it says DDR it is better than no DDR and DDR2 is better again?

Correct, but this is more important to gamers. In my opinion, this has very little effect on video performance (old-technology cards can still process video very well, even with their slower memory).

4. I know I need AGP but I have a pretty old machine so its only 4X. I found a review of an MSI NX6200AX which is what on user (ubu?) is using but the reviewer said he it blew up as it was really only an 8X card not a 4X/8X. My PC is 2X/4X AGP. If it says 4X/8X, it "should" work on a 4X AGP right?

Be very carefull!!!!
The AGP interfaces all run at different voltages. The voltages have reduced as bandwidth increased, meaning 2X interface could destroy a 4X/8x card. You need force the AGP interface to 4X in BIOS. See this link:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=47285

5. If there is a low-cost 6600, like a LE version, rather than the souped-up 6600GT, will this be better than a 6200? Much better? I hate going out buying something only to find a few dollars more might have done the trick.

The 6600 AGP cards are very prone to incompatability problems with mobo chipsets and picky on Forceware drivers. PCIE video cards are cheaper and higher performance, so you would be better to put your money towards a new PCIE mobo and video.

[jksmurf]

Thanks csy, clear, well researched and informative, as usual.
Appreciate you taking the time to answer these Q's.

I have a 19" LCD Display @ 1280 x 1024 with a DVI interface AFAIK.

Re the AGP voltages: That's a useful link.... I already have my AGP set @ 4X in the BIOS, (which is max in my old ASUS TULS2-C MB) but am not sure if I am able to up the AGP voltage or not. I'll need to have a look.

would be better to put your money towards a new PCIE mobo and video.

Yeah, I know, eventually I will but that means whole new RAM and everything else, hence my search for the minimum "best bang for the buck" :-)

Cheers,

k.