Picture quality via MVP is disappointing :(.

[daviescr1]

Hi,

Does anyone know whether or not there are any hardware tweeks that can be made to a Hauppauge Media MVP (wired version)?. The reason why I ask this is because I've finally managed to get my GB-PVR PC to work in conjunction with a Media MVP & Viewsonic N3000W and in all honesty video playback is disappointing. Audio is good however the picture quality is not good (is pixelated, grainy and colours seem to blend into one another).

Perhaps using an oxygen free gold-plated connector SCART lead would help improve picture quality?. I'm not sure.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you .

[groover km]

The color issue sounds like it may be MVP-specific (Have you tried it on another tv? you can find more on this topic recently with a quick forum search), but have you tried playing back the file on the PC? What's it like?

"grainy" and "pixellated" would suggest to me the file itself (espec. pixellated). Changing to a better analogue cable isn't going to do anything about this (infact, unless by grainy you mean signal noise, it ain't gonna do anything about that either.)

I would look at the encoder you are using, quality settings, etc., before shelling out for new cables...

[daviescr1]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

The color issue sounds like it may be MVP-specific (Have you tried it on another tv? you can find more on this topic recently with a quick forum search), but have you tried playing back the file on the PC? What's it like?

Video playback on two Media MVPs on two seperate TVs that I've tried is the same unfortunately. Playback via PC is an improvement therefore I guess that the problem is MVP-specific or MVP-cable specific.

"grainy" and "pixellated" would suggest to me the file itself (espec. pixellated). Changing to a better analogue cable isn't going to do anything about this (infact, unless by grainy you mean signal noise, it ain't gonna do anything about that either.)

I'm almost certain that signal noise is a problem. Guess that using a 5M (approx) length of CAT5 cable doesn't help that is unless the picture processing done by the MVP itself ruling out there being an issue with noise being picked up via CAT5 cable.

I would look at the encoder you are using, quality settings, etc., before shelling out for new cables...

Fair comment. AV Cables can work out very expensive and I cannot afford to go spending too much money. BDA Multiplexer that I'm using is 'Cybervideo' (guess that this is what you're referring to by encoder).

Is there a thread or Wiki entry that suggests optimal settings for BDA Multiplexer etc. for use with an MVP or are each installations of GB-PVR unique depending on what other hardware is being used?.

Thank you for your help it's much appreciated.

[groover km]

Okay... as far as I know:

There have been problems reported with certain MVP version #s, including problems with oversaturation (when you say colors blend into each other do you mean red appears especially vivid and 'bleeds'?). Personal preference comes into play as well I suppose; a forum search should help, as well as the wiki.

To be honest, unless your 5m cat5 cables is wrapped twice around the washing machine motor, I wouldn't worry about signal noise at that length. I run a cable approx 75' - inside, outside, through the garage, past the water heater - without any problems. There are far more knowledgeable people than me here, but I would be surprised if it was otherwise...

Optimal encoder settings - gulp. There are 1000's of posts in this forum alone discussing the benefits of one over another, tweaks, etc... I use Intervideo with no problems, happy with the results, etc. Other people will agree, others say Im insane, C'est la vie. Try searching for Cybervideo and see what it turns up.

I would still make sure that I had my encoder/ settings all working before I started shelling out though.

(closing thought: I'm preuming you are referring to playing back an MPEG2 file, yeah? Not an .avi?)

[daviescr1]

Okay... as far as I know:

There have been problems reported with certain MVP version #s, including problems with oversaturation (when you say colors blend into each other do you mean red appears especially vivid and 'bleeds'?). Personal preference comes into play as well I suppose; a forum search should help, as well as the wiki.

To be honest, unless your 5m cat5 cables is wrapped twice around the washing machine motor, I wouldn't worry about signal noise at that length. I run a cable approx 75' - inside, outside, through the garage, past the water heater - without any problems. There are far more knowledgeable people than me here, but I would be surprised if it was otherwise...

Optimal encoder settings - gulp. There are 1000's of posts in this forum alone discussing the benefits of one over another, tweaks, etc... I use Intervideo with no problems, happy with the results, etc. Other people will agree, others say Im insane, C'est la vie. Try searching for Cybervideo and see what it turns up.

I would still make sure that I had my encoder/ settings all working before I started shelling out though.

(closing thought: I'm preuming you are referring to playing back an MPEG2 file, yeah? Not an .avi?)

Hi, Thank you for your reply. Yes, regarding colours blending into each other red does seem to appear especially vivid and bleeds. Video playback and Live TV seems to be alright on PC though which is what'd made me think that the problem was with MVP or MVP cabling. Shall try to find out what settings seem to work best and which one's do not. Can confirm that programs are being recorded in mpeg2 format. Would not be surprised if the MVPs that I've spent hard earn't cash on are problematic ones.

Kind Regards.

[rscheller]

What is the quality you have your capture device set to: High, Medium, Low, other? It's in the GB-PVR config under capture device. Note, a 1 hour TV recorded show recorded at medium will create about a 2Gig file.

The red over-saturation and dark picture are a will documented issues with the MVP however, there are some workarounds to minimize if not eliminate the issues.

What tuner card do you have? If it's a Hauppauge, do a search on Hauppauge Tweak Tool. There's also a utility called ZProcess that just went through a major revision and is in alpha testing right now that has all the picture quality tuning controls such as brightness, contrast, gamma, red, green, blue built in.

[daviescr1]

What is the quality you have your capture device set to: High, Medium, Low, other? It's in the GB-PVR config under capture device. Note, a 1 hour TV recorded show recorded at medium will create about a 2Gig file.

The red over-saturation and dark picture are a will documented issues with the MVP however, there are some workarounds to minimize if not eliminate the issues.

What tuner card do you have? If it's a Hauppauge, do a search on Hauppauge Tweak Tool. There's also a utility called ZProcess that just went through a major revision and is in alpha testing right now that has all the picture quality tuning controls such as brightness, contrast, gamma, red, green, blue built in.

Hi, Thank you again for your reply. Much appreciated.

What is the quality you have your capture device set to: High, Medium, Low, other? It's in the GB-PVR config under capture device. Note, a 1 hour TV recorded show recorded at medium will create about a 2Gig file.

Am recording programs 1/2-hour approx that are 500Mb (approx) in size (guess that this is Low quality?. Thought that I'd spotted Medium quality on the web-interface whilst checking through a list of recorded programs. Cannot find quality settings under the category you'd mentioned (Checked Capture Device but know you'd said Capture Settings but cannot find this :confused: ). Seem to remember there being a quality setting under the web-interface but not in GB-PVR Config. Must be in there somewhere though if you've said it is. Just cannot find.

The red over-saturation and dark picture are a will documented issues with the MVP however, there are some workarounds to minimize if not eliminate the issues.

Shall try to find some of these workarounds on the forum (providing it's not too confusing :eek: ).

What tuner card do you have? If it's a Hauppauge, do a search on Hauppauge Tweak Tool. There's also a utility called ZProcess that just went through a major revision and is in alpha testing right now that has all the picture quality tuning controls such as brightness, contrast, gamma, red, green, blue built in.

I'm using a Nebula-Electronics DVB-T USB Receiver. Not aware of there being any Tweak Tools for this particular capture device but perhaps it's worth giving ZProcess a try?.

Thank you.

Edited: 03:20am 15/12/06. Just gone into check pending program recordings and can confirm that recordings are being made using 'Medium' quality. Confusing though as programs already recorded are not the size that they should be from what you'd advised.

[sub]

Just so you know, the quality settings are ignored when you record from a digital device, like your Nebula DVB-T device. In this situation you end up with whatever bitrate the broadcaster encoded the show at before broadcasting.

[zehd]

Hi,

Does anyone know whether or not there are any hardware tweeks that can be made to a Hauppauge Media MVP (wired version)?. The reason why I ask this is because I've finally managed to get my GB-PVR PC to work in conjunction with a Media MVP & Viewsonic N3000W and in all honesty video playback is disappointing. Audio is good however the picture quality is not good (is pixelated, grainy and colours seem to blend into one another).

Perhaps using an oxygen free gold-plated connector SCART lead would help improve picture quality?. I'm not sure.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you .

With no disrespect to you or anyone else, I've seen this solution before from many audiophiles and videophiles: If there's trouble, get better cables...

Kinda like, "my car doesn't work, better get a new paint job"
Again, I don't mean to be harsh or critical, but rather constructive by suggesting troubleshooting from a different angle...

What you have described is a known issue. THe MVP actually is constructed of inexpensive components and with a possibily wide tolerance for quality control. That said, my supplier has often exchanged whole batches of Hauppauge devices simply by revision number.

Personally, although I know that my MVP/TV combination (using S-Video) is not as good as a High Def Rip downloaded and displayed on my computer screen, the result is much mucj better in quality thatn the VHS system I used to use. Not to mention, all the great abilities GB-PVR brings to my remote...

And with that said, I have heard people say, and even seen for myslef that some MVP just have lousy picture quality.

I have just finished a new feature in my software, Zprocess that will allow people to adjust brightness and saturation in many cases, but it will undoubtedly not be able to correct pixelation or harsh gradation differences...

I guess what I'm saying is: the picture is all relative and according to taste, though I'm sure there are many MVPs out there that have bad picture quality in anybody's book.

I would look at replacing the unit, either through your retailer or Hauppauge directly...

Good luck

[zehd]

I would suggest that if your video looks good played back directly on your computer, then you should stop troublshooting the computer. If there's no grain, or over saturation on the computer monitor, then you should have a very close approximation displayed on your MVP/TV.

BDA multiplexers won't be involved, while using the MVP

In case you are interested in trying ZProcess, I'll help you cut through the start of it... Currently there is no way to tweak the brightness or saturation, etc of an MPG...

ZProcess will take another file type, like divx/xvid avi or wmv and transcode it on the fly into MPG format so that you can watch it on the MVP. This should actually happen in the background, so you won't do anything other than select a avi, and play it.

During THAT transcode on the fly, I'm able to add colour manipulation...

So you will still have trouble viewing content you have recorded in MPG format.